Bright-Eyed, Bushy-Tailed and In Need of Advice: an inherited razor and a lot of questions.

[tl_smurf]

I've been looking at getting into straight-razor shaving for years, but due to my financial situation (yay for college life), I have been hesitant to pull the trigger. I was visiting home a few days ago and my dad saw me looking at a razor online which started a conversation that eventually led him to show me the razor that his dad used back in the day. After talking, he decided to let me have the heirloom razor, strop, and brush (pictures attached). The razor is a bublduck satinedge, the strop is made by STOP BRAND, and the brush is an Ever-Ready The razor has some discoloration, but it looks more like patina than rust to my very untrained eyes. I know some dublducks are valuable/good blades, but I am still very new to all of this.





I am beyond excited to start my journey into shaving with this razor and learning everything I can. My dad never used the razor, so he didn't have any advice or tips to pass on. He and I have both honed and sharpened knives as long as I can remember, but with this being an heirloom, I don't want to mess anything up. I tried honing it, and felt like it was a good edge, then I stropped it... It didn't come close to passing the HHT or the Tree-Topping test.

A google search led me to reddit and eventually brought me here. I've already spent hours reading different guides and threads and there is more information here than I could have possibly imagined. I want to learn everything I can, but I also don't want the "need to learn everything" to be a barrier to my starting to use the razor. Here are my questions:

1: Is this a blade worth putting the effort into getting cleaned up and honed?

2: Do I try to hone the blade again and clean it up? Or, being new, am I better to send it off to be honed/restored?

3: Do I need to do anything to "restore" a strop that has been out of use for 40+ years?

4: What are "absolute musts/tips" that I should know before I start my first shave?

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds, and to everyone who has contributed to these forums that have already taught me so much!

 

[EclipseRedRing]

From the little I know of straight razors, that is a very nice razor and certainly worth cleaning and honing by someone who knows what they are doing, not by yourself. The straight shavers will be along soon with some better advice. Welcome to the forum

 

[sanookd]

I've been looking at getting into straight-razor shaving for years, but due to my financial situation (yay for college life), I have been hesitant to pull the trigger. I was visiting home a few days ago and my dad saw me looking at a razor online which started a conversation that eventually led him to show me the razor that his dad used back in the day. After talking, he decided to let me have the heirloom razor, strop, and brush (pictures attached). The razor is a bublduck satinedge, the strop is made by STOP BRAND, and the brush is an Ever-Ready The razor has some discoloration, but it looks more like patina than rust to my very untrained eyes. I know some dublducks are valuable/good blades, but I am still very new to all of this.


View attachment 1237908View attachment 1237909View attachment 1237905


I am beyond excited to start my journey into shaving with this razor and learning everything I can. My dad never used the razor, so he didn't have any advice or tips to pass on. He and I have both honed and sharpened knives as long as I can remember, but with this being an heirloom, I don't want to mess anything up. I tried honing it, and felt like it was a good edge, then I stropped it... It didn't come close to passing the HHT or the Tree-Topping test.

A google search led me to reddit and eventually brought me here. I've already spent hours reading different guides and threads and there is more information here than I could have possibly imagined. I want to learn everything I can, but I also don't want the "need to learn everything" to be a barrier to my starting to use the razor. Here are my questions:

1: Is this a blade worth putting the effort into getting cleaned up and honed?

2: Do I try to hone the blade again and clean it up? Or, being new, am I better to send it off to be honed/restored?

3: Do I need to do anything to "restore" a strop that has been out of use for 40+ years?

4: What are "absolute musts/tips" that I should know before I start my first shave?

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds, and to everyone who has contributed to these forums that have already taught me so much!

Dubl Ducks are wonderful razors. I own 2 of them.
They are definitely worth having restored and honed by a professional. When you get it back don’t strop it. Just lather up and shave. You will then have a base line what a truly shave ready edge feels like.
You might want to practice honing with a cheap strop and butter knife so you don’t cut your strop or roll the edge of your newly restored dubl duck.
Actually having looked closely at your strop you might use it for learning and invest in a better one to use with your duck.

 

[trentr]

1. YES! I do not know much about straights yet myself, but they are all worth it LOL.
2. Several routes lead to the same place, but it is usually recommended to not learn shaving and sharpening at the same time as you will not know which you are needing to work on/adjust. A. Send to reputable person to hone. There will be several members here offer there help I am sure. B. Spend~$40ish dollars on a decent shave ready razor to learn to shave with and know what an edge feels like and then start playing with your heirloom. Sure would not want to drop it, bang it on the sink/faucet, or some other damaging mistake before you get your "sea legs"
3. No idea on the strop
4. Do not rush. Take your time. Enjoy the process. Do not get discouraged. It will come in little "revelations" and you will get there eventually but it does not happen overnight or with 3 shaves.

Congrats, that is a great razor with some family history. Very special indeed.

 

[2bit_collie]

1) No experience with this razor, I believe others have spoken well of the duBLduck satinedge.
2) Send it off to someone to hone that has an established reputation for honing razors. This gives you a reference for when you try your own honing. There is enough of a learning curve to straight shaving, why make it worse by throwing in edge quality as another variable? I also came to straight razor honing with a lot of experience in knife honing. It is noticeably different. In some ways easier, in some ways harder. But you are looking for a much higher level of refinement - so even if you have a full kit of knife honing gear, you may find that that you will need some new stuff to get a superior razor edge. If this knife has sentimental value, you may want to buy a Gold Dollar or a beater off of eBay to practice honing on.
3) I will pass on the strop question - there is a strop section to B&B where people discuss strop restoration.
4) There are lots of tips people can give on how to shave well, with only 6 months experience, I won’t claim to be expert. But must-haves include A) a true shave-ready razor and B) a usable strop, at least a leather one (views differ on the value of linen/cloth) because you need to strop after every shave.

 

[Eastcoast30]

I have read that the satinedge is the best of the dublducks. I would send it out for professional honing. With someone else to hone the edge for you, you are left with the task of learning to strop. Your strop is well used, but it will not damage your razor. Usually, those new to stropping will nick and cut the strop. So work with the strop you have until you can strop without cutting the strop. Once you have learned to strop without destroying the strop, you can invest in a good strop.

 

[xuzxuz]

Just shave with it!
Maybe it's still good to go!

If not, you will have a good story to tell your grandchildren - now listen here kids. Back in my days, we didn't have no stinkin' plasma razors. We shaved with broken glasses and dull razors and ate raw eggs and flours for breakfast. Walked a real fifteen miles to school at the crack of the dawn every morn, 'cept for the Lord's Day.

 

[bluesman 7]

First of all welcome to the forum and straight razor shaving.

If you post your general location there may be someone in your area that can help you out. Of course with covid, maybe doing everything by mail makes the most sense anyway.

Hang out here for a few days and keep reading, someone will be along to help you with honing your razor. The Double Duck Satin edge is a nice razor, but you're not going to retire on it. Most of its value to you will be sentimental IMO.

 

[tl_smurf]

From the little I know of straight razors, that is a very nice razor and certainly worth cleaning and honing by someone who knows what they are doing, not by yourself. The straight shavers will be along soon with some better advice. Welcome to the forum

Thanks for my official welcome to the forum, I'm excited to be a part, and hopefully contribute someday!

First of all welcome to the forum and straight razor shaving.

If you post your general location there may be someone in your area that can help you out. Of course with covid, maybe doing everything by mail makes the most sense anyway.

Hang out here for a few days and keep reading, someone will be along to help you with honing your razor. The Double Duck Satin edge is a nice razor, but you're not going to retire on it. Most of its value to you will be sentimental IMO.

My location is Southeaster Idaho/Northern Utah, thanks for the tip about finding people in my area... hopefully there will be people close who are willing to share their wisdom/experience! I'm really excited to get this honed and start shaving with it!

 

[tl_smurf]

Dubl Ducks are wonderful razors. I own 2 of them.
They are definitely worth having restored and honed by a professional. When you get it back don’t strop it. Just lather up and shave. You will then have a base line what a truly shave ready edge feels like.
You might want to practice honing with a cheap strop and butter knife so you don’t cut your strop or roll the edge of your newly restored dubl duck.
Actually having looked closely at your strop you might use it for learning and invest in a better one to use with your duck.

That's awesome to hear that my Dubl Duck is worth the effort investment to restore/hone, and that's great advice with just shaving with it when it arrives. I tried shaving with mine before i did research into all of this... not a great experience to say the least. I'm VERY excited to contrast that with a "shave ready" blade.

Just shave with it!
Maybe it's still good to go!

If not, you will have a good story to tell your grandchildren - now listen here kids. Back in my days, we didn't have no stinkin' plasma razors. We shaved with broken glasses and dull razors and ate raw eggs and flours for breakfast. Walked a real fifteen miles to school at the crack of the dawn every morn, 'cept for the Lord's Day.

Your post combined with the fact that I tried shaving with this LONG before it was even close to shave ready makes me acutely aware of just how much of a novice I am! hahahaha.

 

[stone and strop]

I've been looking at getting into straight-razor shaving for years, but due to my financial situation (yay for college life), I have been hesitant to pull the trigger. I was visiting home a few days ago and my dad saw me looking at a razor online which started a conversation that eventually led him to show me the razor that his dad used back in the day. After talking, he decided to let me have the heirloom razor, strop, and brush (pictures attached). The razor is a bublduck satinedge, the strop is made by STOP BRAND, and the brush is an Ever-Ready The razor has some discoloration, but it looks more like patina than rust to my very untrained eyes. I know some dublducks are valuable/good blades, but I am still very new to all of this.


View attachment 1237908View attachment 1237909View attachment 1237905


I am beyond excited to start my journey into shaving with this razor and learning everything I can. My dad never used the razor, so he didn't have any advice or tips to pass on. He and I have both honed and sharpened knives as long as I can remember, but with this being an heirloom, I don't want to mess anything up. I tried honing it, and felt like it was a good edge, then I stropped it... It didn't come close to passing the HHT or the Tree-Topping test.

A google search led me to reddit and eventually brought me here. I've already spent hours reading different guides and threads and there is more information here than I could have possibly imagined. I want to learn everything I can, but I also don't want the "need to learn everything" to be a barrier to my starting to use the razor. Here are my questions:

1: Is this a blade worth putting the effort into getting cleaned up and honed?

2: Do I try to hone the blade again and clean it up? Or, being new, am I better to send it off to be honed/restored?

3: Do I need to do anything to "restore" a strop that has been out of use for 40+ years?

4: What are "absolute musts/tips" that I should know before I start my first shave?

Thanks in advance to anyone who responds, and to everyone who has contributed to these forums that have already taught me so much!

Really nice to have something of your Grandfather's to shave with.
After trying to hone it yourself I would send it out for honing before using.
The strop looks a little rough but could be a good one to learn on unless you want to save it for sentimental reasons.
The Brush should work fine.
Welcome to the forum.
Read and absorb for a bit, any questions- just ask.

 

[tl_smurf]

1. YES! I do not know much about straights yet myself, but they are all worth it LOL.
2. Several routes lead to the same place, but it is usually recommended to not learn shaving and sharpening at the same time as you will not know which you are needing to work on/adjust. A. Send to reputable person to hone. There will be several members here offer there help I am sure. B. Spend~$40ish dollars on a decent shave ready razor to learn to shave with and know what an edge feels like and then start playing with your heirloom. Sure would not want to drop it, bang it on the sink/faucet, or some other damaging mistake before you get your "sea legs"
3. No idea on the strop
4. Do not rush. Take your time. Enjoy the process. Do not get discouraged. It will come in little "revelations" and you will get there eventually but it does not happen overnight or with 3 shaves.

Congrats, that is a great razor with some family history. Very special indeed.

Thanks for the advice and answers to my questions. I thought about getting a shavette to get the technique down before I used the DublDuck. In my head, abilities between the two should be transferrable, is that the case? I like the idea of not hurting my DublDuck because I don't know what I am doing!

1) No experience with this razor, I believe others have spoken well of the duBLduck satinedge.
2) Send it off to someone to hone that has an established reputation for honing razors. This gives you a reference for when you try your own honing. There is enough of a learning curve to straight shaving, why make it worse by throwing in edge quality as another variable? I also came to straight razor honing with a lot of experience in knife honing. It is noticeably different. In some ways easier, in some ways harder. But you are looking for a much higher level of refinement - so even if you have a full kit of knife honing gear, you may find that that you will need some new stuff to get a superior razor edge. If this knife has sentimental value, you may want to buy a Gold Dollar or a beater off of eBay to practice honing on.
3) I will pass on the strop question - there is a strop section to B&B where people discuss strop restoration.
4) There are lots of tips people can give on how to shave well, with only 6 months experience, I won’t claim to be expert. But must-haves include A) a true shave-ready razor and B) a usable strop, at least a leather one (views differ on the value of linen/cloth) because you need to strop after every shave.

Thanks for the information, and I will for sure check out the strop section on here, I hadn't seen that yet.

 

[McBlade]

IMO the Feather AC style shavettes (the ones that take 50mm AC blades) feels very like shaving with a straight. What you learn with this will definitely transfer over. The Feathers are quite expensive. These clones are fantastic little shavers. Some AC blades can be a bit sharp too for the first few shaves. I'd recommend Schick Proline or Kai Captain Mild to start with.

I'd caution against shavettes which take half a DE blade. They're far too sharp and extremely unforgiving, at least in my experience.

If you want to learn to hone, don't do it on an heirloom razor Try a Gold Dollar or an ebay bargain which looks salvageable (ie it isn't heavily pitted with rust).

 

[Biltong & Boerewors]

The razor seems to be in excellent condition for it's age. No active rust, nice even hone wear showing that the previous owner took good care of it. If it was mine, I would gently polish it with some metal polish, just to clean it, not aiming for making it look like new. A drop of oil, whether sewing machine oil, mineral oil or just plain engine oil on the pivot, just in case there is some rustiness hiding under the scales.

I would strongly advise against having a go at honing it yourself. If you don't have experience, chances are you are going to cause damage that would spoil it. Send it out to someone that knows their stuff. if you want to develop the skill, practise on a Gold Dollar until you get it right.

The strop, I would keep for sentimental reasons, maybe carefully apply some ( very little at a time, just a few drops on your hand) neat's-foot oil to stop it from drying out any further. Get a cheap strop, you are going to nick it, and upgrade later when you have confidence that you can do it right.

The brush should be ready to go.

 

[Sukeroku]

You have an heirloom straight razor, strop and brush from your grandfather.
Sooooo jealous! Even if it wasn't a bublduck satinedge,I would put the
time, money, and effort to restore the SR. You might need to reknot that brush
as well and spend some time restoring that strop (vintage cordovan!)
All worth your effort!

 

[camoloc]

welcome to the SR world. own one dubl duck Dwarf. indeed nice blades.

honing a razor is a whole different ballgame compared to knife world. alot more stone or other mediums than one would initially think.

send her off to get honed properly.

or

I'm just hitting a year mark in April. if you live in the US, i will offer to hone free of charge. why would a crazy man offer this for free? i like honing and all my stuff is in order. all you would need to decide upon would be final finish (balsa/diamond, Ark, Cnat, Jnat, Jasper, etc.)

camo

 

[trentr]

welcome to the SR world. own one dubl duck Dwarf. indeed nice blades.

honing a razor is a whole different ballgame compared to knife world. alot more stone or other mediums than one would initially think.

send her off to get honed properly.

or

I'm just hitting a year mark in April. if you live in the US, i will offer to hone free of charge. why would a crazy man offer this for free? i like honing and all my stuff is in order. all you would need to decide upon would be final finish (balsa/diamond, Ark, Cnat, Jnat, Jasper, etc.)

camo

There we go. Thank you kind sir.

I would love to offer to do it, but having honed only a few razors and recently being fed humble pie by one.....I am not about to take a risk on someone's heirloom LOL However my $2.50 union cutlery took perhaps the best edge I have ever created last night. More consistency of that and I can, too, help others with their newly acquired treasures.

Thank you again.

 

[trentr]

Thanks for the advice and answers to my questions. I thought about getting a shavette to get the technique down before I used the DublDuck. In my head, abilities between the two should be transferrable, is that the case? I like the idea of not hurting my DublDuck because I don't know what I am doing!

Transferable, yes. Identical...arguably not. But many start with a shavette. I did. I much prefer a honed blade as opposed to disposable, but that is neither here nor there. A shavette would be a VERY cheap way to get your feet wet and they will provide a very nice shave in the mean time.

 

[Doc226]

Congratulations on the family heirloom.

I would NOT learn to hone on that razor, it is easy to hone but also easy to mess up. DD are thinly ground and you can cause a frown in no time flat. You can pick up a GD or better yet a ZY razor and learn to hone on those.

I would also pick up a cheap strop, most new folks tend to nick if not outright cut a strop, your strop may not work well as it might de dried out but it is worth keeping for the sentimental value.

The brush is fine to use, take care of it as you would any other brush

 

[Acmemfg]

+1
Sage advice from Doc.
Strops can be cleaned and reconditioned. I got this one a while back which was horribly dry and caked up with all sorts of nasty stuff. You can see how much of it was scrubbed off; this WAS a clean towel. Cleaned it up with some saddle soap. Works just fine now. May hit it with some neatsfoot oil later. we shall see.

Before...no bueno.