Feel the burn

[shavenoob]

I've been a long time DE user and wanted to try my hand at straight shaving. I picked up a used straight with a blade in excellent condition (a Wester Brothers De-Fi 34 Extra Hollow 5/8) and had it honed by Lynn at straightrazordesigns. It came back with a note to hone it before use, which I also did on a vintage strop. This may have been my undoing, because my first attempt at a shave resulted in it tearing hairs out rather than cutting them.

I'm still not sure whether straight shaving is for me, so I'm hesitant to invest in a new strop but I'm guessing that's what I'll need? Could I have ruined the hone by using a bad strop (leather was pliable, but old)?

Make me feel better about my bad first time.

 

[smalltank]

1. did you use pressure on your strop..just the weight of the blade is all you need
2. was your lather not too goopy or watery..has to be like whip cream
I spoke to a few new guys that got their razors from Lynn..2/3 razors went back him to be rehoned..they weren't honed well..lemme know if you do need your razor honed..ill do it for free..just pay shipping..assuming you live in the usa..im doing this for another guy now as well

ST

 

[Doc226]

It came back with a note to "hone" or "strop" before use? Should have been honed.

If you have trouble with it I can hone it for you for the price of shipping. I will also evaluate it before honing to see what I think about the edge.

Unless your stropping was horrible you should not ruin the edge.

 

[Arved]

I've been a long time DE user and wanted to try my hand at straight shaving. I picked up a used straight with a blade in excellent condition (a Wester Brothers De-Fi 34 Extra Hollow 5/8) and had it honed by Lynn at straightrazordesigns. It came back with a note to hone it before use.

***? You sent it to him to be honed, and it came back with a note saying to hone before use? What did he do it, then?

I spoke to a few new guys that got their razors from Lynn..2/3 razors went back him to be rehoned..they weren't honed well...

I'd say find a new honemeister!

 

[dakotaev]

There could be a couple of things going on.

1. You may have inadvertently dulled the razor with stropping, whether it was the strop or your stropping technique. The strop must be taught and very light to no pressure is required.
2. Technique - if your shaving technique is not right you can get the pulling sensation. This is the most common complaint amongst new straight shavers, practice is the only cure.
3. The razor was poorly honed. There are mixed accounts about Lynns honing but I think the opinion of the majority is that he knows what he's doing. Most likely the ones complaining are new shavers who don't have thier technique down.


While I wouldn't totally discount the razor's shave readiness, I would focus on your stropping and shaving technique before questioning the hardware. It is very common among new straight shavers to question the razor's sharpness before they fully learn how to use it to it's fullest potential. Keep experimenting with different angles while shaving, you should eventually get the one that feels right to you.

If you still have issues after giving it some more time, you might want to take smalltank up on his offer, to be honest you'll most likely get a better edge off an enthusiast shaver/honer than a fellow who has to hone thousands of razors.

Best of luck with the journey!

 

[shavenoob]

Ugh! My bad. The note said to "strop" the blade, not hone it. I have no reason to believe Lynn did anything other than a good job. I'll assume it's a combination of bad technique and bad stropping. I'll see if I can get better results with the strop I have, or pick up another one.

Thanks for the offer to rehone!

 

[Mr_Spiffy]

I just tried my first attempt at straight razor shaving, and had a similar feeling with my razor. The person I got it from said that he honed it, but it's definitely not sharp enough and doesn't pass the hanging hair test at all. I'm looking into honing film to get it nice and crisp. But if you don't want to attempt that yourself, just send it to someone who will do a good job for you. Smalltank offered to do it for free, which is a generous offer. I also hear Larry at Whipped Dog is excellent.