from disposable blades to fixed blade

[etilic_knight]

Hello, from Italia
I am an happy user of a straight razor with disposable blades:
this is me using it... I put the video so you can understand which kind of razor I'm talking about.


those razors using half of the blade for DE razors. I would like to buy a fix blade straight razor, but there are few things still stopping me:

Straight razors with fixed blade are quite expensive and I'm worried about their maintenance.

• restoring
  What happens if one of these razors falls on the floor or on the edge of the sink?
  Is it possible to restore it?
• honing
  How often is it necessary to hone its blade?
• stropping
  What happens if I forget to strop before shaving?
• use cycle
  I have read that in the past men had several razors to cycle their use because the blade needs to rest after a shave or something like that... is it still necessary?

PS: the video is quite old, so please have mercy. Now I don't use anymore the canned foam.

 

[MasterP]

Welcome to B&B.

Thank God, you don't use canned shave foam anymore. The lather seems very thin. You need to have good cream like in these videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIsj58fqVjY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7Aj9vwrtc

This will provide excellent lubrication, protection for your skin.

You seem like you have a tough beard, so I don't think the fixed blade staright razor is for you. But I know Filarmonica makes one for tough beard.

But otherwise, no straight razor will be sharper than a Double edge blade or even as sharp as a double edge blade. I bought one fixed blade and sadly, I had to sell it because I have a tough beard.
But now, I think I should try the disposable blade straight razor.

I am sure you can get one restored, but will cost $$, as far as honig and stropping will depend on how tough your beard is. I really shouldnt comment on this since I only tried it a few times.

 

[etilic_knight]

You seem like you have a tough beard, so I don't think the fixed blade staright razor is for you. But I know Filarmonica makes one for tough beard.

Oh I didn't have this information on hand. I thought fixed blade would only be better.

But otherwise, no straight razor will be sharper than a Double edge blade or even as sharp as a double edge blade. I bought one fixed blade and sadly, I had to sell it because I have a tough beard.

Uhmmmm now that I'm thinking, sometimes it happens that I have to swap the blade with a new one when I am half way shaved because it begins to tear the beard instead of cutting it, specially if it is long as in the video.

But now, I think I should try the disposable blade straight razor.

I am sure you can get one restored, but will cost $$, as far as honig and stropping will depend on how tough your beard is. I really shouldnt comment on this since I only tried it a few times.

I'll wait for more answers because I think it should be possible to shave a tough beard with fixed blade razors... otherwise what would people have done before other kind of razors were invented? But what are you using right now, if you had to sell your straight razor?

 

[MasterP]

Vintage scent has/had Filarmonica Especial Para Barba Duras, which are for tough beards:
http://vintagescent.com/straight-razors-c-9
But I have not used it, so I can't comment.
I had a Dovo Perlex 5/8 stainless steel, but I sold it. I am using Merkur Progress Long now, no straights, but will probably try the razor type you have. I am using Gillette Platnium Blades, Iridium Super, they seem to slice through my beard better than other blades. If the blades pull your hair, its time to get rid of it or switch to another brand. Not all baldes are equal.

Now keep in mind beard prep is very important, softening your beard will help the blades cut it easier and will give you a closer shave.

 

[Phoenix_one]

This is not an expensive hobby if you are willing to compromise.

You can get a vintage razor at a very low price but that will perform at the level of a new razor.

Inquire at the B/S/T forum, look at ebay (carefully), local antique stores, etc...

You do not need to spend money on hones, ask here in the forums and you will find someone willing to sharpen your blade at a nominal fee (or no fee!), just need to acquire a very good new strop (Tony Miller, yes I'm bias) or a vintage strop in good condition and you are good to go.

With a good strop and proper care you only need to hone your razor maybe every 6 months.

 

[Doc4]

• restoring
  What happens if one of these razors falls on the floor or on the edge of the sink?
  Is it possible to restore it?
• honing
  How often is it necessary to hone its blade?
• stropping
  What happens if I forget to strop before shaving?
• use cycle
  I have read that in the past men had several razors to cycle their use because the blade needs to rest after a shave or something like that... is it still necessary?

.

Welcome to B&B!!

#1 ... if you drop your razor, it could come out unscathed, it could get some minor damage, or the damage could be serious. Can it be restored? Maybe. If and when that ever happens (oh, and don't try to catch a falling straight razor in mid-drop ... unless you really don't need that hand much anymore!) then you can show us pictures of the actual damage and we'll see ...

#2 ... the frequency of honing ... well, it depends. It depends on the hardness/softness of the steel of the individual razor, on your whiskers, and on your stropping techniques. One month? Six months? More? Less? It's a mystery.

#3 ... forget to strop? You will receive a poorer shave. It will still be "okay", but not as good as usual. Forget to strop twice in a row, and it's even worse. But really, I can't see a straight razor shaver forgetting to strop.

#4 ... use cycle ... resting a razor ... Nope, that's not true. That's just an excuse to buy more razors, or more likely a story cooked up by razor makers to sell more razors.

 

[etilic_knight]

This is not an expensive hobby if you are willing to compromise.

You can get a vintage razor at a very low price but that will perform at the level of a new razor.

Inquire at the B/S/T forum, look at ebay (carefully), local antique stores, etc...

I'd rather try and build one myself than buying a razor which have been used for years on someone else.

By the way, does someone know the kind of steel which is good to build a straight razor? I could look around, since in my area there are many carpenters. I could heat the steel, reduce its width with a hammer, sharpen it with a grindstone machine.

You do not need to spend money on hones, ask here in the forums and you will find someone willing to sharpen your blade at a nominal fee (or no fee!), just need to acquire a very good new strop (Tony Miller, yes I'm bias) or a vintage strop in good condition and you are good to go.

This would be very good, but I live thousands of kilometers away from you guys. I live in Italia.

With a good strop and proper care you only need to hone your razor maybe every 6 months.

Ok...

 

[Phoenix_one]

I'd rather try and build one myself than buying a razor which have been used for years on someone else.

By the way, does someone know the kind of steel which is good to build a straight razor? I could look around, since in my area there are many carpenters. I could heat the steel, reduce its width with a hammer, sharpen it with a grindstone machine.

You did not made us aware that you possessed that kind of skill or equipment.

If you worry about germs, you can always properly desinfect steel.

FYI, A quality vintage blade represents craftmanship that is all but gone, there only a handful comercial razor makers in the market and the few individuals that cater the custom razor clientele.

If you wish to build a razor as a proyect then I sugest that you research in the Blacksmith forums.

The following information is from Wikipedia.
________________________________________________________________
Forging
The first step is to clean the blank using a heavy forge. The material used for open razors is steel with a minimum carbon content of 0.6%. This percentage of carbon content ensures optimum hardness, flexibility and resistance to wear. Following the forging stage, a hole is drilled in the tang at the pivot point. This is a crucial step, since after the steel hardening process it would be impossible to drill. This process requires great skill.

Hardening and tempering

The steel is hardened through a special process where the forged steel blade is heated up to approximately 1,300 °C (degrees Celsius). This heating enables fast and uniform heating of the steel at the optimum temperature for maximum hardness. The tempering stage follows the hardening process, where the blade is heated in a bath of oil at a temperature between 200 °C - 400 °C. Tempering imparts the steel its flexibility and toughness according to the phase diagrams for steel.
________________________________________________________________
I sincerly wish you luck on your endeavors.

 

[StillShaving]

Nice video, thanks for sharing. You have a good touch after laying the blade down for so long.

The one thing I found shocking was how quickly you started the shave after lathering up. Maybe you had taken a shower beforehand which negates much of my following comment, but regardless I think you need a better wet shaving lather, something that takes a couple of minutes of time in order to better soften the whiskers. So that you don't feel the need to switch blades mid-shave.