Getting my new straight razor to a shave-ready state

[Iainmcm]

Hi All,
I'm a newbie to this and have rapidly (and happily) fallen into the rabbit hole. I have been using a Feather Artist Club in order to refine and improve my shaving technique, and that is going well. So I then bought a relatively basic Thiers Issard straight and had someone hone it for me. It was okay but not sharp enough to get through by thick stubble, so I've followed up by buying two desktop 3 x 8 strops with 10k and 30k grit diamond compound spray on them.

I stropped the crap out of the blade last night using both desktop strops (and found it extremely relaxing and therapeutic), however I am still not confident that the blade will be at the level of a feather artist injector blade. The blade is 'catching' the hairs on my arm and chest when I do that test, but it's not able to pass the hanging hair test, and until I can pass that one then there's no point in attempting to use it on my face as my facial hair seems to be pretty aggressive on blades. Would finishing things off with an untreated leather hanging strop do the trick do you think? Or might the blade itself just not be very good?

Can any one pls advise me on what I can do to the razor to get it that bit further in terms of sharpness so that it's something that I can confidently shave with?

Thanks very much.

 

[Robert Anderson]

Very few razors are as sharp as AC blades in my opinion. If you want a really sharp straight razor, read the Newbie Honing Compendium and thoroughly study "The Method". Newbie Honing Compendium - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/newbie-honing-compendium.545370/

A Method edge can be very close to the AC blades.

 

[Straight up]

Iainmcm I also use a TI basic razor which I picked up off the Bay (is your like this?).

It came damaged so I restored it then sharpened it. I can say that the razor is top notch, so if it's not getting through thick stubble you better have a look at the honing it received.

 

[rbscebu]

I also recommend "The Method" particularly for someone who is starting out in SR honing.

Start with lapping films and finish with diamond pasted balsa strop. Follow "The Method" EXACTLY! It worked for me on my second attempt and now I am getting close to, or possibly better than, a Feather edge sharpness on my SR's.

 

[SliceOfLife]

Yes, you need an unpasted leather strop.

You CAN NOT get a decent shave with a straight without stropping it.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I have never got my straight as sharp as a Feather AC blade which are the sharpest I have ever used. I found that before every shave my straight edge would benefit from 20 laps on the flax backing of my hanging leather strop, followed by 50 laps on the leather side; I never used any pastes. It was that procedure before every shave that got the edge really shave ready and also extended the time between honings.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Yes of course you need a regular hanging strop. A CLEAN leather hanging strop and not merely a strop-shaped object from China or Pakistan. Unfortunately for a beginner the strop is often the most expansive piece of equipment and the one most vulnerable to beginner blunders. So you will be in the paradoxical situation of needing a strop of some decent quality for effectiveness, but also one of low cost and expendability due to the very high risk of mortal damage to the strop as you learn to use it. I suggest you stay in the $30 to $50 range for your first strop and always verify before you buy.

You will need to strop your razor on your CLEAN hanging strop before every shave. This is pretty important.

Was your razor honed by a member here, or maybe a member of another forum? Or was it just some guy who said he could hone your razor? Many talk the talk but few can walk the walk, and those are all forum members or know to the forums. Part of the community. Try again, this time try to find a forum member with at least several hundred posts. Why? Simple. If you had spent a few years building up a reputation, would you blow it by saying you can make good edges when you can NOT? Think about it.

Don't try to do it yourself just yet. You need to learn to shave first and you can't learn to shave without a sharp razor. You will not be able to evaluate your results. Nor will you be able to learn to make your own razor sharp until you have learned to shave. A catch-22 that is best resolved by either buying a known shave ready razor made so and sold by someone who is known and respected in a forum, or by sending it out to be honed by such a honemeister.

Give your 8x3 bench strops a miss. Learn to shave (with a sharp razor) and of course learn to strop. Get that out of the way. THEN learn to hone. I strongly suggest The Method, as laid out in the Newbie Honing Compendium. It is the only way known that you as a beginner can hope to create a better than professional edge on your first or second attempt. There is no other. And it will cost you less than $200 altogether for everything you need to hone many dozens of razors. This includes edge repair and even light regrinding, setting tthe bevel, the progression, the finish, and the post-finish and also the edge maintenance. The reason that it works so well and so quickly into your honing adventure is that you don't have to learn anything. It takes an awfully long time to learn to hone. The Method is not a way to learn to hone. Not learning at all. It is DOING. You simply follow the instructions, like painting by numbers. Or building a model airplate with the pieces already made, shaped, and finished for you so all you have to do is glue them together according to the instructions. It is a cookbook recipe as opposed to a year in some highbrow culinary institute. It is simply following instructions and reaping the reward that the other guys have to earn by learning through interminable trial and error. The Method was put together partly as the way to the sharpest possible edge, and partly as a way to create an incredible edge cheaply, and also as a way that an utter newbie to honing can get his razor science fiction sharp right away instead of after months of trying and practicing and trying different bits of advice and example. You don't have to follow the method but if you don't you will be in the same boat as all the other poor novices suffering through crappy shaves from razors poorly honed by their own hands, after buying hundreds of dollars worth of rocks only to find out that they were the wrong ones.

READ the Newbie Honing COmpendium beginning to end, and likewise all the threads referenced and linked therein. ALL your questions are already answered there.

So, just testing you here. What is your next move?

 

[EclipseRedRing]

A top post from @Slash McCoy - really sound advice

 

[BigJ]

Very few razors are as sharp as AC blades in my opinion. If you want a really sharp straight razor, read the Newbie Honing Compendium and thoroughly study "The Method". Newbie Honing Compendium - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/newbie-honing-compendium.545370/

A Method edge can be very close to the AC blades.

+1! Great reference! Plus, you should check with the guys on the straights forums!

 

[Iainmcm]

Yes of course you need a regular hanging strop. A CLEAN leather hanging strop and not merely a strop-shaped object from China or Pakistan. Unfortunately for a beginner the strop is often the most expansive piece of equipment and the one most vulnerable to beginner blunders. So you will be in the paradoxical situation of needing a strop of some decent quality for effectiveness, but also one of low cost and expendability due to the very high risk of mortal damage to the strop as you learn to use it. I suggest you stay in the $30 to $50 range for your first strop and always verify before you buy.

You will need to strop your razor on your CLEAN hanging strop before every shave. This is pretty important.

Was your razor honed by a member here, or maybe a member of another forum? Or was it just some guy who said he could hone your razor? Many talk the talk but few can walk the walk, and those are all forum members or know to the forums. Part of the community. Try again, this time try to find a forum member with at least several hundred posts. Why? Simple. If you had spent a few years building up a reputation, would you blow it by saying you can make good edges when you can NOT? Think about it.

Don't try to do it yourself just yet. You need to learn to shave first and you can't learn to shave without a sharp razor. You will not be able to evaluate your results. Nor will you be able to learn to make your own razor sharp until you have learned to shave. A catch-22 that is best resolved by either buying a known shave ready razor made so and sold by someone who is known and respected in a forum, or by sending it out to be honed by such a honemeister.

Give your 8x3 bench strops a miss. Learn to shave (with a sharp razor) and of course learn to strop. Get that out of the way. THEN learn to hone. I strongly suggest The Method, as laid out in the Newbie Honing Compendium. It is the only way known that you as a beginner can hope to create a better than professional edge on your first or second attempt. There is no other. And it will cost you less than $200 altogether for everything you need to hone many dozens of razors. This includes edge repair and even light regrinding, setting tthe bevel, the progression, the finish, and the post-finish and also the edge maintenance. The reason that it works so well and so quickly into your honing adventure is that you don't have to learn anything. It takes an awfully long time to learn to hone. The Method is not a way to learn to hone. Not learning at all. It is DOING. You simply follow the instructions, like painting by numbers. Or building a model airplate with the pieces already made, shaped, and finished for you so all you have to do is glue them together according to the instructions. It is a cookbook recipe as opposed to a year in some highbrow culinary institute. It is simply following instructions and reaping the reward that the other guys have to earn by learning through interminable trial and error. The Method was put together partly as the way to the sharpest possible edge, and partly as a way to create an incredible edge cheaply, and also as a way that an utter newbie to honing can get his razor science fiction sharp right away instead of after months of trying and practicing and trying different bits of advice and example. You don't have to follow the method but if you don't you will be in the same boat as all the other poor novices suffering through crappy shaves from razors poorly honed by their own hands, after buying hundreds of dollars worth of rocks only to find out that they were the wrong ones.

READ the Newbie Honing COmpendium beginning to end, and likewise all the threads referenced and linked therein. ALL your questions are already answered there.

So, just testing you here. What is your next move?

Thanks so much for your guidance. My next steps are:
- Continue to refine my technique for shaving with my Feather blades and razor
- get a decent unpasted leather hanging strop
- then go back and do the burr method to hone my straight. I have 1k, 3k, 5k and 6k stones at home (bought but never properly used). Can you recommend if one of these will be best for the burr method? or should i work my way up and finish on the 8k?

 

[rbscebu]

My suggestion is that you first check the existing bevel on your TI. Use a black marker pen and ink the bevel both sides. Lap your 6k stone perfectly flat and then very lightly lap the blade 3 or 4 times on each side on your 6k. By observing what ink is removed from the bevel will give you a good understanding of how the bevel is now. From there you can plan on what you may need to do with your honing of the SR.

If a reset of the bevel is required, I would do it all on the 1k stone. Then polish the bevel using your 3k followed by your 6k. Probably no need to use your 5k. From 6k, move on to a 10k or 12k.

Your should be able to shave with reasonable comfort off the 10k or 12k but if you want to go further, progress through the 0.5um (50k), 0.25um (100k) and 0.1um (200k) diamond pasted balsa strops.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Thanks so much for your guidance. My next steps are:
- Continue to refine my technique for shaving with my Feather blades and razor
- get a decent unpasted leather hanging strop
- then go back and do the burr method to hone my straight. I have 1k, 3k, 5k and 6k stones at home (bought but never properly used). Can you recommend if one of these will be best for the burr method? or should i work my way up and finish on the 8k?

No, don't do any honing yet. Not until you have been shaving for a while with a known shave ready straight razor. Shavettes don't count.

The burr method is ONLY a method for setting the bevel. And so, it would not be used with any stone finer than about 2k, generally. 600 to 1k is more common as a bevel setter.

I have never heard of any premium stone available in 6k. Are these King, Bear Moo, Sharp Pebble, or no-name Chinese stones? I am really hesitant to suggest that you touch your razor to them. Your results may allow a "decent" shave, but you will wonder what all the fuss is about because their performance will be underwhelming.

Read. All your answers are already out there, believe me. Read the entire Newbie Honing Compendium. Start shaving with a shave ready razor. When it gets dull, touch up the edge on your finisher. That is your gateway drug into honing. When you have done that a few times, then pick up an old beater and set the bevel, run your progression to the finish, and then do your post finish edge improvement with the pasted balsa progression. From there, maintain that edge with the .1u balsa. This is all greek to you now but read the entire thread and sub threads and you will understand. It is going to take you a few weeks, probably. Wouldn't hurt to read everything again, after that. If you are in a hurry, send your TI out for honing.

I know you don't want to hear some of this. And my way is not the only way. But it is the cheapest, quickest, and sharpest way, and it only works if you can and will follow directions. Taking shortcuts? No law against that. But The Method only works if you do everything correctly. If you want to freestyle, you aren't using The Method and you may as well use another method. Or no particular method at all.

Let me clarify, about your Feather. A shavette is NOT a straight razor. It is sort of shaped like one, and is held like one and in many ways it is used like one. But it is NOT one. Not the same. There is absolutely nothing wrong with shaving with a shavette, but you won't be honing a shavette, will you? You want to hone a straight razor. So, you need to learn to shave with a straight razor and learn how to recognize that an edge is or is not shave ready, and have a baseline for comparison. If you want to shave with your Feather, that's cool. They can deliver a very good shave. If you want to shave with a straight razor, and then start honing your own straight razor, set the shavette aside for now.

If you don't want to do it this way, then don't. If you want to freestyle, then do so. If after a few months you are not satisfied with your results, you already know what to do.

 

[Eastcoast30]

I have been listening to Slash McC and the others here. You need to read what they say - at least twice. Look for videos on youtube by Slash McC, Keith Johnson, and Doc 226 for starters. As you start honing, go back to those materials. You get a better understanding of what they are saying and what the videos are showing after you have honed for a bit.

Don't hone a $200 razor. Buy some of the cheaper ones on ebay to practice with. They will have bad grinds, small chips, twists and a lot of poor honing from previous owners. But you can use those to practice your technique and to evaluate the results you get. Once you get one of those beaters shave-ready, you will be on the way. It took me a few weeks to get a razor shave ready. And I am still a noob and definitely nowhere near an accomplished honer.

 

[Iainmcm]

No, don't do any honing yet. Not until you have been shaving for a while with a known shave ready straight razor. Shavettes don't count.

The burr method is ONLY a method for setting the bevel. And so, it would not be used with any stone finer than about 2k, generally. 600 to 1k is more common as a bevel setter.

I have never heard of any premium stone available in 6k. Are these King, Bear Moo, Sharp Pebble, or no-name Chinese stones? I am really hesitant to suggest that you touch your razor to them. Your results may allow a "decent" shave, but you will wonder what all the fuss is about because their performance will be underwhelming.

Read. All your answers are already out there, believe me. Read the entire Newbie Honing Compendium. Start shaving with a shave ready razor. When it gets dull, touch up the edge on your finisher. That is your gateway drug into honing. When you have done that a few times, then pick up an old beater and set the bevel, run your progression to the finish, and then do your post finish edge improvement with the pasted balsa progression. From there, maintain that edge with the .1u balsa. This is all greek to you now but read the entire thread and sub threads and you will understand. It is going to take you a few weeks, probably. Wouldn't hurt to read everything again, after that. If you are in a hurry, send your TI out for honing.

I know you don't want to hear some of this. And my way is not the only way. But it is the cheapest, quickest, and sharpest way, and it only works if you can and will follow directions. Taking shortcuts? No law against that. But The Method only works if you do everything correctly. If you want to freestyle, you aren't using The Method and you may as well use another method. Or no particular method at all.

Let me clarify, about your Feather. A shavette is NOT a straight razor. It is sort of shaped like one, and is held like one and in many ways it is used like one. But it is NOT one. Not the same. There is absolutely nothing wrong with shaving with a shavette, but you won't be honing a shavette, will you? You want to hone a straight razor. So, you need to learn to shave with a straight razor and learn how to recognize that an edge is or is not shave ready, and have a baseline for comparison. If you want to shave with your Feather, that's cool. They can deliver a very good shave. If you want to shave with a straight razor, and then start honing your own straight razor, set the shavette aside for now.

If you don't want to do it this way, then don't. If you want to freestyle, then do so. If after a few months you are not satisfied with your results, you already know what to do.

Thanks again so much for your advice. With the equipment I have to hand (while I wait on the new strop arriving from Amazon), I took the following steps:
- Set the bevel on a 1,000 stone using the burr method
- further worked it up to 2,000, then 5,000 and on to an 8,000 stone I bought in Tokyo a long time ago
- used the two desktop strops with 10k and 30k diamond spray and then....

I got the bloody thing to pass the hanging hair test

I've shaved a few times with it and am still working on my technique, but it's doing the job and giving me a very close shave. I suspect I still need to get better shaving soap etc. with a proper scuttle, but baby-ish steps. It's taking quite a lot of willpower to not go out and splurge on a cracking new razor, but that will come with time and competence I think