“Jump on in, the Water’s Fine -- newbie-only straight razor PIF
The intended audience for this PIF is those fellas who have some DE experience, and thus will have a brush and their software supplies and know how to make lather, etc., and who are curious about straight shaving but never tried it because the gear selection (and cost) seemed daunting or confusing. I want to “make it happen” for one of you, so I put together this “Jump on in, the Water’s Fine” PIF so someone who otherwise wouldn’t can give this a go.
Because of the shipping costs, this is restricted to CONUS (I’m sorry!).
There are several parts to this PIF -- items, service, and a condition.
Items:
1. One ZY430 razor (bottom in the pic). I’ve slimmed the spine so that the bevel angle is a decent 18 degrees. It has its bevel set on a Japanese waterstone (Arashiyama 1K), then honed through mid-range on lapping films, and finished on a JNAT (Ozuku Kiita with tomonagura). It’s not elegant as I do not have the tools or skills to do major metal reshaping of the spine, but it shaves as well as any of my other razors.
2. A second razor, a vintage Robeson Shuredge 5/8 (top in the pic). This has been honed too: bevel set on the waterstone, mid-range on a Belgian coticule, and finished on the JNAT with tomonagura. It shows some patina but shaves really well. Since it is a square point, I have muted the toe so it doesn’t nip you at first.
Both razors are shave-ready (I know because I shaved with them just a few days ago). After those test shaves, they were disinfected in Barbicide, stropped, and had a very light film of petroleum jelly applied to the blade. Do NOT strop either one before your first shave with that razor -- just wash the Vaseline off carefully with hot water and some tissue. Start stropping before the second shave.
3. A Poor Man’s Strop Kit from Whipped Dog. I have paid for this and arranged that, once I forward your mailing address to him, Larry will send the kit directly to you.
4. A few 3” wide strips of lapping film (3µ and 1µ) in case, down the road a bit, you want to try touch-ups on your own. All you’ll need to get started with that will be a piece of glass about 10” x 4” (a glass store will do this for a few dollars) or a marble tile (from a home improvement store).
Services:
I will hone both of these razors (but only these razors), as often as you need, for life (yours, mine, or the razors’
. All you have to do is cover postage both ways. Every week if you’re dulling one of them that often? Sure. The postage will add up for you, but I’ll happily do the honing. Note: I won’t promise to include major repairs if you drop the razor or chip the edge, but should it happen, email me with pictures and we’ll see what can be done.
And finally, ...
Condition:
I want this to PIF to be a starting point for someone to start and stick with straight shaving. So, my one condition is that if you end out not using these items, you will send the razors and (what’s left of?) the strop kit back to me, so that I can pass them on to someone who will use them. Who knows, you may discover straight shaving isn’t for you or you may go in whole hog and end out with 25 high-end razors and 6 strops and these PIF items end out at the back of your sock drawer. If something like that happens, please let me send them on to the next curious fella. Sound fair? Obviously, I can’t enforce this condition once the items are mailed, but we’re all honorable gentlemen here, right? :-D
The intended audience for this PIF is those fellas who have some DE experience, and thus will have a brush and their software supplies and know how to make lather, etc., and who are curious about straight shaving but never tried it because the gear selection (and cost) seemed daunting or confusing. I want to “make it happen” for one of you, so I put together this “Jump on in, the Water’s Fine” PIF so someone who otherwise wouldn’t can give this a go.
Because of the shipping costs, this is restricted to CONUS (I’m sorry!).
There are several parts to this PIF -- items, service, and a condition.
Items:
1. One ZY430 razor (bottom in the pic). I’ve slimmed the spine so that the bevel angle is a decent 18 degrees. It has its bevel set on a Japanese waterstone (Arashiyama 1K), then honed through mid-range on lapping films, and finished on a JNAT (Ozuku Kiita with tomonagura). It’s not elegant as I do not have the tools or skills to do major metal reshaping of the spine, but it shaves as well as any of my other razors.
2. A second razor, a vintage Robeson Shuredge 5/8 (top in the pic). This has been honed too: bevel set on the waterstone, mid-range on a Belgian coticule, and finished on the JNAT with tomonagura. It shows some patina but shaves really well. Since it is a square point, I have muted the toe so it doesn’t nip you at first.
Both razors are shave-ready (I know because I shaved with them just a few days ago). After those test shaves, they were disinfected in Barbicide, stropped, and had a very light film of petroleum jelly applied to the blade. Do NOT strop either one before your first shave with that razor -- just wash the Vaseline off carefully with hot water and some tissue. Start stropping before the second shave.
3. A Poor Man’s Strop Kit from Whipped Dog. I have paid for this and arranged that, once I forward your mailing address to him, Larry will send the kit directly to you.
4. A few 3” wide strips of lapping film (3µ and 1µ) in case, down the road a bit, you want to try touch-ups on your own. All you’ll need to get started with that will be a piece of glass about 10” x 4” (a glass store will do this for a few dollars) or a marble tile (from a home improvement store).
Services:
I will hone both of these razors (but only these razors), as often as you need, for life (yours, mine, or the razors’
. All you have to do is cover postage both ways. Every week if you’re dulling one of them that often? Sure. The postage will add up for you, but I’ll happily do the honing. Note: I won’t promise to include major repairs if you drop the razor or chip the edge, but should it happen, email me with pictures and we’ll see what can be done. And finally, ...
Condition:
I want this to PIF to be a starting point for someone to start and stick with straight shaving. So, my one condition is that if you end out not using these items, you will send the razors and (what’s left of?) the strop kit back to me, so that I can pass them on to someone who will use them. Who knows, you may discover straight shaving isn’t for you or you may go in whole hog and end out with 25 high-end razors and 6 strops and these PIF items end out at the back of your sock drawer. If something like that happens, please let me send them on to the next curious fella. Sound fair? Obviously, I can’t enforce this condition once the items are mailed, but we’re all honorable gentlemen here, right? :-D
