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[Monkeyboab]

I've been wet shaving for well over a year now and have more than my fair share of DE's, R41, futur to name a couple. I get great shaves but I'm wanting to learn something new. I've been using a shavette recently after returning to it having butchered myself with it about a year ago. The recent shaves have been good with no blood. I've been waiting to dabble with straight for a long time and have shaved with a Kropp a few times but I feel it's never been sharp enough and it's small maybe 4/8? I bought several GD's with the plan to sort them out but this has never happened. Trying to hone the Kropp on films sitting on top of a 1k stone has failed and I have been un able to find any granite or marble to sit the films on. At the minute I'm at a bit of a loss. I'm confident in shaving and keen to learn more on straights but just finding it really difficult to get a shaving edge onto a razor. I'm not exactly flush just now with Christmas and a third baby on the way so I can't afford to splash out on expensive stones if I could stick to films it would be great as I have two sets of film to use. I'm in the UK so most of the great stuff in the US is out of my grasp. Thanks for any advice.

Rob

 

[Anonymous]

Send your razors out to be honed by a professional. The most important part of honing is getting a good bevel set; if you don’t mess anything up then any honing you do after that is really just touching up the edge. The problem is that getting a good bevel established is very difficult for a beginner, especially one who doesn't know what a shave ready edge is supposed to feel like. By sending it out to a professional for the first honing you know it has a good edge on it and will only need occasional touchups to keep it going. You should take a look at whippeddog for affordable honing services, razor maintenance equipment, and honing solutions.

Leather and pasted balsa strop: http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/poor-man-strop-kit

Norton hone set: http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/norton-hone-set-a0727p

Chinese 12k: http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/chinese-12k-barbers-hone

Micro Abrasive hone (the most affordable and probably the best honing solution for a beginner): http://www.whippeddog.com/products/view/micro-abrasive-hone-b0502a

Honing service: http://www.whippeddog.com/services/view/honing

 

[Kentos]

When honing the most important first step is to establish that initial bevel. You have a 1k, so take the razor to it with light moderate pressure and don't stop until it will easily catch and cut arm/leg hair. Then move on to finer media when it does. Moving on before it cuts is futile.

Good luck! It is difficult to get a straight as sharp as a shavette, but you can get pretty close with practice

 

[Seraphim]

Just get a piece of thick glass to use as a base for your films. That's what I started out with.

It will result in an edge that's...well...as smooth as glass!