My Boyfriend's Straight Razor-Advice Needed!

[The Cupcake Panda]

Greetings and Salutations!

My boyfriend has a great straight razor he bought a few years ago, and spent a fair bit of money in the process of doing so. He lost his sharpening stones, and I thought I'd buy him a new one for Christmas.

Definitely not as easy as I anticipated!

I researched a fair bit about hones and stropes, but I really just do not know what to buy. He doesn't need to restore the blade, just sharpen it so he can use it again, and maintain it.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Tonimus]

I'm not a straight razor guy, but I would direct you here: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Straight_Razor_FAQs

The guide would suggest a barber's hone http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/Barber_hone and a regular strop.

 

[Krodor]

Welcome! What a fun gift!

How much you wanna spend? There are solutions between ~30-40 bucks to about, oh, 1500? More?

Do you think he likes natural rocks or synthetic?

Is this a surprise, or can you ask him some general guidance?

For about 150, you could go the DMT D8C + norton 4K/8k synthetic route. Google those terms, lots of stores online carry them.

Or for about the same cost, you could try the same DMT + coticule (a honing rock dug up from Belgium). If the latter, call up Jarrod here: http://thesuperiorshave.com/ and explain the situation...he can set you up personally.

If you want to spend less, and get just a nice finishing stone, try an eBay seller called "openrazor". He sometimes sells lapped Chinese 12k stones for 30-50 bucks that are nice, though he's in Poland, so might be a bit of lead time. There are other places, but he treated me well. Note that that rock will never be an all-around solution like the first two...it will only serve to bring back an already honed (but got dull through use) edge.

 

[tomjr]

good advice ^ , another way to go would be a nice barber hone, say a swaty or a 2 sided barber hone. they are available on ebay in nice condition but u must look around there a bit. tom

 

[blackman]

I would suggest you email Jarrod at thesuperiorshave.com and tell him what you told us. He can set you up with a single stone that can do everything. If you decide to get a coticule (the honing stones that he sells) tell him you need it lapped flat. If your boyfriend needs a strop as well, Jarrod can help you with that too.

 

[Wid]

Send it to get sharpened first then buy him a Coticule to maintain the edge. I'd be willing to sharpen it, just pay postage to and from.

 

[Timo]

When I first read the title all I saw was "My boyfriends straight" and I thought, well isn't that a good thing. LOL

 

[BakerAndBadger]

When I first read the title all I saw was "My boyfriends straight" and I thought, well isn't that a good thing. LOL

I saw the same as you and wondered which one of he regulars had a skeleton in his closet!

 

[Slash McCoy]

There is a solution that does not involve rubbing the razor against a bunch of rocks. It is called lapping film. It is sort of like a very high tech sandpaper that is normally used for polishing the ends of fiberoptic communications cables. We use it for honing our razors. Here is a thread. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/283576-Lapping-film-try-it?highlight=lapping+film+try+it Unless this is supposed to be a surprise gift, you might want your boyfriend to read the thread. And also watch a series of three short demonstration videos. http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...emo-on-youtube?highlight=youtube+lapping+film

Lapping film is very easy to learn, with a much shorter learning period from first attempt to first truly great scary sharp edge, than rocks. It is also dirt cheap.

For maintenance honing on rocks, my recommendation would be a Naniwa Superstone in 12k grit. This is an excellent finisher and for this fine of a stone, is a fairly fast cutter. The Naniwa is graded on the Japanese system, JIS, and the 12k is equivelant to about 14k on the American ANSI scale. Much cheaper, but a slower cutter, would be a C12K, which is a Chinese natural stone of approximately (it is not practical to try to precisely rate a natural stone) 12k grit. These are a popular finishing stone for honers on a budget. Both of these are of a nice size, and I would recommend getting the largest stone you can afford. A large stone is much easier to use than a tiny one.

A Coticule would be a good choice if he is gung ho about learning to use it. A Coti is rather expensive in larger sizes (70mm wide or wider, 200mm long or longer) but it can replace several stones in the normal progression. The first step in honing a razor that only has a factory edge on it is called setting the bevel, and this is typically done on a 1000 grit synthetic stone, The next step is typically a 4k grit synthetic and it progresses upward from there. A Coti can easily substitute for the 4k and up, and can even be used as the finisher. But hardcore Coti users sometimes set the bevel with the Coti. The reason that this stone is so versatile is that another smaller stone is rubbed on it with water to produce a garnet slurry. A thick slurry cuts quickly but leaves relatively coarse scratches in the bevel which of course create a rough edge. When the slurry is gradually thinned with water during the honing process, the cutting action is slower but the scratches become finer and finer, polishing the edge. Eventually the slurry is thinned down to clear water, and some honers continue with soap or lather or oil for an even finer finish. This is just the 50 cent explanation but it should serve to give you an idea of what the process entails. It is more art than science. Lapping film is more science than art. Synthetic stones are somewhere sorta in the middle.

A barber hone is of course a single grit but it can act like a finer stone when used with lather or oil. These stones are a bit smaller than I like but they certainly have their fans. The three methods above are capable of rendering a somewhat keener edge than the barber hone, given a reasonably skilled user, but the barber hone can definitely be shaved off of.

Another tool that doesn't quite fit into this category but is still useful for keeping an edge shave-sharp is a pasted balsa strop. This is simply a block of balsa wood, about 3" wide, 12" long and 1" thick, that has had a small amount of an abrasive paste applied to it. Typically this is diamond paste but also popular is CrOx. (Chromium Oxide) This can be used occasionally to touch up an edge that is losing its edge, so to speak, but I prefer to use it after every shave so that my razors never get dull in the first place and I never have to shave with a dull razor. The balsa can be ordered online (google is your friend) for around $7. Diamond paste can be ordered from many sources but I use www.tedpella.com and I am currently using 1u (one micron) size diamond, and .25u. In the near future I might try going to .5u and .1u. Both sides get pasted, each with its own grade so there is a coarse and a fine side. Only a small amount is needed. There should not be a buildup. The diamond crystals embed themselves into the balsa.

Since I have drifted into the subject of strops, and since your boyfriend is not a stranger to the straight razor, I would also have you take a look at the Big Daddy strop at www.starshaving.com. This is a nice big strop, possibly the biggest available, and priced like they can't wait to get rid of it. I have two of these and I love them.

Does he have a brush? Larry at www.whippeddog.com is a good source for a dirt cheap badger brush. Don't get him a boar brush unless he prefers boar. The badger is better, generally speaking and Larry's badgers are priced low enough that there is no real reason to cut costs further by going with boar.

 

[Legion]

Welcome to B&B.

Well, as you can see above, there are many ways to skin a cat. Asking us what is the best is not a good way to help your confusion because we all have our own preferences, and they all work.

For what it is worth, after trying most methods I have settled on Belgian coticule stones. Your best, most cost effective way to buy one is to get a bout (an irregular shaped piece), and a slurry stone (a small piece for rubbing on the larger bit to increase its speed and cutting power)

 

[sychodelix]

Wow, Slash! Was that an answer or a novel? You are the man.

 

[incucrash]

Great info, keep it coming.

 

[Proinsias]

Can he shave with and sharpen straights? If not get it honed by someone who knows what they are doing. It will give a lovely shave out the box and give him an idea of what to aim for.

A freshly honed blade and a strop should keep him busy for a while. If he's got one razor that's shaving sharp and strop, all that is really needed is a fairly fine abrasive surface now and again to keep things ticking over and Slash has pretty much covered fine abrasives.

Personally I'd vote coticule for a Christmas gift.

 

[The Cupcake Panda]

You guys are simply amazing.

Really! I was really hesitate at first to post on the forums knowing next to nothing but--wow. Thank you all for your replies and helpful suggestions.

My boyfriend is an experienced shaver with his razor at this point, and I just didn't want to be as obvious as 'what stone should I get you?' when I thought I could surprise him with something neat.

Now I'm armed with knowledge (AND KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!), thanks to you guys! I have many shops to peruse and strops and sandpaper and rocks to look at and know what is best to get.

And yes, my boyfriend is straight. Though this might be one of those 'the cake is a lie' type deal. Though I really, really hope not.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Nobody should ever hesitate to ask a question here ad Badger and Blade, Cupcake Panda. (BTW your nick is almost sickeningly cute. I had to grin when I saw it!) We welcome newbies and we all enjoy spreading the gospel of straight shaving, or wet shaving in general. SWMBO's ("She Who Must Be Obeyed"-- you will find we use a lot of acronyms here... sorry!) and "Badgerettes" are particularly welcome, and you are not the first lady to show up here looking for shopping advice for a gift for hubby or bf. Once you have him properly set up, point him to this forum.

 

[chuckr9]

I'm joining late, but a rock (of film) for "honing" can be a personal choice. I tried to buy my wife a nice leather purse one time (she took it back to get "just what she wanted"). I would suggest a nice leather strop from Tony Miller (for razor maintenance rather than honing) might be a better gift than rocks??