Need help gettng into straight shaving

[jonofd]

Ok 2 things,

1. I have my great-grandfathers straight razor, it's been handed around some and definitely not maintained. One of the scales are broke and the blade has some rusting on it. Any advice on where I can send it to get it up to shave ready?

2. What should I buy as a newbie getting into straight razors?

Thanks.

Jon

 

[Easttexasman]

Post a picture of the straight and make sure we can see the edge of the blade up close. You will need a cheap strop and a razor that is shave ready, most people here suggest you start at www.whippeddog.com

 

[london]

+1 for whipped dog he's unseen deal are great for someone starting to shave with a straight razor. if you want to restore the razor try mike at mason razor works who can restore your razor and hone it for you.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Be advised that Larry at whippeddog.com might be preoccupied right now due to a serious illness in the family but he is renowned in the straight razor world for equipping newbies on the cheap. If he replies to your inquiry to the positive then you are in good hands. You might also check the BST forum here. Someone might be thinning out his collection and wanting to sell a shave ready razor cheaply.

Definitely make all your beginner mistakes on a vintage shave ready straight that you aren't scared of damaging. Then when you know your way around a straight and have your family heirloom restored, have an occasional shave with it and get in touch with the past. If you want to do it yourself, wait till you have a couple or other restorations under your belt. Make your mistakes on expendable blades and not your grandpa's.

 

[jonofd]

Thanks all for the responses Here are some pictures of the razor I have

 

[PFP_Dad]

I believe there are several very reasonably priced shave ready straights on the hobbyist forum right now. I've heard use a newspaper strop for starting out.

 

[Easttexasman]

That razor can be refurbished but the cost to do this is not cheap. I would just store it away for now and buy a razor and cheap strop thru whippeddog, you will destroy your first strop so get a cheap one.

 

[BigBull]

I used Larry @ whipped dog for a PMS kit...and although I wouldn't say its bad, I quickly wanted something else. I recommend you buy a 3" Big Daddy (or something comparable) from StarShaving.com - if money isn't a tight issue. You'll appreciate the extra real estate as you learn to strop.

 

[bhorsoft]

+1 on the Whipped Dog. I would also put the razor away for a while. If you get into straight razors, you may be able to do a light restore yourself. It doesn't look too bad from the photos, maybe some light polishing to not destroy the etching on the blade and a bit of elbow grease with some MAAS on the rust spot. After some practice with the cheap razors, you can hone the blade yourself to make it shave ready. Hardest thing to do yourself would be to rescale it. Not super difficult, but I wouldn't want my grandpa's razor to be my first attempt. Sending it out for a rescale shouldn't be too expensive depending on the materials.

 

[rimmini]

It'll run you 10-15 bucks plus time to restore that razor. You'll need different scales ( Look for at antique stores for razors with good scale and broken blades you'll be able to get them for 2 bucks. Next you'll need washers and pins (Ebay 9 buck for a set) a drill and a steady hand to remove the old pins so you can switch the scales. Some extrafine steel wool for the corrosion. and time lots of time and patience. In the mean time you can find good prehoned razors on whipped dog or your local antique store.

 

[trick420]

Those old vintage Boker King cutters are fantastic shavers. Possibly one of the regrets I have is selling the one I had. That one will clean up fine, but you may lose some of the etch with that big dollop of rust on it.

Edge looks fine though which is really what matters. If you aren't handy with tools or skilled like that, I wouldn't start on this heriloom for DIY. Probably cost you $50-80 all in all to get this one redone by someone that knows what they're doing.