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Never used a straight razor looking for 1st

Legion

OTF jewel hunter
Staff member
is honig and stroping something I have to know how to do? i've got a ton of sharpening stones and diamond sharpeners and still can't sharpen a knife good unless I use my wicked edge sharpener. I probably would just destroy the razor TBH
You need to be able to strop, for sure. If your razor is made shave ready by someone else you only need to be able to hone (or use a pasted strop) enough to be able to touch up your razor when it starts to dull a bit. That is pretty easy. Easier than honing a knife, where you have to freehand hold a constant bevel angle.
 
You need to be able to strop, for sure. If your razor is made shave ready by someone else you only need to be able to hone (or use a pasted strop) enough to be able to touch up your razor when it starts to dull a bit.
@Blade_Runner37C if I was starting over that is exactly what I would do.

Send it to a reputable honer, you won’t go wrong with anyone here that has offered or been suggested. Buy yourself a Naniwa Super Stone 12k, an Atoma diamond plate (either 400 or 600 grit), and a cheapish but not too cheap strop. It’s pretty easy to keep a shave ready edge going pretty much forever with a 12k stone and tough to ruin the razor with it.

Start shaving and keep at it for a month. If you’re hooked get your credit card warmed up. If not you can sell your gear for pretty close to what you paid for it.

The key is start out with a truly shave ready razor.
 
@Blade_Runner37C if I was starting over that is exactly what I would do.

Send it to a reputable honer, you won’t go wrong with anyone here that has offered or been suggested. Buy yourself a Naniwa Super Stone 12k, an Atoma diamond plate (either 400 or 600 grit), and a cheapish but not too cheap strop. It’s pretty easy to keep a shave ready edge going pretty much forever with a 12k stone and tough to ruin the razor with it.

Start shaving and keep at it for a month. If you’re hooked get your credit card warmed up. If not you can sell your gear for pretty close to what you paid for it.

The key is start out with a truly shave ready razor.
is there anybody on the forum that does that and is decently not too overpriced to get the blade shave ready. it probably hasn't been sharpened in 20 years. I wish i could post on the BST forum to look for a used strop and stone. I do have a set of DMT dia-sharp diamond stones. I have extra course/course/fine/extra fine. They are suppose to be the best diamond plates. would the fine or extra fine work?
 
is there anybody on the forum that does that and is decently not too overpriced to get the blade shave ready. it probably hasn't been sharpened in 20 years. I wish i could post on the BST forum to look for a used strop and stone. I do have a set of DMT dia-sharp diamond stones. I have extra course/course/fine/extra fine. They are suppose to be the best diamond plates. would the fine or extra fine work?
Send a PM to @Bayamontate, he is in NYC I believe. I don’t know what he charges.

You should be able to post on the BST no problem, you have over 50 posts.

Edit: a 3x8” dia sharp should work. Probably fine is your best bet.
 

Legion

OTF jewel hunter
Staff member
is there anybody on the forum that does that and is decently not too overpriced to get the blade shave ready. it probably hasn't been sharpened in 20 years. I wish i could post on the BST forum to look for a used strop and stone. I do have a set of DMT dia-sharp diamond stones. I have extra course/course/fine/extra fine. They are suppose to be the best diamond plates. would the fine or extra fine work?
Extra fine in those is just a beginning step for razors. I sometimes use fine to remove damage like chips, but then have to spend ages removing scratches with a razor hone.

Put the DMT away until you are experienced honing razors, or you will ruin blades.

Think about what diamond is doing. Removing material quickly buy scratching away steel. That can be fine if you want micro serrations to cut into a tomato, but not something you are rubbing along your skin.
 
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Think about what diamond is doing. Removing material quickly buy scratching away steel. That can be fine if you want micro serrations to cut into a tomato, but not something you are rubbing along your skin
Oh I don’t plan on touching it with the diamond someone mentioned I would need a diamond plate down the road and I just mentioned that I had a full set. Actually I think and I could be wrong that I bought an xx fine that was hard to get from DMT. But no I need to get it up to shave ready and then will really worry about even using a strop so I am talking a long time down the road before I would feel compostable with a hone so the diamond isn’t coming out or won’t be anywhere need a blade unless it’s a knife.
 
Where in the world are you? If you're not in the US, the recommendations given might not be ideal.

There was a time when people used to maintain their razors with CBN or diamond pasted balsa. Posts on using the pasted balsa method have dropped off a cliff recently, but I still maintain my razors on diamond balsa. It still works for me and I haven't had to touch up my in use blades in well over a year.

Stropping is something you will have to learn. It is not uncommon to nick and or slice your first strop while getting used to stropping. Or even if you let your mind wander if you consider yourself adequate at stropping (personal experience here, and the nick in my strop still annoys me).
 
I just started a few months ago. Get a shave ready 5/8th with a round tip as your first one. If your angle is off a bit the tip won't dig in like a square point. I bought a few to start with and those were the easiest, at least for me.
And a strop of course. Don’t get anything fancy as you may get some cuts on the strop. Once you’re good at it get a nice one.
 
I suggest a half hollow or full to start with. The most important thing is that it is shave ready. You can get vintage for 100 or less. New production I like Ralf Aust but you’re looking at over 200 there. You can get a square point but make sure the point is muted.
 
Oh I don’t plan on touching it with the diamond someone mentioned I would need a diamond plate down the road and I just mentioned that I had a full set. Actually I think and I could be wrong that I bought an xx fine that was hard to get from DMT. But no I need to get it up to shave ready and then will really worry about even using a strop so I am talking a long time down the road before I would feel compostable with a hone so the diamond isn’t coming out or won’t be anywhere need a blade unless it’s a knife.
The DMT they mentioned wasn't for the straight razor, they were saying a 12k Naniwa stone will maintain your straight razor easily forever.

They said to get a DMT, but that's for lapping / flattening the 12k stone, not for the razor. I use Diasharp 400 grit (coarse I think? I forget exactly) to lap my synthetic stones too, you're probably set for lapping. Important thing if the lapping stone is large enough to cover the stone it's lapping so it laps evenly.
 
They said to get a DMT, but that's for lapping / flattening the 12k stone, not for the razor. I use Diasharp 400 grit (coarse I think? I forget exactly) to lap my synthetic stones too, you're probably set for lapping. Important thing if the lapping stone is large enough to cover the stone it's lapping so it laps evenly.


Oh yes I have lapping stones made just for lapping other stones. I just would like to get this one up to shave ready. I have a few strops but they are cheapos. My GF went to cosmetology school ages ago and had to learn how to use a strop, but the ones I have like I said are cheapo's. I might even have a naniwa stone, thee are Japanese right? think it's in the 12k-14k range but i would have to dig it out to see.
 
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Whatever razor you get, have it professionally sharpened. If it says "shave ready" that just means it is ready to be sharpened and used, not that it has a good edge on it. Don't get a Chinese razor like a Gold Dollar or Gold Monkey. The steel is too soft and you will get frustrated. I got a restored vintage in beautiful shape that was honed by a razormeister and I am so glad that I did. Also, don't get a shavette. They don't shave the same and you will falsely believe you are getting a straight razor shave and if you get cut or have irritation, you will give up. They aren't the same, exactly. The shave is different. Get a real straight razor. Duke City on ebay, The invisible edge (free shipping world wide and they hone their razors before shipping), and I think Maggards ( Ithink they offer honing). There are a couple of guys on this forum that hone professionally.
 
FWIW --

My first razor was an antique-store find. I stropped it, and got some very poor shaves. Didn't understand why.

It was only when I bought a new, "base-level" razor (a Dovo "Best Quality"), that had been sharpened by the pro who sold it, that I understand what "sharp" means, when applied to a razor:

. . . The antique-shop find was a perfectly good razor, but it was nowhere near sharp enough for a good shave.

It took me quite a while to develop the skill, and assemble a kit of sharpening gear, that would get a straight razor from "knife-sharp" to "shave-sharp".

All that _really matters_ is that your razor is made of good (very hard) steel, and doesn't have a bad warp (difficult to sharpen well) or a frown (ditto).

Razors can be 5/8" or 6/8" wide, have a wedge or half-hollow or full-hollow grind:

. . . If the edge is sharp, you can shave with it.

And once the edge is sharp, all you should need to maintain it for dozens of shaves, is a strop. Add a pasted strop (with very fine abrasive embedded in it) for occasional use, when the regular strop doesn't bring it back to "shave ready".

As previous posts suggest, I would stay away from Gold Dollar and other low-priced straights:

. . . the risk of a badly-tempered blade, or badly-ground blade, is too high.

Good luck! --

. Charles
 
is honig and stroping something I have to know how to do? i've got a ton of sharpening stones and diamond sharpeners and still can't sharpen a knife good unless I use my wicked edge sharpener. I probably would just destroy the razor TBH
You _must_ learn how to strop -- you do that before (or after) every shave.

But eventually, the edge will need to be honed -- not just smoothed by the strop, but actually have metal removed by an abrasive of some kind.

. . . Either you pay someone to do that, or you develop the skill yourself.

I have tried using very fine grit (up to 8K) abrasive plastic sheets. They work, and they're less expensive than stones. But I learned a lesson:

. . . You need just as much skill with those plastic sheets, as you do with a stone -- maybe more.

. Charles
 
well I have whetstones in 400 / 1000k 3000 / 8000 grit and black arkansas stones. From my understanding, you hone a blade by laying it flat blade and spine and sharpen blade forward, strop blade backwards. is this correct? if so, do you add tape to the spine to keep it from wearing down? I sharpen knives.
 
I think your razor would be a fine beginning razor and it will probably always be in your rotation. There are folks here could hone that into a fine shaving instrument.

One of the replies mentioned a strop from Tony Miller. I would echo that advice. They are outstanding.

Good luck with the project and keep us posted as to how it is going.
 
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