New guy first/second straight razor shave question!

[Smokey4]

That is not a shave ready edge. It is not even a very good pocketknife edge. The guy who did it should be strapped down in a barber's chair and forcibly shaved with it.

Okay, not really. Everyone has off days now and then. But the guy who honed it, if he even shaves with a straight razor and understands the principles of honing a razor, should be happy to get it back and have a chance to make it right. My gut suspicion though, is that he is clueless.

I’ll contact them and see if they’re willing to re hone it. I got it from a local shop.

On another note, if he refuses I think they have some barber’s chairs and I can strap him down.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I’ll contact them and see if they’re willing to re hone it. I got it from a local shop.

On another note, if he refuses I think they have some barber’s chairs and I can strap him down.

A local razor shop, or a general cutlery shop?

Never trust a man who doesn't shave with a straight razor to hone yours. It will end badly. I promise. It is nothing like sharpening a knife. Any wannabe honemeister should be eager to shave with his own edges on a daily basis.

 

[Smokey4]

A local razor shop, or a general cutlery shop?

Never trust a man who doesn't shave with a straight razor to hone yours. It will end badly. I promise. It is nothing like sharpening a knife. Any wannabe honemeister should be eager to shave with his own edges on a daily basis.

It’s a local razor shop named Razor Emporium here in Phoenix Arizona.

 

[Seveneighth]

It’s a local razor shop named Razor Emporium here in Phoenix Arizona.

Just looked on you tube and the guy has a demonstration video where he shaves, although none of the tricky bits.

Before you take the razor back, get yourself a cheap loupe off eBay. They cost nothing. Look at the bevel. Look for pits in the very edge, look for scratches on the bevel, look whether the bevel is even. For reference Google honing microscope / magnification. Take a note of what a good edge looks like under magnification.

Two reasons for this. It will help you learn what a good or a bad edge looks like. Secondly, if you can work out what's wrong with the edge, you can have an objective conversation about what needs to be corrected at the shop.

The risk is that he says you rolled the edge when you stropped it. Of course if that's the case it's in his interests to refresh the edge anyway. After all you will probably be back to buy more razors in time. But if you can see honing problems and discuss these, then the ball is fully in his court.

Ask him to strop the razor after honing it. When you get the razor back, if it fails the HHT, or the edge doesn't look good under magnification don't go back to that shop. Try the razor without stropping for the first shave. If subsequent shaves are much worse you'll know there's a problem with your stropping technique.

By the way - don't clean a razor like he does in the video. Lay the folded cloth or towel flat on a surface. Wet the razor under running water and lightly strop it across the towel as you would in a leather strop. When you are finishing up fold the towel over the spine to clean the face and tang. That way you won't accidently disturb the edge.

 

[Smokey4]

Just looked on you tube and the guy has a demonstration video where he shaves, although none of the tricky bits.

Before you take the razor back, get yourself a cheap loupe off eBay. They cost nothing. Look at the bevel. Look for pits in the very edge, look for scratches on the bevel, look whether the bevel is even. For reference Google honing microscope / magnification. Take a note of what a good edge looks like under magnification.

Two reasons for this. It will help you learn what a good or a bad edge looks like. Secondly, if you can work out what's wrong with the edge, you can have an objective conversation about what needs to be corrected at the shop.

The risk is that he says you rolled the edge when you stropped it. Of course if that's the case it's in his interests to refresh the edge anyway. After all you will probably be back to buy more razors in time. But if you can see honing problems and discuss these, then the ball is fully in his court.

Ask him to strop the razor after honing it. When you get the razor back, if it fails the HHT, or the edge doesn't look good under magnification don't go back to that shop. Try the razor without stropping for the first shave. If subsequent shaves are much worse you'll know there's a problem with your stropping technique.

By the way - don't clean a razor like he does in the video. Lay the folded cloth or towel flat on a surface. Wet the razor under running water and lightly strop it across the towel as you would in a leather strop. When you are finishing up fold the towel over the spine to clean the face and tang. That way you won't accidently disturb the edge.

Awesome! I have a loupe on the way.

They have some pretty good videos.

That is how I have been drying my razor, I saw to dry it that way on a different yt vid.

 

[steveclarkus]

If you want to send it to me, I will hone it and return it for no cost. I’m an avid Gold
Dollar user and will get a good edge on it for you. I haven’t had a new GD yet that even had the bevel set. If you want, just PM me and I’ll send you my address.

 

[GearNoir]

Great offer Steve!

 

[steveclarkus]

Great offer Steve!

Thanks. It can be a very confusing beginning. I’m new enough to remember. I’m happy to help when I can. Really difficult to get started without a sharp blade. Got to get these new guys hooked.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Let Steve do it, then take it back to the shop and show them what is meant by shave-ready. Show them the treetop test. Dare them to match it with another of their razors. Then tell them that the guy who honed yours, never touched a straight razor until a few weeks ago. May they squirm in shame.

 

[Smokey4]

Thanks. It can be a very confusing beginning. I’m new enough to remember. I’m happy to help when I can. Really difficult to get started without a sharp blade. Got to get these new guys hooked.

Honestly this is so true. I’m really hoping to get hooked on shaving with a straight. I was just questioning whether I want to keep trying due to my recent difficulty.
Thank you so much Steve; you’re a life saver.

 

[steveclarkus]

Let Steve do it, then take it back to the shop and show them what is meant by shave-ready. Show them the treetop test. Dare them to match it with another of their razors. Then tell them that the guy who honed yours, never touched a straight razor until a few weeks ago. May they squirm in shame.

Just finished setting the bevel on a 66 - took over an hour to get the first burr up but it is done now and cutting hair. I'll finish the rest tomorrow. Those GD66's are like a honing boot camp or maybe a box of chocolates because you never know what you're going to get. That one may find it's way into Smokey4's packet.

 

[steveclarkus]

Honestly this is so true. I’m really hoping to get hooked on shaving with a straight. I was just questioning whether I want to keep trying due to my recent difficulty.
Thank you so much Steve; you’re a life saver.

Honestly this is so true. I’m really hoping to get hooked on shaving with a straight. I was just questioning whether I want to keep trying due to my recent difficulty.
Thank you so much Steve; you’re a life saver.

Once you get a well honed razor in your hands it will be much easier. My guess is that too many guys get frustrated because of not having a truly shave ready razor at the start and no amount of "technique" is going to overcome that. Film and pasted balsa shall set you free!

 

[Smokey4]

Once you get a well honed razor in your hands it will be much easier. My guess is that too many guys get frustrated because of not having a truly shave ready razor at the start and no amount of "technique" is going to overcome that. Film and pasted balsa shall set you free!

I’m sure I still have a whole lot of technique to work on, but I imagine having an actual edge will greatly improve the quality of my shave. Thank you so much!

I’ll be picking up all of the materials for pasted balsa soon to hopefully be able to maintain that edge!

 

[steveclarkus]

I’m sure I still have a whole lot of technique to work on, but I imagine having an actual edge will greatly improve the quality of my shave. Thank you so much!

I’ll be picking up all of the materials for pasted balsa soon to hopefully be able to maintain that edge!

Great. It won’t be difficult as you will have a good edge to start with. By the way, I’m sending the tracking number by PM. It took at least to set the bevel on the 66 and about 15 minutes on the razor you sent. It was easy to hone. The 66 should be easy from now on too. Enjoy!

 

[steveclarkus]

I hate to give a good person bad news but it doesn't sound shave ready. All is not lost though because there is a large base of Gold Dollar fans within this forum and I'm pretty certain they can help you to get that to be an excellent shave.

I can't give you advice about the two razors you mentioned, as I have no experience of those. Only general stropping advice.

The simplest and most effective way to get sorted is to repost in the honing section and see if anyone will offer help. Or to contact the Whipped Dog website - no experience myself but everyone seems to rave about their honing service. For forum members I suggest looking at their posting history (how long, whether they are posting about Gold Dollar razors they have honed and are shaving with), and for any testimonials from other members.

There are a couple of things you could try yourself.

First of all you need to work out which of two things has happened here. Was the razor never honed well or did you roll the edge stropping it? Did you try the razor before stropping? If you stropped did you keep the strop taut and the blade flat?

If it was bad stropping on your part or if the bevel is good just not sharpened, you might be able to bring the edge back.

Look for a thread started by @slashmccoy called :

How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop

The thread is very detailed. It's a relatively inexpensive approach using a reliable modem approach.

If this is too much info you can go more low tech :

You can make more than one. With newspaper or leather strops I prefer solid crayons rather than the diamond pastes. Look for Dovo strop paste, red and black. You get two tiny crayons for about $10. They go a long way even if small. You will also want a Chromium Oxide crayon. Find one which has the micron grade specified.

Or buy a couple of cheap paddle strops. You want ones which are three inches wide and add plaste to these instead.

Finish on a plain leather or newspaper strop.


Learning to strop

Whatever has happened it's a really good idea to develop a good stropping technique. How I was taught was with a butter knife - the straight blunt type with a fake bone handle.

Sitting, wearing a pair of jeans or similar heavy canvas pants, hold the knife by the handle near the blade between finger and thumb, and practise spreading (imaginary) butter back and forth up and down your thigh. Flip the knife on its spine between your fingers to change direction. The idea is to keep the blade completely in contact with the canvas of your jeans without fealing like you are pressing into your leg. Really it is like spreading soft butter - no more pressure than that - as if you want to spread a consistent fine layer across your jeans. Keep doing this until you can produce enough friction to create a slight warmth without pressure.

As long as the bevel is not completely messed up, a good stropping technique, especially with paste, can get a difficult razor shaving again.

I should add - if the razor is not honed correctly you will need to get someone experienced to sort it out. Perfecting your stropping routine won't make things worse, will be invaluable for maintaining your razors, and might just sort out the problem of you are lucky.

Good write up and advice!

 

[Smokey4]

Great. It won’t be difficult as you will have a good edge to start with. By the way, I’m sending the tracking number by PM. It took at least to set the bevel on the 66 and about 15 minutes on the razor you sent. It was easy to hone. The 66 should be easy from now on too. Enjoy!

Thank you so much! You’re a life saver!

 

[steveclarkus]

Did you get your razors?

 

[Smokey4]

Did you get your razors?

Steve I should be getting them today. I am just getting home from a family trip. I can’t wait to try a shave with a good edge!

 

[steveclarkus]

Welcome home and hope you had a good trip. I’ve postponed my getaway to Fall due to heat. Enjoy your shave and let me know if you need anything.

 

[Smokey4]

It was still a little rough for me. So it looks like I’m meeting to work on my technique quite a bit as well. Did you see quite a bit sharper than before!