New toy!

[kirisute]

Grabbed this today! For he grand total of £8!!
which seemed a bargain to me!
just spent an hour or so attacking it with my trusty dremel to get rid of some surface rust and tone back the pitting.
im not overly fussed about a perfect finish, but I'm pleased with how it's polished up.
anyone care to tell me what I've actually bought? Is it a good purchase?

going to research honing next but might just ship it off to get shave ready...dunno yet.

 

[KZero]

I don't know anything about the razor's brand or history, but it sure is beautiful.
Nice score!

 

[kirisute]

The guy had two there....wish I'd have bought them both now! Lol!
with more time and care in the polishing I think it would look superb.
rear tang is stamped "hollow ground in Germany"
And of course the WYSS stamp on the other side as per the photo....
there is a tiny bite near the tip which should hone out easily enough.
in all honesty if someone here wants this for their collection because its worth something to them then I'm open to offers or swaps! I bought it knowing nothing about it and just wanting something to practice on...if someone knows this is worth truly caring for then I'd rather it went to a good home than I ruin it with honing and stropping practice

 

[Gamma]

Nice looking blade. Congrats. Don't know the maker but I'd guess it'll hone well and shave great.

 

[oakeshott]

Buy that all day long for 8 pounds.

 

[kirisute]

I've just tried my hand at honing on an ultra fine stone I have hanging about for my knife collection.
i doubt it's fine enough for shave ready honing but even my un practiced skill has now got this blade taking hairs off my arm with no effort at all!
Just slowly honed it making sure to keep the back of the blade solid against the stone. It's taking an edge superbly well....
im in a dilemma as to whether to risk this by trying to learn honing and stropping on it...or just get it done for me

 

[GreekGuy]

I've just tried my hand at honing on an ultra fine stone I have hanging about for my knife collection.
i doubt it's fine enough for shave ready honing but even my un practiced skill has now got this blade taking hairs off my arm with no effort at all!
Just slowly honed it making sure to keep the back of the blade solid against the stone. It's taking an edge superbly well....
im in a dilemma as to whether to risk this by trying to learn honing and stropping on it...or just get it done for me

Do you know what type of stone it is? You don't need a 30K grit stone to sharpen a straight razor, but straights need to be much sharper than knives.

Do you currently shave with straights? If so, then there isn't much harm in trying to get it shave ready. If not, and you're interested in trying, it would probably be best o have it sharpened by someone with experience in straights, just to make sure you are getting started with the proper tools so to speak. The important thing is to have fun though, and congrats on the snag!

 

[kirisute]

Do you know what type of stone it is? You don't need a 30K grit stone to sharpen a straight razor, but straights need to be much sharper than knives.

Do you currently shave with straights? If so, then there isn't much harm in trying to get it shave ready. If not, and you're interested in trying, it would probably be best o have it sharpened by someone with experience in straights, just to make sure you are getting started with the proper tools so to speak. The important thing is to have fun though, and congrats on the snag!

Pretty sure it's an old carpenters finishing stone. Not double sided but its certainly the finest stone I have in possession.
Yeah I use a shavette at the moment and I'm just dabbling about with a true cut throat.

Im doing all of this for as little money as possible.....the blade has now been honed as sharp as I think I can get it.....
I've just made myself a strop....and stropped it with a polishing compound called Autosol which I've seen recommended on other forums as good for use on strops.
you can see on the picky how different it looks now!
its currently the sharpest thing I own I reckon! Lol!
trouble is I'm only one day un-shaven and I'd like a bit more growth to be a bit more forgiving when I test my new toy!
im certain I've done no lasting harm if I don't get it sharp enough and if push comes to shove ill ship it off for professional honing etc
ill report back when I try to shave with it!
Hows it looking do far?

 

[GreekGuy]

trouble is I'm only one day un-shaven and I'd like a bit more growth to be a bit more forgiving when I test my new toy!
im certain I've done no lasting harm if I don't get it sharp enough and if push comes to shove ill ship it off for professional honing etc
ill report back when I try to shave with it!
Hows it looking do far?

It looks pretty good. I can't tell how sharp it is just from the photo, but the bevel appears to be normal. No harm in trying it as is. I also get a better shave if I go 36 hours between shaves as opposed to 24, particularly with a straight, so I can certainly understand wanting to wait.

If you find it isn't sharp enough, you may want to look into something called "lapping film." It's like sandpaper, but fine enough to hone razors with. There is quite a bit of discussion on them in the honing subforum, and the best part about it is the stuff is incredibly cheap. A whole set will cost less than sending it out to get honed. There are a lot of honing options but I recommend this one in particular for you since it sounds as if you want to keep a low budget, and lapping film is both easy and inexpensive.

 

[kirisute]

Well you beat me to it!
i sat here after posting and stropped it a little more then thought...to hell with it!
ive just shaved with it!! One day stubble, which is quite tough for me, shaved sides and neck easily, but struggled a bit on my chin...so stropped a few more times then tackled the chin. Job done!
shaved as smooth as my shavette, didn't cut my ear off! And on top of it all I've done it all myself! Polished the razor, honed it, made my own strop and stropped the razor and now I've shaved with it!
Im smiling like the Cheshire Cat here!!!

 

[tomjr]

congrats.

 

[kirisute]

3rd shave down with this razor!
Not 100% happy with the sharpness yet; treated myself to a welsh sharpening stone (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/e11400.m1842.l3160/7?euid=3104719d898748cf91d2592fbb118bb5&loc=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.co.uk%2Fws%2FeBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D171079823278%26ssPageName%3DADME%3AL%3AOC%3AGB%3A3160hone again.....also going to look into making a full strop because I don't know if my first attempt it fully suitable.
but having said all that its sharp enough to shave and I've had good clean comfortable shaves. Guess I can't ask much more! Lol!

 

[WetWhiskers]

Congrats!