Hi, my name is Mike and I'm a straight shaver. It tickles me pink to be able to say this, and to be able to say it honestly and sincerely. My story must be similar to a lot of folk here.
A year or so ago I picked up a few straight razors on eBay at a cost of about $12 each. I watched all the videos and read all I could about honing and stropping and shaving. I spent hours cleaning up the razors. One had a chip and it took a particularly long time to hone it out on my 1000x water stone. As it turned out this was excellent practice for leaning how to strop. For months I shaved with them on a Saturday or a Sunday and felt good about it despite the pain my face was in. Finally for no reason except my own amusement I decided to get serious.
Well getting serious involved starting fresh. So I very carefully set the bevels on my 1000x stone, moved up to 4000x then to 8000x and finally a good 100 or so laps on a Chinese 12K and followed by some work on a homemade balsa strop with chromium oxide . The next morning I stropped the blade 100 laps on linen then 100 laps on leather, face lathered with some Irisch Moos and shaved. It was a clean shave but my face stung. I pressed on the next couple of days . . .alternating two razors and stropping the same way. Day four it was as if someone turned on a switch . . . the razor I was using by this time had been stropped 300 times on linen and 300 on leather. The shave was comfortable and there was no irritation. Wow
This morning which was day 8 I was going to shave with my DE but I looked at the straight razor and just decided . . . why not and fired in with the straight one more time. I really wish I had learned how to do this 30 years ago.
Thanks for all of your posts on how to do this and that. I'd never have figured it all out on my own.
A year or so ago I picked up a few straight razors on eBay at a cost of about $12 each. I watched all the videos and read all I could about honing and stropping and shaving. I spent hours cleaning up the razors. One had a chip and it took a particularly long time to hone it out on my 1000x water stone. As it turned out this was excellent practice for leaning how to strop. For months I shaved with them on a Saturday or a Sunday and felt good about it despite the pain my face was in. Finally for no reason except my own amusement I decided to get serious.
Well getting serious involved starting fresh. So I very carefully set the bevels on my 1000x stone, moved up to 4000x then to 8000x and finally a good 100 or so laps on a Chinese 12K and followed by some work on a homemade balsa strop with chromium oxide . The next morning I stropped the blade 100 laps on linen then 100 laps on leather, face lathered with some Irisch Moos and shaved. It was a clean shave but my face stung. I pressed on the next couple of days . . .alternating two razors and stropping the same way. Day four it was as if someone turned on a switch . . . the razor I was using by this time had been stropped 300 times on linen and 300 on leather. The shave was comfortable and there was no irritation. Wow
This morning which was day 8 I was going to shave with my DE but I looked at the straight razor and just decided . . . why not and fired in with the straight one more time. I really wish I had learned how to do this 30 years ago.
Thanks for all of your posts on how to do this and that. I'd never have figured it all out on my own.
Last edited:
