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Straight Razor: What do you suggest to buy?

What is a coticle or the type 100? If you're saying coticle of the type 100 what does that mean? I'm just ignorant here about this and trying to find out what you're talking about.

Happy shaves,

Jim
what i am describing is by no means a manifesto, just if you were effectively constrained.
The type 100 reference is to a jnat stone size that usually can be used as the base stone.
The coticule reference bout size is around size 6-7.
 
Twelvefret, you literally posted $30 and you’ll have my attention. What am I missing in your comments? Both the type 100 and coticule based progressions are repeatable and reliable, especially if you have someone to walk you through the concepts of each.
Sound like you just want to argue. My point has always been that films work and that no consensus of opinion exists about stones. Not sure how much clearer I can be. Yes, the films are $30. If they were $100 it would not matter because films work for any new user who will listen and read the burr method.
 
Sound like you just want to argue. My point has always been that films work and that no consensus of opinion exists about stones. Not sure how much clearer I can be. Yes, the films are $30. If they were $100 it would not matter because films work for any new user who will listen and read the burr method.

I agree to your specific point that film is inexpensive way to go is film for a beginner who will listen and read burr method. I've seen folks really mess up a razor with trying to form and detect burrs along an edge that isn't dead straight. But that clearly isn't an issue for many BurrMethod'd tool users.

I've also watched the AxMethod and that looks pretty easy too.

I am trying to converse in a friendly discussion way that adds value to a discussion. Hopefully that is the way you are taking my posts. There are many ways to inexpensive, reliable and repeatable success.

I am not sure where you got the the idea that there is no consensus of opinion about stones. They definitely work. Just like a honers get the hang of films and progressions, a honer can get the hang of stones. With patience and a mentor, beginners issues can be mitigated. The main difference is find the mentor before you buy a stone, whereas film uses can typically find the right film on line first, but plenty end up with paper or psa backed accidentally.

I'm not sure the burr method is any better than just monitoring the edge with TNT, treetopping, cherry tomatoes, etc to make sure it's set. There are many ways to Rome and they are all really good and doable.
 
I am not sure where you got the the idea that there is no consensus of opinion about stones. They definitely work. Just like a honers get the hang of films and progressions, a honer can get the hang of stones. With patience and a mentor, beginners issues can be mitigated. The main difference is find the mentor before you buy a stone, whereas film uses can typically find the right film on line first, but plenty end up with paper or psa backed accidentally.

Of course they work. I have never questioned if stones work. However, try to ask about a progression of stones that is as complete and repeatable for a person who has never sharpened a razor, and see what you get. You'll read abbreviations, pet rock names, geological gymnastics, slurry or no slurry, and as soon as you get a progression of what you think, someone will say they never use that anymore. I've seen what happens when a new user gets some new stones and scars and scrapes the metal. So unnecessary.

There are competing methods. The one Slash posted works and is repeatable. I'll forever appreciative of @steveclarkus for encouraging the me to use the films.

The point of the films on marble is a straight forward back a forth process beginning with a 30 micron film. The burr is not necessary I discovered. The arm hair test will suffice. All I am trying to do is make it simple. The burr method works the first time and every time.

Once you've used the films, its much more intuitive what to drop in to replace a specific micron sheet. I love my coticule and Thuringian.
 
I started with vintage razors bought on eBay. In my experience, even the ones advertised as shave ready, really isn’t.

I used a combination 3000/8000 stone currently selling for less than £15, and a home made paddle strop with chromium oxide. No mentor, only YouTube and patience. I later realized I am missing a key part, namely something to flatten my stone, so I bought a cheap diamond plate 320 grid for £3.
One year later and the only upgrades I have made is a 12000 Naniwa stone, about £50, and I am now using diamond paste .5 micron and .25 micron on a paddle strop.
I still don’t get shave ready edges on the stones, maybe because of poor technique, but the pasted strop gets me there every time.
 
Everyone saying Vintage is the way to go is completely right. There are some great deals out there if you look.

You may also want to consider a popular Chinese razor option: a Gold Dollar. You will need to get it professionally honed as well, but they are great starter razors (and also great to learn with if you want to learn how to hone).
 
Everyone saying Vintage is the way to go is completely right. There are some great deals out there if you look.

You may also want to consider a popular Chinese razor option: a Gold Dollar. You will need to get it professionally honed as well, but they are great starter razors (and also great to learn with if you want to learn how to hone).
Agree! Read my thread about Gold Dollars.
Gold Dollar, more bang for your buck, or your Pound.
 
Yay! I was worried folks would disagree with me lol.

But keep in mind, if you don't know how to hone, you NEED to have a good Dollar professionally honed. Even so, you can find a truly shave ready GD 66 for under £25.
Agree again:001_smile. It's not for everybody, they will all need honing. Think I must start selling them for £20 shave ready. Maybe I can start recovering some of the money I have spent on this hobby.
 
Like others say the edge is the only part that touches your whisker/face.

I buy vintage and whatever is currently undervalued. This is a small community and razors rise and fall in popularity over time based on group think, not necessarily how good a razor they are.

Currently got/overpriced are Dorko, Filarmonica, wide wade and butchers...

Currently cheap/undervalued are Tanifuji, anything Swedish non Heljestrand, and some truly amazing American makes or rebrands. I saw a NOS 6/8+ Kinfolks Blue point go for $40 a few days ago. That and almost anything from Little valley, NY would come with ideal geometry and incredibly fine grain steel to take and hold a killer edge.

A lot of people say they like “wider blades” but they use them in short little strokes and rinse before the blade is even half full of lather, which is wasting one of the key benefits to a wide blade. The second benefit to a wider blade (and the reason most people like them even if they don’t realize) is that many manufacturers make the wider blades with a “steeper” bevel angle down as low as the high 14 degree range vs I hear gold dollars might show up >20. I’ve found some Japanese, Swedish, and American razors show up <16.5* giving you the major benefit of a wider blade without paying the sky high price.

I’ve got many nicer blades, but you can have my NOS Case’s Ace @15.8* bevel when you pry it from my cold dead hands. Actually I’d hand it over before being killed cause I can find another one for $60
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Agree again:001_smile. It's not for everybody, they will all need honing. Think I must start selling them for £20 shave ready. Maybe I can start recovering some of the money I have spent on this hobby.

That would be a good idea. Bill, buca1352, used to do that but I guess he got bored or got to busy for that. We could do with a source of shave ready GD66's for the newbs. Only hitch is there are restrictions on selling stuff on a regular basis on the forum and you will want to discuss it with admin. They might be pretty flexible on this if you are just selling GD66s, I don't know. You would have to sell an awful lot of $25 razors to pay for official vendor status on the forum! Worth looking into, especially if you just want to do it for the greater good and cause you like to hone. You could always PIF a few just to get your prod out there, and go rogue on fleabay.
 
That would be a good idea. Bill, buca1352, used to do that but I guess he got bored or got to busy for that. We could do with a source of shave ready GD66's for the newbs. Only hitch is there are restrictions on selling stuff on a regular basis on the forum and you will want to discuss it with admin. They might be pretty flexible on this if you are just selling GD66s, I don't know. You would have to sell an awful lot of $25 razors to pay for official vendor status on the forum! Worth looking into, especially if you just want to do it for the greater good and cause you like to hone. You could always PIF a few just to get your prod out there, and go rogue on fleabay.

Kind of sounds like a "not for profit" kind of vendor status where the cost would be based on material, labor, and hone wear/tear costs. Could work if the mods are in a good mood (read taco naptime).
 
That would be a good idea. Bill, buca1352, used to do that but I guess he got bored or got to busy for that. We could do with a source of shave ready GD66's for the newbs. Only hitch is there are restrictions on selling stuff on a regular basis on the forum and you will want to discuss it with admin. They might be pretty flexible on this if you are just selling GD66s, I don't know. You would have to sell an awful lot of $25 razors to pay for official vendor status on the forum! Worth looking into, especially if you just want to do it for the greater good and cause you like to hone. You could always PIF a few just to get your prod out there, and go rogue on fleabay.

I like the idea, I do like honing, the more experience I get the better. I would also like to do my part in keeping the straight shaving culture alive and affordable to most people.

Hope the practicalities doesn't make it impossible:
The whole idea would be to deliver a good value for money introduction to our interesting and varied hobby.
I suppose postage from the UK to the USA will be considerable.
Don't know if import taxes comes into play.
I will have to find a reliable source of GD66's that doesn't involve buying a 100 at a time.
Because of the spike in knife crime in the UK, the "I will decide what's good for you" crowd are working hard to change the laws so that knives can't be ordered on-line. Don't know how that will affect razors and sending by post.

I have a lot of free time in winter, but summer is just around the corner and that means Golf Season!

What's PIF?
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
I like the idea, I do like honing, the more experience I get the better. I would also like to do my part in keeping the straight shaving culture alive and affordable to most people.

Hope the practicalities doesn't make it impossible:
The whole idea would be to deliver a good value for money introduction to our interesting and varied hobby.
I suppose postage from the UK to the USA will be considerable.
Don't know if import taxes comes into play.
I will have to find a reliable source of GD66's that doesn't involve buying a 100 at a time.
Because of the spike in knife crime in the UK, the "I will decide what's good for you" crowd are working hard to change the laws so that knives can't be ordered on-line. Don't know how that will affect razors and sending by post.

I have a lot of free time in winter, but summer is just around the corner and that means Golf Season!

What's PIF?
Yeah UK/US shipping might be prohibitive, but there is a bit of UK interest in shaving in the manly fashion, and so it would do some good for newbs in your part of the world.

PIF, Pay It Forward, is basically just giving stuff away. Often we announce a PIF in a post, with requirements such as a particular number of posts or a particular number of razors owned or successful shaves. Then after a week or so we match names up with numbers and draw a number or use random.org or somehing like that to choose the lucky recipient. This is a great way to move your unwanted surplus razors or other shaving tools. Think of it as a way to give back to a great community and help someone else get his foot in the door. In the case of the shave readies, it also lets the shaving world know that you got them, and that they are indeed shave ready. Then if you are up to it, list them on fleabay with just the BIN price. Or auction, or both. Whatever. I don't think you can promote them without admin approval. And if it is a live auction, members can't post the link, either, though a closed auction or a BIN they can post and ask the forum about it.

Wow, knife crime? Savages! See what happens when you outlaw guns and the criminals give up their firearms out of respect for the law? LOL seriously we have those whacko nanny nursemaid types over here, too. If the govt would just be content to merely bleed us for taxes, start stupid wars, and line their individual pockets like good little politicians, and keep their nose a bit more distant from the crack of our wellll... people would probably be a lot happier, and more likely to enjoy the rights of Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit Of Happiness, in the true meaning of the phrase. Of the people, By the people, and For the people, has morphed into "Above the people" and "Against the people". Okay that's my rant for the day. I feel better now and you don't feel so alone.
 
Wow, knife crime? Savages! See what happens when you outlaw guns and the criminals give up their firearms out of respect for the law? LOL seriously we have those whacko nanny nursemaid types over here, too. If the govt would just be content to merely bleed us for taxes, start stupid wars, and line their individual pockets like good little politicians, and keep their nose a bit more distant from the crack of our wellll... people would probably be a lot happier, and more likely to enjoy the rights of Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit Of Happiness, in the true meaning of the phrase. Of the people, By the people, and For the people, has morphed into "Above the people" and "Against the people". Okay that's my rant for the day. I feel better now and you don't feel so alone.

:a14:Well said!
As a former South African, it took me a while to get used to not reaching for the cold comfort of my 9mm on my bed-stand when something woke me up in the night, but I guess that's one of the main reasons I left. Miss the sunshine. I don't miss living in a house resembling a prison of burglar bars, steel security doors, laser motion detectors in the garden, high voltage fences, alarm systems coupled to private armed response units, and still not feeling safe. There are worse things in life than bad weather. Sometimes feel frustrated by an overly PC society, and overly protective government, more people's attitude should be "This is the UK. This is how we do it. If you don't like it, why are you here?"

Back to razors. Sounds like a good idea to support other newcomers in the UK to straight razor shaving. Think I will start a thread advertising for takers on a PIF. I already ordered the last three Gold Gollar 66's the supplier had in stock. I will see how it goes from there, and if there is an appetite, I will take it further.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Using as an excuse the spike in knife crime in the UK, the "I will decide what's good for you" crowd are working hard to change the laws so that knives can't be ordered on-line. Don't know how that will affect razors and sending by post.

FTFY

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:a14:Well said!
As a former South African, it took me a while to get used to not reaching for the cold comfort of my 9mm on my bed-stand when something woke me up in the night, but I guess that's one of the main reasons I left. Miss the sunshine. I don't miss living in a house resembling a prison of burglar bars, steel security doors, laser motion detectors in the garden, high voltage fences, alarm systems coupled to private armed response units, and still not feeling safe. There are worse things in life than bad weather. Sometimes feel frustrated by an overly PC society, and overly protective government, more people's attitude should be "This is the UK. This is how we do it. If you don't like it, why are you here?"

Back to razors. Sounds like a good idea to support other newcomers in the UK to straight razor shaving. Think I will start a thread advertising for takers on a PIF. I already ordered the last three Gold Gollar 66's the supplier had in stock. I will see how it goes from there, and if there is an appetite, I will take it further.

I guess it all about your point of view and situation.

As a South African living in a Country Estate in Centurion where none of the gaurds have guns, my house dont have burglar bars, dont have steel security doors, no laser motion detection in my garden, no high voltage fences, no alarm system and no private response units. We sleep with an open bedroom door to the garden to cool down on hot summer nights. I dont own any firearms and I feel safe everyday. We enjoy the sunshine, nature and most of the people most of the time just like any other country. I guess thats why I am staying. Is it perfect? Nope, but there is no perfect in this world.

I guess living in the Bronx and other areas across the world, some people also dont feel safe...
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
So Drew Brees retires, and Sean Payton is desperate for a quarterback to fill his shoes. A news report on CNN catches his eye. A kid in a turban, shalwar kameez and sandals is lobbing IEDs and molly cocktails with devastating accuracy into the blown out windows of a police station in Iraq from a half block away. Sean Payton sees the New Orleans Saints' next quarterback in that kid, and pulls out all the stops to find him. Finally through intermediaries the kid agrees to come to America and throw footballs instead of explosives and incendiaries, for 7mil/year.

The former Al Quaeda insurgent picks up the game quickly and enjoys it immensely. His incredible throwing arm takes the Saints to the Superbowl, which they win with the biggest spread in history. Sean Payton presents a huge bonus check to the kid, along with the keys to a custom Bentley, and invites him out to his camp for some duck hunting and fishing. The kid doesn't want anything, he says, except to call his Mother on the telephone, the first time he has ever used one. The Coach ushers him to a phone and places the call.

"Mom, guess what? I just won the Superbowl!"

"And you want me to rejoice with you, while me and your brothers and sisters living in this hell on earth?"

"But Mom, the SUPERBOWL! The biggest athletic event in the world! Aren't you proud of me?"

"What good has it done? All of your new found fame and riches, how have they helped us? I hear gunfire out in the street every night and some days, too. Your younger brothers were both beaten nearly to death yesterday right in front of our house. I cannot allow your sister to go out to buy food, for fear she will be raped. The heat when the electricity goes out is unbearable, and with that, and all the sounds of violence outside, I am a nervous wreck from lack of sleep. The government police can do nothing, it seems. We are surrounded by savage, vicious people. I will never as long as I live, forgive you for making us move to New Orleans!"
 
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