Well, I Finally Pulled The Trigger

[syngent]

So just a little bit about me,... when i first started lurking wet shaving forums, it was to look at straights i thought i could put some nice money into a nice new guy and away i go,.. then i ready about stropping and honing and pastes and stones and my head spun out of control and my wallet began to tear up a bit... and after a completely spontaneous purchase with a gift card at the mall ended up with a merkur HD, and began my DE path, all the while this little voice (specially on this forum with our members) kept pushing me over to this side of the forum,...

Well long story short i fell out of love with my astra blades i had about 270 of them and i ended up trading for this guy

its a friday razor from a seven day set,... at least its a cool day, not like tuesday or soemthing,... and seems likes its been being used,.. may need a little work but ill figure that out when i get it in hand,...

so my journey begins,... anyone with info on what exactly this guy is would be appreciated



i dont have a strop or paper or anything else yet,... but i figure you got to start somewhere
and this seemed like a good place for me

 

[drathgeb]

I would suggest getting a good edge put on it. I would hate for you to quit straight shaving because of an uncomfortable edge. Cheap strops are available so I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can even use newspaper as a strop if need be.

 

[syngent]

I did start out months and months ago now with a feather AC, it just wasnt the real thing and i sold it off, knew i would come around at some point,... finding out about cheaper alternatives so i could slowly come in made a big difference in deciding to go ahead with this trade,

but yeah when i get this (it was just put into mail today) ill look into someone with a great deal of experience to hone it up proper for me there seems to be more then a few places that offer the service,... but ill worry about that when it gets here in one piece

 

[brucered]

your're a braver man than me. i often browse the straights threads and debate, but have yet to take the plunge.

maybe next year, i'll buy one after i have 2y of DE under my belt.

let us know how it goes.

 

[syngent]

lol i will, and i add a second one, ill know who to lend one too,... you know so i dont have to feel so bad about my ADs,... its nice to have company lol

 

[ironfisted]

It's a very cool looking blade, what with the red embellishments and all. Do you work in TO? If so, I think it would be wicked if you pulled that bad boy out with a tube of brushless cream on the GO Train one day. Just sit in your seat and have your morning shave on the ride in.

 

[syngent]

Hahaha... you get Sam to test that one out for me first and let me know how it goes... I only work as far as Ajax but I could always take the GO into work one day lol

 

[rockviper]

I have two 9x3 leather strop pieces coming from the 'bay that I was going to make a 2-sided paddle from. You're more than welcome to one and the use of my DMT 8EE (and MUCH lower grit Crappy Tire stone, if needed). I'm looking around for a DMT C or F as well as a C12K which you can borrow when needed.... when I get them.

 

[syngent]

LOL i would much rather you do the subway ride shave iron suggested,... would make for a fun thread... the arrest and all, trying to explain that one to the police...

If you were going to make a two sided paddle id say go ahead with that one,... i know i can get a cheap strap from the bay or whipped dog, and since honing isnt done all that often depending on when i need it (please dont let my hand drive blade into sink) i may need it once or twice as i grow my collection lol

Your to kind as it is lol

 

[brucea]

Really nice engraving. I keep on saying I am going to try straight but so far I haven't pulled the trigger.

 

[syngent]

LOL Bruce, if its in your head, its just a matter of time now lol

 

[brucea]

I think you're right. I keep on watching instructional videos on you tube. I figure by the new year I'll get up the nerve to give it a shot. Just need to decide which on to buy. There is a guy at a neighborhood flea market that carries some older razors.Maybe I'll clean him out. I was tempted last time I went there.

 

[the_edski]

Good luck James! Don't slice your face off! If there is blood on your letters, at least I'll know why.

 

[syngent]

Lol if i run out of ink Ed, ill just shave before i write to you

 

[Slash McCoy]

Nice razor. These are pretty common, and were produced in massive quantities in the 50s I think, by various makers. They were meant to be souveneirs but will usually shave quite decently if honed properly. Not particularly valuable even in a full 7-set unless in very good condition, but quite decent shavers, mostly, nonetheless. The Solingen stamp says it all.

Larry hones for a pretty reasonable price. There are others here who would do it too and I am sure you will get a PM or two on it. If you want to do it yourself I can understand that, but it is maybe too much to expect a beginner to straight shaving who is unfamiliar with just how sharp a shave-ready edge is, to be able to put one on an unhoned razor or a razor of unknown history. It is like describing the Mona Lisa to a wannabe artist and expecting him to make a perfect copy of it without even seeing the original. And as you learn to shave, you will not know whether to blame your honing or your shaving for any lack of progress. It can be done, but the journey will be long and painful.

I would offer a better solution. Purchase a shave-ready razor from a reputable honer and learn to shave with it. Meanwhile, try your hand at honing the one you have. That gives you first of all a known sharp razor to learn to shave with, and also a benchmark for your own honing progress. Larry at www.whippeddog.com comes to mind, naturally, for his sight unseen deal. You get your foot in the door for a very low price, including a cheap beginners hanging strop and a balsa bench strop pasted with Chromium Oxide on one side and Iron Oxide on the other. The pasted balsa will help you to maintain your edge so you don't have to hone it so often. It is possible to keep it going indefinitely with just the balsa, though as a newbie I would guess you would probably be doing well to keep it going for a couple of months.

For honing, I suggest a cheap diamond plate from Harbor Freight and a 1k King or Norton synthetic stone for setting the bevel, and a film progression for refining and polishing the edge. I suggest searching and reading the lapping film threads, beginning with http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/283576-Lapping-film-try-it?highlight=lapping+film+try+it. We have walked quite a few newbies through their first film edges and most were simply delighted with how well film performs and the low entry cost. Other than film, you could go with a synthetic progression, and a reasonable choice would be the 220/1k grit Norton Combo, the 4k/8k Norton combo, and a C12k. The whole setup should run well under $150. You could also substitute a Belgian Coticule for the 4k/8k, and there are many possibilities for replacing the C12k, such as a 12k Naniwa Superstone or a Jnat. A film setup, not counting the optional bevel setting stone, can be put together for about $20. The natural stones are not too dear in smaller sizes but I very strongly recommend you start out with bigger rocks. There will be fewer bumps in the road for you with rocks wide enough to take the entire edge or nearly the entire edge.

 

[syngent]

Thanks slash, i was thinking i would be better at sending it out to someone to begin with so i know i could blame myself for a little while lol, i was also going to look into a second razor to at least leave untouched as a guide for whats a proper edge. but im still trying to figure out which way i want to go,... though whipped dog sight unseen with a strop seems to be a constant on whatever i think is a good way to go

The razor was just dropped in the mail yesturday, i only traded some unloved astras (270) of them that made sense for both me and the tradee, as long as i can get a good shave out of it i can worry about getting sometyhing nicer down the road,... while building my hone setup and figuring everything out

thanks for the info on the film and the stones too,.. i was going to ask about all that stuff and do some reading through the info pages but its all pretty much right there for me

Nice razor. These are pretty common, and were produced in massive quantities in the 50s I think, by various makers. They were meant to be souveneirs but will usually shave quite decently if honed properly. Not particularly valuable even in a full 7-set unless in very good condition, but quite decent shavers, mostly, nonetheless. The Solingen stamp says it all.

Larry hones for a pretty reasonable price. There are others here who would do it too and I am sure you will get a PM or two on it. If you want to do it yourself I can understand that, but it is maybe too much to expect a beginner to straight shaving who is unfamiliar with just how sharp a shave-ready edge is, to be able to put one on an unhoned razor or a razor of unknown history. It is like describing the Mona Lisa to a wannabe artist and expecting him to make a perfect copy of it without even seeing the original. And as you learn to shave, you will not know whether to blame your honing or your shaving for any lack of progress. It can be done, but the journey will be long and painful.

I would offer a better solution. Purchase a shave-ready razor from a reputable honer and learn to shave with it. Meanwhile, try your hand at honing the one you have. That gives you first of all a known sharp razor to learn to shave with, and also a benchmark for your own honing progress. Larry at www.whippeddog.com comes to mind, naturally, for his sight unseen deal. You get your foot in the door for a very low price, including a cheap beginners hanging strop and a balsa bench strop pasted with Chromium Oxide on one side and Iron Oxide on the other. The pasted balsa will help you to maintain your edge so you don't have to hone it so often. It is possible to keep it going indefinitely with just the balsa, though as a newbie I would guess you would probably be doing well to keep it going for a couple of months.

For honing, I suggest a cheap diamond plate from Harbor Freight and a 1k King or Norton synthetic stone for setting the bevel, and a film progression for refining and polishing the edge. I suggest searching and reading the lapping film threads, beginning with http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/283576-Lapping-film-try-it?highlight=lapping+film+try+it. We have walked quite a few newbies through their first film edges and most were simply delighted with how well film performs and the low entry cost. Other than film, you could go with a synthetic progression, and a reasonable choice would be the 220/1k grit Norton Combo, the 4k/8k Norton combo, and a C12k. The whole setup should run well under $150. You could also substitute a Belgian Coticule for the 4k/8k, and there are many possibilities for replacing the C12k, such as a 12k Naniwa Superstone or a Jnat. A film setup, not counting the optional bevel setting stone, can be put together for about $20. The natural stones are not too dear in smaller sizes but I very strongly recommend you start out with bigger rocks. There will be fewer bumps in the road for you with rocks wide enough to take the entire edge or nearly the entire edge.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Oh, and if you send it out for honing, have that point muted. There is a lot of gotcha in that square tip! The very corner should be slightly slightly rounded while you are learning to shave. Over the years you can just let normal wear catch up to it and the roundness will go away if you decide you prefer a spike.

 

[syngent]

Lol I was thinking... great for under the nose... horrible for ear lobes nostrils that bumpy thing on ear and such

 

[syngent]

well my new toy arrived, feels sharp but i dont know how sharp, its supposed to feel like lol, but the wear on the spine leads me to believe someone was using this at some point doesnt seem to be in need of much love to be good to go though,... heres some of the pics i took

 

[Slash McCoy]

Looks good. Edge is a little rough and will need some DMT TLC before the bevel setter but it doesn't seem to have any real issues. I say it's a shaver. Get that rascal honed and give it a go!

OTOH a total resto wouldn't be a waste of time. These razors look pretty nice when they are buffed up a bit. The scales are a little foppish for my taste but one has to admit they could be eye catching. The third pin is usually only found on razors of a somewhat higher quality. One caution: when buffing inlaid plastic scales, go easy, light contact, low RPM, mild abrasives only. Otherwise you will find the plastic buffing away and leaving the inlays so raised up they don't even look like they belong there. I'm thinking that is a job for MAAS, chalk, or talcum powder. For hand buffing, toothpaste would work. Then maybe a hard carnauba wax or something to really give them some gloss.