PalmettoB
04-24-2007, 02:32 PM
About six weeks ago I bought my first straight razor, an eBay 4/8 spike point. I waited for it to arrive, then I ordered a strop from Tony Miller (Heirloom #2 latigo hanging strop). Well, I gave it a go, and it was TERRIBLE! Nice little slices on my upper cheek...just....bad. FWIW, there is no such thing as "shave ready," unless you do the honing yourself or get a known honemeister like Lynn at SRP, or Joe C. or Bill here to do it.
But, in my dogged determination to make this work, I decided to bid on another straight, and won a 5/8 roundpoint. Then I decided I was gonna shape these things up myself, so I bought a Norton 4k/8k waterstone. I also picked up a real cheapy on eBay to practice with, a little 3/8 spike point. So, the tally so far is three razors, a hanging strop, and a waterstone. Still no decent shave.
On the occasions I tried to use the straights I had, my technique was still poor enough that I had to finish with a DE razor. Well, to finish this rambling tale, I have finally honed my razors up to a passable sharpness, and a couple of times this week I have shaved exclusively with a straight razor with nearly BBS results. The cuts are healing, and the "stripes" are less noticeable. I don't think I'll be giving up my DE razors anytime soon, because there are days when I don't have time to shave with a straight. But it sure is fun learning. My daughter laughs at me and my shave geekness. She told me the other day, "I knew you would try a straight eventually...I told you!" (I hate it when she's right! :D )
But, in my dogged determination to make this work, I decided to bid on another straight, and won a 5/8 roundpoint. Then I decided I was gonna shape these things up myself, so I bought a Norton 4k/8k waterstone. I also picked up a real cheapy on eBay to practice with, a little 3/8 spike point. So, the tally so far is three razors, a hanging strop, and a waterstone. Still no decent shave.
On the occasions I tried to use the straights I had, my technique was still poor enough that I had to finish with a DE razor. Well, to finish this rambling tale, I have finally honed my razors up to a passable sharpness, and a couple of times this week I have shaved exclusively with a straight razor with nearly BBS results. The cuts are healing, and the "stripes" are less noticeable. I don't think I'll be giving up my DE razors anytime soon, because there are days when I don't have time to shave with a straight. But it sure is fun learning. My daughter laughs at me and my shave geekness. She told me the other day, "I knew you would try a straight eventually...I told you!" (I hate it when she's right! :D )