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I have 3 FR's and love each one :) I never seemed to have a problem getting a great edge on mine but have heard some horror stories :p
 
Mr.Magnus said:
FR stands for French razor? Or framebacks?
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Frederick Raynolds, Sheffield razors.
DSC00982.jpg
 
That is a great blade! Funny how their razors are awesome, but the knives...well, I'm glad they did razors. :)
 
Dave Martell said:
I'll take pictures when I make the next one (which should look better), I'll shoot both together so you can see the difference.
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I was thinking about the benefits of a linen and a leather side on a strop, just last night. A linen side is not really necessary, but is almost like "hone-ping". It's a way to not need the stones for even longer, but more importantly, it gives you that option of customization of your edge. Technically, you could charge the rougher side of a strop and use it in a similar manner, depending on the type of leather, and never need linen. BUT, given the choice, and the pure luxurious-ness (look and feel) of a true two sided strop...well we all know which our eyes and razors would fall upon.
 
When I had Tony Miller make my strop I asked for the cotton "linen" backing. I use it every time basicly to remove anything that may settle on the edge while sitting. After the shave right before putting the razor away I do a few laps on the cotton to again clean off anything not razor. I do notice a bit longer life from my edges doing this and it's only about 5 laps before and after.
 
Mr.Magnus said:
Oh okay. Nice scales is it horn with transparent look? That razor needs all cleaning at the joints IMO :p
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Looks bad in the pic but it's only patina now, I never sand or remove all the patina from a blade, I just remove active rust and corrosion. I like a blade to look it's age while still being servicable :)

Yes it's dyed yellow/clear horn, common is those days to immitate tortise shell, than it just got goofy with splotches and no longer looked like shell but a colored horn.
 
I gotta say that Leftys shaving soap starts to grow on me, u kinda get addicted to the smell. :jumping2:

[video=youtube;pFJqAD03TBo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFJqAD03TBo&list=UUW8eMt9iy0-4JakPtj_oOaA&index=1&feature=plcp[/video]
 
Ok, so thanks to this thread (damn you, Mr.Magnus! :biggrin:), I've started trying out straight razors. Went with the "sight unseen deal", and already have a second razor on the way from another vendor. Of course, I've tried honing as well, but still have a ton to learn about both shaving and honing. This thing ain't easy! So much for the advice to take it slow. :laugh:

One question: do you use separate stones for your knives and razors? I'm thinking about stones you would use to set the bevel on the razor. I imagine those would need to be kept very flat for razors but less so for knives. Might be easier to just use separate stones so that you don't need to unecessarily keep stones for knives too flat. A related question: is an Atoma 600 or 1200 alone fine enough for lapping razor stones? Or do you need to follow the Atoma will something finer (maybe a tomonagura?) to maintain the mirror-smooth surface?

Many thanks,

Mark
 
Haha. so have you had your first shave yet? and was it shave-ready from a good sharperner? a good test is the hair test or if u can cut hairs from your arm witout skinn contact.

about the stones im not realy a pro so im gonna leave that question to someone like Dwarven or Lefty.

markenki said:
Ok, so thanks to this thread (damn you, Mr.Magnus! :biggrin:), I've started trying out straight razors. Went with the "sight unseen deal", and already have a second razor on the way from another vendor. Of course, I've tried honing as well, but still have a ton to learn about both shaving and honing. This thing ain't easy! So much for the advice to take it slow. :laugh:

One question: do you use separate stones for your knives and razors? I'm thinking about stones you would use to set the bevel on the razor. I imagine those would need to be kept very flat for razors but less so for knives. Might be easier to just use separate stones so that you don't need to unecessarily keep stones for knives too flat. A related question: is an Atoma 600 or 1200 alone fine enough for lapping razor stones? Or do you need to follow the Atoma will something finer (maybe a tomonagura?) to maintain the mirror-smooth surface?

Many thanks,

Mark
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I use 1k Chosera ,Shapton Pros 2/5/8k, 10k super Stone then jump on naturals
So some of the stones I use on razors I also use on knives.
 
I've tried shaving, yes, but haven't succeeded with the full face yet. Best I've done is a halfway-decent job on the cheeks and lower neck. When I get to my chin, the blade just doesn't seem to want to go through the stubble. Not sure whether it's the angle, or not-sharp-enough blade (due to my stopping?), or what. Anyway, at that point, I give up for fear of slicing off half my chin, and go back (tail between my legs) to my sissy Gillette.

The razor from Larry was supposed to be shave ready, and I have no reason to doubt it. The other one that's on the way is from Steve at The Invisible Edge. It's one of the NOS Törnblom razors he has. It's supposed to be shave ready as well; I hope it's a good one. Will try the arm-hair test. Thanks for the tip!

I also have Lynn's DVD on the way. It should have some good stuff I can use!

Regards,

Mark
Mr.Magnus said:
Haha. so have you had your first shave yet? and was it shave-ready from a good sharperner? a good test is the hair test or if u can cut hairs from your arm witout skinn contact.

about the stones im not realy a pro so im gonna leave that question to someone like Dwarven or Lefty.
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Thanks, Stefan. Good to know I don't need a separate set of stones for razors!
mainaman said:
I use 1k Chosera ,Shapton Pros 2/5/8k, 10k super Stone then jump on naturals
So some of the stones I use on razors I also use on knives.
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well hard to tell but you should use around a 30 degree angle. when you strop make sure you dont have any pressure on the blade at all. just the waight of the razor. the chin area can be tricky but i like to split the shaving in that area. from underlipp to tip of chin and from tip of chin to throwt. and make sure you stretch the skin.

a vintage razor that has amazing steel and feels great in the hand is the CV Heljestrand MK Series. and i would recomend a MK31 for a beginner. thay can get abit pricey but some times u get lucky and find them for lunch money. i found my mk31 ivory NOS for 18 bucks.

markenki said:
I've tried shaving, yes, but haven't succeeded with the full face yet. Best I've done is a halfway-decent job on the cheeks and lower neck. When I get to my chin, the blade just doesn't seem to want to go through the stubble. Not sure whether it's the angle, or not-sharp-enough blade (due to my stopping?), or what. Anyway, at that point, I give up for fear of slicing off half my chin, and go back (tail between my legs) to my sissy Gillette.

The razor from Larry was supposed to be shave ready, and I have no reason to doubt it. The other one that's on the way is from Steve at The Invisible Edge. It's one of the NOS Törnblom razors he has. It's supposed to be shave ready as well; I hope it's a good one. Will try the arm-hair test. Thanks for the tip!

I also have Lynn's DVD on the way. It should have some good stuff I can use!

Regards,

Mark
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Mr.Magnus said:
i found my mk31 ivory NOS for 18 bucks.
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Ok, I'll pay you twice for it. :)

My understanding is that Törnblom worked for Heljestrand before going out on his own, so maybe the Törnbloms are good, too?
 
I just picked up an old W&B, the blade needs a bit of love and the scales are pretty beat up. Does anyone know someone that does scale work?
 
tkern said:
I just picked up an old W&B, the blade needs a bit of love and the scales are pretty beat up. Does anyone know someone that does scale work?
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There's a section over on SRP for "Member Services" that includes honing and restoration. Our own Stefan (mainaman) is one of those offering these services.

I had Glen Mercurio (gssixgun) of GemStar Customs restore an old Spanish straight for me last year with some olivewood scales and I can recommend him.

Before:
file-7.jpg


After:
file-4.jpg
 
Pensacola Tiger said:
There's a section over on SRP for "Member Services" that includes honing and restoration. Our own Stefan (mainaman) is one of those offering these services.

I had Glen Mercurio (gssixgun) of GemStar Customs restore an old Spanish straight for me last year with some olivewood scales and I can recommend him.

Before:
file-7.jpg


After:
file-4.jpg
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Holy ****!!!
 
markenki said:
Ok, I'll pay you twice for it. :)

My understanding is that Törnblom worked for Heljestrand before going out on his own, so maybe the Törnbloms are good, too?
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Hehe i wouldn't sell it for 300 =)

Törnblom makes great shavers aswell but I would never pay 70-80 bucks for 1. Erik Anton berg makes good quality razors aswell but don't pay more then 40 bucks for these razors in good condition
 
I can't stress enough that anyone looking to get into straight razors should see Lynn's DVD. It really goes over just about everything a perspective shaver should know before getting into it. Down side to the DVD is the huge number of RAD attacks that happen just after watching it... :p (you'll understand...)
 
DwarvenChef said:
I can't stress enough that anyone looking to get into straight razors should see Lynn's DVD. It really goes over just about everything a perspective shaver should know before getting into it. Down side to the DVD is the huge number of RAD attacks that happen just after watching it... :p (you'll understand...)
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Yeah, I agree with this.
It is a rather lenghty vid, but it covers most anything related to the fine art of straight razor shaving.
Even though it is a few years by now, it is still very much all you will need to know to get started, and then some:)
 
Just caught up with this thread, and there's some great info on here.

Magnus, thanks for the video. It looks great! Next time, try loading a bit longer, and face lathering. That's where the magic happens, in my opinion :). I'd like to say one thing, as well. I'm no "expert", but rather a guy who likes to know things, and I tend to study my interests, fairly heavily. I love the history and technique involved with wet-shaving, and that's why I have my site going - to help people get interested in it, and to be a resource or great products. However, Dwarvenchef, Dave, maxim, mainaman, Rick...those guys REALLY know their stuff. :)

However, thanks for the kind words.

And, anything by Lynn is a fantastic resource!
 
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