Wet Shaving, ala straight razors

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SRP has one draw back (ducks) Info OVERLOAD lol. It is easy to get side tracked by the "Old Hands" that are working the frontiers of wet shaving. Newbees can get caught up in this and get over focused on areas that they have not build up a knowledge base on yet. Hang out in the newbe section until you feel you can answer the "New" newbees FAQ's, than you can feel safer about wading into the deeper aspects of the lifestyle.

As LR Harner and Mainman pointed out above and you correctly deduced, Ebite specials are a minefield if you don't know what your looking at. I feel confedent to shop ebite as I can usually pick out the problems (and there always is problems) with a price I'm ok with. And there is always that one diamond in the rough that 90% of the time is a turd. That said Antique shops and malls are an excellent source of vintage razors that you can fondle prior to buying, I picked up a couple 8/8 wade and butchers for under $20 locally (that was enough drain on my "Luck Account" to keep me from finding a good buy for almost a year :p )

Stones = Box of Worms... I kid you not... But that is after you learn the basics, that can be learned on most of the stone you may already have. My first year on straights was with the exact same stones I used for my kitchen knives. King 1200, King 6k, Norton 4/8k. Learn the art of the bevel, once you can gets a shaving edge off a norton 8k you can venture out to the finer hones, this will save you tons of money and heartache.

"Learn the Basics" fight the urge to go fast, fast=cuts burn and unhappiness. Slow and steady to build technique and confidence (watch out for over confidence, see "going to fast" :p)
 
One or two of you may recognize me from a shaving forum. :rolleyes2:
 
:D Thanks, DC, input greatly appreciated. I developed a lot of patients in my years of custom jewelry making.
 
i try and tell guys to find a 1/4 ground 6/8 to start or something close as you can then see if you want a bigger or smaller razor or lighter or stiffre grind but middle of the road is a good start
 
Got started about 6 months ago. It was rough going in at first. Lots of scraping and cutting going on. Now after getting a little better at honing the razor and re-learning to shave my face I'm in a much better position than I was. Still lots of room for improvement in both areas but I've got plenty of time to learn more.

Started out with a dovo best just to see if I was gonna stick with it before I dropped some serious coin. Since at this point I definitely will, it looks like I'll be treating myself to a nice Butch or Devin later on in the year. That;'s gonna be nice.
 
Just in case anyone has not figured out the */8's yet, it is 8th's of an inch so a 4/8 would be a 1/2" deep blade and parts there of. Grinds are similar, wedge being a triangle from spine to edge back up the other sid and across the back. and a full hollow grind would have most of the metal removed from the spine to almost the edge. And again all parts in between.

While wedges are heavy and full hollows are light, you can think of them as the 1 ton truck and the sports car. They will both get you there it's just about what you like in the ride. Very personal fit kind of stuff. Starting in the middle gives you the ability to figure out what works best for you. Don't really worry about how and what each grind is for, that will come when you are more intouch with shaving with a straight.

One thing that needs to be understood, every step of the way is an art, there is no one way that works for everyone. That is why there are soooo many different razor styles out there. Personal preference plays a huge roll in the shapes and grinds. Round, square, Spike, French, Barber, Smiling, these are all moot points to the beginner (though I would shy away from a spike early on). Get the razor style that you like the looks of, you'll stick to it more than one your just ok with. I started on squares and spikes against better judgment only because I got them cheap lol. It took a while before I was ok with round tips, now I don't notice a difference. If you go with a modern made razor like Dovo's Best you can't go wrong, same with a rebuilt vintage piece that has been fixed up by one of many re-builders listed on SRP, or other forums.

I'm a sucker for vintage razors, heavier the better. Modern ones just feel light and flippy to me, but that has nothing to do with the shave as they all shave very well... I'm (as usual) out in left field focusing on a very small group of razors that are out there. Custom razors are the cream of the crop, as much as I would LOVE to have one from each of them I just can't go there lol Although I have shaved with a couple of Butches early ones :) I don't know of a custom maker that would make a beast of a razor I would probably come up with and be able to afford lol.

As you may have guessed I am a bit obsessive over all aspects of straight razors I could go on for days and really shouldn't lol

So far the only AD's I have not fallen into are strops and brushes, I like the ones I have and haven't ventured out to try others. We will not talk about soaps hones and razors AD's... I'll never run out....
 
DC i ll have to get youa tester from my newer body of work
also jsut to be clear wedge razors are not true wedges they are ever so slightly hollow so that the honing is easer
 
Very true on that wedge thing, not many "true" wedges out there. Most have enough ground out to allow for a bevel and spine contact points. I've seen a few worn down enough to be as much a true wedge as you may ever see... and I'm glad I never had to hone it lol

I would love to test run another of your razors... see if I can get the hang of a good stainless blade lol.
 
DwarvenChef said:
Very true on that wedge thing, not many "true" wedges out there. Most have enough ground out to allow for a bevel and spine contact points. I've seen a few worn down enough to be as much a true wedge as you may ever see... and I'm glad I never had to hone it lol

I would love to test run another of your razors... see if I can get the hang of a good stainless blade lol.
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DC I do not even sure how you hone a true wedge, that thing will make full contact with the stone.
I tried to fix one that was almost flat and it wouls get stuck to the stone from sucktion and not move at all. Impossible to hone.
 
mainaman said:
DC I do not even sure how you hone a true wedge, that thing will make full contact with the stone.
I tried to fix one that was almost flat and it wouls get stuck to the stone from sucktion and not move at all. Impossible to hone.
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Lots of tape on the spine?

I purposely flattened a really worn blade on a DMT once. I don't really know why I did that. I guess I was curious...It's kind of like the guys who thin a whole knife from spine to edge on a stone...
 
heirkb said:
Lots of tape on the spine?

I purposely flattened a really worn blade on a DMT once. I don't really know why I did that. I guess I was curious...It's kind of like the guys who thin a whole knife from spine to edge on a stone...
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no tape will wear faster than the edge and you can't set the bevel.
That is the reason why you can't set a bevel on a damaged razor you have to fix the spine first then tape an hone if you like.
 
So I took Butch's advice and went down to my local store, Junque store, that is, and perused a few straights that they had. I found one that looked to be in pretty good shape, very little corrosion and little hone wear, straight scales. The name in the tang was BO-RAS-IC, some letters with periods and New York. It seemed in good enough shape to at least start playing around with, so I picked it up for 20 bucks, talked down from 25.
Looking around on the web it appears that this is a pretty good piece, made in Germany. I now have something to start learning on, I think!
 
Thanks, Main, I'm looking at the tutorials on SRP as we speak! I just read a posting he did on restoring one of these Bo-Ras-Ics.
 
I have a Frederick Reynolds wedge that has some decent hone wear, it's a true ***** to hone.
 
So is this tape on the spine a universal technique? I see that gssixgun seems to use it a lot. Is this to prevent wear to the spine, as opposed to increasing the angle of the bevel?
 
SpikeC said:
So is this tape on the spine a universal technique? I see that gssixgun seems to use it a lot. Is this to prevent wear to the spine, as opposed to increasing the angle of the bevel?
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if you want to preserve spine, some have figuring and etch, it is great technique.
It does not change the angle much at all to affect the shave. The use of tape is really a personal preference.
 
Tape is tricky, at best. I tape at 1k when setting bevels on damaged blades. Once they are set I remove the tape and set the bevel again without tape. While the angle change is not much, it can cause trouble if you have tricky blades. Many honers swear by the tape and other swear at the tape, it's a personal choice.

For me tape only has a place when aggresive grinding is called for, once you have the bevel set the ammount of wear you gets is minimal and no real reason to keep using it. This is my opinion and many others will disagree, try it for your selves and see what works best for you.
 
DwarvenChef said:
Tape is tricky, at best. I tape at 1k when setting bevels on damaged blades. Once they are set I remove the tape and set the bevel again without tape. While the angle change is not much, it can cause trouble if you have tricky blades. Many honers swear by the tape and other swear at the tape, it's a personal choice.

For me tape only has a place when aggresive grinding is called for, once you have the bevel set the ammount of wear you gets is minimal and no real reason to keep using it. This is my opinion and many others will disagree, try it for your selves and see what works best for you.
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DC what do you mean by tricky blade?
I fix anything that has problems before even attempting setting bevels. Using tape after the problems are fixed is nothing special.
 
yep i tape from start to finish but on the other side of that as i am grinding a razor out i lay it flat on a DMT600 and look at where the hone ware is so that as i finish grind i can make sure that the grind is just right

i tap cause most ppl dont want a brand new custom razor with spine ware (i use jsut one layer also not the multi layers like some)
 
I've been slowly learning the straight shave thing for a while now, and I gotta admit it's been slow going. Slower than kitchen knives were for me. Part of the problem is I'm really thick through the goatee section. I'm pretty comfortable with the easier neck, cheeks and sideburns. My problems can I think be summed up pretty well in the word: "pull."

I've been working with a Fox Cutlery that I was told is about 100 years old, I've forgotten the exact date. It's a spike, which has made me bleed a few times, but I think I've got that under control now. It's also got a bit of the smile shape to the blade, which I think I'm actually starting to like. I'm not great at eyeballing how hollow a razor is, but I would guess it's something like quarter or half.

To sharpen, I've just been using my knife kit. Beston 500 (never use this one any more), Bester 1200 then Takenoko 8k. Follow that up with a leather strop loaded with .25 micron diamond spray. I don't tape, but I do more or less hold the razor flat against the stone and just live with the wear.

I'm wondering if my problems lie more in the honing/stropping or if it's just my shaving technique that's not up to par? I only opt for the straight maybe once a week, mostly because I'm rushed most mornings on weekdays.
 
Craig said:
I've been slowly learning the straight shave thing for a while now, and I gotta admit it's been slow going. Slower than kitchen knives were for me. Part of the problem is I'm really thick through the goatee section. I'm pretty comfortable with the easier neck, cheeks and sideburns. My problems can I think be summed up pretty well in the word: "pull."

I've been working with a Fox Cutlery that I was told is about 100 years old, I've forgotten the exact date. It's a spike, which has made me bleed a few times, but I think I've got that under control now. It's also got a bit of the smile shape to the blade, which I think I'm actually starting to like. I'm not great at eyeballing how hollow a razor is, but I would guess it's something like quarter or half.

To sharpen, I've just been using my knife kit. Beston 500 (never use this one any more), Bester 1200 then Takenoko 8k. Follow that up with a leather strop loaded with .25 micron diamond spray. I don't tape, but I do more or less hold the razor flat against the stone and just live with the wear.

I'm wondering if my problems lie more in the honing/stropping or if it's just my shaving technique that's not up to par? I only opt for the straight maybe once a week, mostly because I'm rushed most mornings on weekdays.
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since you have a bunch of experience with shaving and you do not have the pull when you shave the cheeks , I would say the razor is not sharp enough to feel comfortable on the chin.
If you want I will hone it for free if you are willing to pay the shipping fees.
PM if interested
 
I'm more interested in getting to the point where I can hone it myself. Generous offer though, thanks.

Maybe one of these days I'll convince DT to make me a razor already and I'll know for sure. I'm assuming anything he makes comes with an outstanding factory edge.
 
Since I deal primarily with pre 1900 razors I get some pretty funky grinds. Looks like the hollows where done just after the lunch break when these guys are known to have quite allot of beer with lunch :p Than you have the end users that didn't always know what they where doing and honed with strange rituals, not to mention the occasional warp, twist and such. I don't pound out anything I leave them as they lay and do my best to get them shaving. As most know I'm not after "pretty" on my work pieces, I'd rather them show their age, just clean enough to keep them from deteriorating any farther.

Spine ware is all part of that life process with a razor so I don't worry about normal wear and tear. Granted if I was dealing with custom steel works I'd probably use tape more often, but I don't. And that is a choise each end user must decide on. Both sides of the tape issue, because each has it's place and nether side is right or wrong.
 
It might be your blade and might also be your technique. It made a big difference for me when I started using scything and guillotining strokes while shaving. My goal is to not feel like I'm shaving at all (not feel the hair being cut) and I could get that without these strokes, but it's easier if you learn with these two strokes. Try these two methods and use short passes and see if that works for you. Some guys use long passes and finish their whole face in three strokes, but I get a ton of irritation when doing that.
Here is an explanation of a few shaving strokes including the two I mentioned: http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Shaving_passes#The_scything_motion

Edit: Just to add...the reason I say it might be the technique is that I never could learn how to shave my chin properly. I tried with DE's and once with straights and just gave up. In my case, I really don't think it was the blade.
 
heirkb said:
It might be your blade and might also be your technique. It made a big difference for me when I started using scything and guillotining strokes while shaving. My goal is to not feel like I'm shaving at all (not feel the hair being cut) and I could get that without these strokes, but it's easier if you learn with these two strokes. Try these two methods and use short passes and see if that works for you. Some guys use long passes and finish their whole face in three strokes, but I get a ton of irritation when doing that.
Here is an explanation of a few shaving strokes including the two I mentioned: http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Shaving_passes#The_scything_motion

Edit: Just to add...the reason I say it might be the technique is that I never could learn how to shave my chin properly. I tried with DE's and once with straights and just gave up. In my case, I really don't think it was the blade.
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This is helpful, thanks. I've been doing Guillotine a little, but I learned to avoid scything (I had no idea these were the terms) early on because every time I did it my face ended up bleeding. I really shouldn't have started with a spike, but whatever. Chicks dig scars, right?

Actually, looking at the pictures early on that page, I notice that on both the WTG pass and the ATG pass they're going left to right across the chin, which I find interesting. Even if you're not going up/down, shouldn't one pass go left to right and the other right to left? Regardless, I've been trying to hack it up/down, maybe I'll try that next time.
 
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