Why DON'T You Shave With a Straight Razor?

Doc Dan said:
There is a guy that is a professional honer. I don't know if he is a member on this forum or not. I'll see if I can get some contact information. I know nothing about his work.

I do know two guys in Malaysia who hone professionally. I realize it is a long swim, but not as bad as to America or Europe.
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Postage from Australia to Malaysia (up to 250g - that's a lot of SRs) cost about AU$19. Don't know what the postage from Malaysia to Australia would be.

Most honemeisters in AU charge about AU$30 to AU$50 per SR plus postage both ways.

I hone the blades for my SR shaving students and charge them AU$30 to AU$40 per SR depending on its condition. The lessons are free.
 
There used to be a guy that had a shop that honed all types of blades not that far from me but he has moved and I've no idea where. I believe he's doing it from his own home.

I have the stones and the rudimentary skills to sharpen my blades but I am starting to get a little lazy.
 
rbscebu said:
Postage from Australia to Malaysia (up to 250g - that's a lot of SRs) cost about AU$19. Don't know what the postage from Malaysia to Australia would be.

Most honemeisters in AU charge about AU$30 to AU$50 per SR plus postage both ways.

I hone the blades for my SR shaving students and charge them AU$30 to AU$40 per SR depending on its condition. The lessons are free.
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Who do you use?

DC Blades hones razors in AUS.

www.dcblades.com

DC Blades / Straight Razors, Custom blades & Restorations Australia

DCBlades, Buy, Sell, restore and repair of Straight razors, Cut throat razors and Wet shaving equipment, Custom Straight Razors & Custom Knives, Razor honing, sharpening
www.dcblades.com www.dcblades.com
 
Mastropiero said:
Since you ask....

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There's one that is missing because I forgot to include it, two more that are still in the repair shop and two more that I have to make scales for.

Now, let me introduce you:

There is 10 razors on the left column, which is the England column:

John Heiffor MasonicWade and Butcher FBUWeathley Brothers "Weat Sheaf"Joseph Rodgers & SonsTwin sister of number 4John HeifforTwin sister of number 6Thomas Turner MasonicJoseph Wostenholm "Ebro"C. Friederich Katz & Co. "FRAM"

I mistakenly placed #10 on the England column, it belongs in the German one. Also, you'd cry if you saw the Turner right now. It is one of the worst made razors ever to come my way. Bevel angle slightly above 20º, without a single layer of tape. Tried honing it with tape, to preserve the glorious Masonic design, but it just wouldn't shave. For me, a razor is a tool, so I decided to hone it sans tape.... and now I have a bevel about 8 mm wide, and a spine honing mark about 3 mm wide, perhaps more. The design is reduced to half, it looks like shit and makes me want to cry, but I have decided to take this one as a personal challenge. If I can hone this one, I can hone anything.

Right, second column is the German one:

Karl Becker, SolingenCould be a Julius Kratz & Co.Tückmar Welt-RufTückmar Welt-RufTwin sister of #4Twin sister of #4 and 5VitcoERN "Crown & Sord"BartmannWilhelm Noelle


#2 is slightly in doubt, Julius Kratz's registered brand was Kramerso. "Kram" could be a shortened version of it. Also, #10 looked like absolute crap when it got to my hands, and it turned out to have glorious, bone scales, and is one of my very best razors.

The Vitco was one of the most challenging ones to restore, again, it looked like shit. Turned out rather ok. I was convinced I'd sell it, the looks really don't agree with my sense of aesthetics, but once I test-shaved with it.... Jeeeesus, I cannot sell this razor. Funny thing is that it's looks are growing on me, to the point that I am hunting for more Vitcos.
Third column is a mixed one:

Palmera 14Blitz 14 (Spanish razor, quite rare)Drew Dick custom made DrewmisoriDrew DickGold Rex (Japanese razor)A.D. Arbens "Mandarin"



Unfortunately, the Palmera stamp disappeared when polishing, but I know what I have. The Blitz one is an amazing thing.

Both DD's are canister Damascus steel, the Drewmisori (Japanese design) is my one and only custom made razor, made to my specs, with Drew's help. Slight smile, 8/8, beveled French point, bearing ball canister Damascus. The second one is also canister Damascus, but made with chainsaw chain.

I have a Puma and an ERN that are awaiting to be clad, and two Caplan razors, twins, one of which needs a scale repair that I haven't quite figured out how to do it. Worst case scenario, I won't fix it, I'll unpeen the second one and make different sets of scales for each one. Or matching ones, duck if I know.
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Very nice collection there!
 
Only used a str8 for well over a decade since converting, no intention of looking back,
my colloection went to nearly 100 then rolled back to about 20 in my personal stash, of those I have 3 heirlooms to never sell, (my 1st, my grandfathers and my father in laws), about 6 others I would be hard pressed to part with as my favourite shavers.and are on the inheritance lists now, Mixed with some others I might be persuaded to part with one day

an efficient str8 shave can be all over in about 10 minutes, the occasional few passes on a finisher hone and stropping does not take long to maintain them, if you look after them right with out damage or corrosion
i tend to give my str8s a refresh hone every year or so, as I shave test others more often when honing
 
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rbscebu said:
Time wise, I can SR shave (three passes) in about 15 minutes. That includes 3 to 4 minutes total spent on blade maintenance (stropping and refreshing the edge on pasted balsa).

I spend about 2 minutes on the pasted balsa after each shave. That's about an hour per month. I could dispense with the pasted balsa and just refresh the edge on a whetstone about once every 3 to 6 months, taking about 15 to 20 minutes.

Over the years, I have worked out a SR shaving routine that extends to over 30 minutes for each shave. Why? Because I enjoy SR shaving and the me time. Nothing interrupts my SR shaving time. The world can just wait.

As for the "skill" required to hone a SR, that should never be required. If you start off with a truly shave-ready edge and maintain it on diamond pasted balsa after each shave (about 1 or 2 minutes), that edge should never need honing again.
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Wow, 2 minutes on paste is a long time really, would recommend only about 10 passes maybe every couple of shaves max, i usually run with 25 laps before and after a shave with clean linen and leather, haven’t used any pastes in years, relegated them to knives only
 
Since I shattered my shoulder when that car wanted to be where my motorcycle was and then ran off, I use mostly my right hand. I can use my left, but not as easily anymore. I don't have problems shaving, though.
 
Doc Dan said:
Since I shattered my shoulder when that car wanted to be where my motorcycle was and then ran off, I use mostly my right hand. I can use my left, but not as easily anymore. I don't have problems shaving, though.
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Another post where "like" isn't appropriate, but there's no 💩 button... :(
 
Substance said:
Wow, 2 minutes on paste is a long time really, would recommend only about 10 passes maybe every couple of shaves max, i usually run with 25 laps before and after a shave with clean linen and leather, haven’t used any pastes in years, relegated them to knives only
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The time includes getting the balsa strop out and putting it away. Actually time on the balsa strop is under a minute. The 0.1μm diamond pasted balsa strop is used hanging so you are stropping with even less pressure than just the weight of the blade.

It could probably be done with just 10 or so laps but no harm is done with a few more. Until you try it, you will never know. I like a fresh edge with every shave - not needed but liked.

I strop on kid leather after a shave and clean leather before each shave. I have found that linen can be a little harsh on a very refined edge. The main thing is do what best suits you, not necessarily what others do.
 
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Substance said:
Wow, 2 minutes on paste is a long time really, would recommend only about 10 passes maybe every couple of shaves max, i usually run with 25 laps before and after a shave with clean linen and leather, haven’t used any pastes in years, relegated them to knives only
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Ah man… I remember putting extra tall mirror bevels on all my knives when I first made my pasted strops lol, good times.
 
CarbonEdge said:
yea I’d assume that anything more than linen and leather after each shave is overkill. Just a touch up every 6-12 months depending on how much use the razor has seen is going to keep them in good shape.
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This is my routine as well.
 
The same topic question was asked in a western hemisphere wet-shaving forum a couple of years ago. Interestingly the most common reason there was that people were scared to shave with a straight razor. In this form it appears that the time involved in maintaining the edge is coming out as the most common reason.
 
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