Straight Razor Shaving

[jbtusa]

The correct way to shave! (Moe & Curly)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDDWi_ZivTM

 

[jbtusa]

The Norton 4/8K stone arrived yesterday. Wow, it is bigger and heavier than I expected. I'm impressed!

Does anyone have experience with lapping the Norton with wet/dry sandpaper? The manual says to use 220 and then 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. My question is: do I have to lap it under water or just dry lap it? It's a beautiful stone; I'd hate to ruin it.

 

[plinker]

I would wet lap it. I put the paper on a piece of glass so that I know it is flat. The water helps the paper stick to the glass. The paper and glass don't have to be submerged nor do you have to do it under running water, but keep the paper wet. As you get rid of the high spots you will probably find that the stone wants to stick to the paper. This shows that the stone is getting flatter. When the light cross hatch pencil lines are gone, you have flattened it as far as that grit is concerned and it is time to move to a finer grit and repeat the process. You should spend more time on the coarser grits and will probably need several sheets of paper for them. I found that, for me anyway, the Norton papers laid flatter than the cheaper papers from HF. YMMV.

 

[jbtusa]

After water soaking, I used 2 pieces of 220 on each side, followed by 2 pieces of 400 grit sandpaper on each side of the new Norton 4/8K stone. The scarf really comes off fast at first and then the stone starts to glide like an air hockey puck. I'll go buy 2 more pieces of 220 and 400 and lap it again. I can see low spots on the stone and some corners that will take quite a bit of lapping to smoothe out. Wow, what a nice stone!

 

[jbtusa]

I got frustrated with trying to hone the frown out of an old 4/8 hollow. So I put the razor face edge straight down on an old knife carborundum stone and ground the h_ll out of it! The frown is gone but now the edge is as dull as the spine... flat steel! It'll take a bastard file to put a bevel back on, that's how dull it is. Now what... any ideas?

 

[Trench]

Now you need a 200 grit stone to establish an edge. Work your way up in grits to your Norton Stone.

 

[jbtusa]

I worked on it with an old knife carborundum for about 1/2 hour tonight. That at least started the bevel again. It's an antique store junker so if I ruin it, no loss. I bought it to learn to hone on anyway. But I must say, that Norton 4/8K is sweet!... 3" wide to play on.

 

[Trench]

My lesser grit stones are only 1.5" wide.
A 3" stone really does make things easier.

 

[jbtusa]

Looking for ideas: I bought a never sharpened/never used Soligen 6/8" razor at an antique store today for $30. It's got rust marks, no pitting, on the blade and gold plating. Steel wool cleaned it up but the marks are still showing on it. Any way to get the rust stains off?

Also, the razor has never been honed or used. Should I start with 1 strip of tape on the spine for its first sharpening? Or, just hone it without tape and hone-mar the spine?

Also, a new discovery. I went to a horse tack shop today and bought a 3 1/2" x 30" piece of harness leather. Wow, it made a killer MONSTER STROP! I love the wideness b/c the razor shank lies on it and helps keep the edge level on the strop face. Cost: $8.

Any ideas on how to get this one ready to go?

 

[Trench]

If it is a hollow grind, forgo the tape. You'll want that spine to wear down with the edge to keep the angle correct on the edge when honing. The spine takes on a mirror finish when you get to the higher grits of honing and it looks quite nice.

I'm working on one myself at the moment. I don't go any farther than removing rust. If it doesn't come out with my wire brush attachment on my dremel, I leave it alone.

 

[MSW]

as regards the strop, there are really two schools of thought- one which insists that you put a light coat of polishing compound on the leather and one that says leave well enough alone. I personally fall into the second camp for straight razors, but i do use a compound when stropping chisels and woodworking tools.

You did good, by the way, on the strop- i spent a lot more and got the same leather but nice hardware ... i suspect that i could have done as well looking through some of my daughters leatherworking supply catalogus and save a boat load of loot!

To get rust off of metal, I have had good luck with a product called "simichrome." It's sort of a very fine abrasive paste, about the same consistency as toothpaste.

just one guy's opinion - try and see what works best for you!

 

[jbtusa]

How ironic. I found an old tube of Simichrome last night and cleaned up all of my razors. It works great. The deeper rust pits on the 6/8 hollow are still there but at least now it looks acceptable. It did take off some of the gold wash. That's ok, I bought the razor to learn on.

Since the 6/8 has never been sharpened, it's taking forever to start the bevel using only the Norton 4/8K stone. That's all I have.

As far as the monster strop, I love it! The harness leather is thick enough so that it doesn't roll up lengthwise and the extra width lets the razor shank lay on the surface keeping the cutting edge flat too; no rolling the edge. At the tack shop, it was $8 for the leather blank, 3.5 x 30". Great deal! (Cheaper and better than Tandy leather.)

 

[Trench]

Some hefty pressure on the Norton stone might help speed things up. You can lighten things up as the edge appears on the blade. (Still might take a while.)

 

[MSW]

I'd avoid putting a bunch of force on a stone, especially a waterstone, since they're a good bit softer than a whetstone and you may have a dish develop in your system, which will have to be flattened.

Instead, give some thought to a bit of wet / dry sandpaper (available at an auto body supply shop or a good hardware store). I get a bit of granite i filched from my daughter, wet everything down, smooth things out, and use it as though it were a whetstone. I can get sandpaper as fine as 1200 grit at my hardware store, but you might get a finer grit at an autobody shop.

 

[jbtusa]

Finally, after 4 sessions with the new Norton 4/8K stone, there's a usable edge! Wow, what a feeling to actually put a new edge on a razor and then use it! I must say that I like the larger 6/8 best. It seems easier for a newbie.

 

[jbtusa]

I've spent at least 5-6 hours on honing a new never-been-sharpened 6/8 Solingen half hollow using a Norton 4/8K stone followed by a 12K chinese stone. There's finally a bevel showing and it just barely cuts. I'm not satisfied with it. I'm running out of patience with the process.

Any ideas? I don't know what sharp is for this razor since I don't have anything to compare it to. Does a 6/8 half hollow ever get as sharp as a 5/8 full hollow? (That's all I have to compare with.) Getting frustrated! Thanks.

 

[Trench]

You really need to start with a 200 grit stone if the edge is non-existant or damaged. Then, you can go to finer grits. I use 800,1200,4000/8000 when I get a new razor that isn't very sharp anymore. I just got a razor a few weeks ago that I had to start off with a 200 grit because it had very small chips on the edge. It's still not ready after about 3 sessions.

 

[Woods Dweller]

Last time I shaved was 1974! But before that I only used a straight razor, because that's what dad used. After all the cuts and I got uses to using a straight razor, it was a great way to shave. It was a closer shave than any of the modern razors of the day. I under stand that barber shops are not allowed to give shaves the way they use to with a straight razor. If you find one it will most likely have an old timer using a straight razor, go in and get a shave.

If I found one I might go in and have him give me a shave! :wink:

 

[Darkgael]

I under stand that barber shops are not allowed to give shaves the way they use to with a straight razor.

Not sure that is so. In fact, there is a growing niche for "boutique shaves". These are little shops that offer straight razor shaves of varying degrees of luxury. They ain't cheap. I saw one in (IIRC) Union Station in D.C. There are a number of locations in NYC for "The Art of Shaving" - a shave "salon".
And there is Steve Becker on Main Street in Sweet Valley, PA who will give you as good a shave as any.
Pete

 

[MSW]

Pete D. is right- there are some barbers who will give you a classic straight razor shave. In the pre- AIDS era, all they needed to do was make sure the blade was clean, so it was dipped in a sterilizing solution, but now they use straight razors with disposable blades, so you get a brand new blade with every shave and there's absolutely no chance of any blood transfer.

This can run you into some pretty serious money, though. (Not for the blades- those are cheap, but for the skill of the barber).

Just one guy's free opinion, and no doubt worth the price!