Sharpening a razor

[deanscamaro]

After starting this topic and reading all the good advice, I am in the same boat you are....I can't seem to get through a shaving session without nicking myself. It must be my old, beat up face. Some of it is due to just being careless and moving the razor the wrong direction. I never say its time to quit, though. I mostly shave at night before going to bed and my wife keeps nagging me about blood on the pillow.
:haha: :rotf: :idunno:

 

[fyrfyter43]

Deano and Trench,

One of the secrets to a good straight razor shave is to pull your skin taut. It took me a long time (and a lot of blood loss) to learn just how important it really is. But now I get a pretty good shave in just a few swipes of the razor. I don't get the baby-butt smooth shave some guys are always looking for, but that's mostly because I don't bother shaving against the grain of the hair. I've tried it a few times and ended up with a great shave, along with a pretty nasty bit of razor burn. By just shaving with the grain, I get a close enough shave that I only need to shave every other day.

Keep at it. There is a steep learning curve to shaving with a straight razor. It took me about 4-5 months to get to where I don't nick myself that often and I'm happy with the shave I get. Until you get the hang of it, a good after-shave lotion is very helpful. I use Proraso, but my wife and I are both convinced that it's just re-labelled Noxzema.

You guys may also find this site helpful: http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/index.php/Straight_Razor_Place_Wiki

 

[deanscamaro]

I learned early on to pull the skin tight. That's not really needed with a safety razor and you get out of the habit shaving with one of those. I think one of my problems is that I have a beard and mustache (no, really, my avatar isn't actually a picture of me!), so I'm shaving only smaller areas, making me have to manipulate the straight razor more than usual. My beard is not extremely full, so I try an keep as much as I can. I still have to shave some of it to keep it from looking scraggly. Life is tough, isn't it?????

I have to shake my head in wonderment with how long this topic has gone on. When the topic is way out there and not political, it sometimes has some attraction.
:rotf: :rotf: :grin:

 

[jbtusa]

Agreed, pulling the skin tight seems to be the secret. I'm still shaky at times on the neck and chin. It gives me new respect for the old timers... especially the fur trappers out on the frontier. I still don't understand how they kept their razors sharp.

 

[plinker]

Target has Shea Moisture brushes for less than $10. These are an entry level badger brush and will get you started in good shape. Kroger food stores have Williams shave soap (yes they still make it) for just over $1 a puck. Walgreens has VDH (VanDerHagen) soap which I like better for between $2 and 2.50 a puck. WM has it for just over $1.50. Walgreens and sometimes WM have the VDH boar brushes for around $8. The boar brushes are generally stiffer than the badger brushes. Some of the drug store chains (Rite-Aid and CVS) have a VDH kit for about $10. It contains their brush, soap, and a bowl (no lid). Note: a half pound margarine tub will work fine, comes with a lid, but isn't PC. For $10-15 you can get set up with the soap, brush, and bowl. This will do a lot to improve your shave even if you are using a disposable or cartridge razor.

There are numerous on line vendors for straight and double edge rezors. One that hasn't been mentioned is whippeddog.com . His products are aimed at the person new to straight razor shaving. For $48 you can get a shave ready (i.e. honed and stropped) razor and his Poor Mans Strop Kit. The down side is that he picks out the razor for you. It probably won't be purty but it will be good for removing whiskers which is all you are really looking for with your first razor.
He includes several handouts on how to shave as well as how to strop and hone your razor which are very good.