First time with a straight razor

I picked up a Sterling straight razor at a antique store and tried to sharpen it well enough to shave.
Well it wasn't sharp enough to get a clean shave but I could see some beard reduction and I didn't cut my self. I finished using the fatboy I picked up also.
Any tips on how to get the blade sharper?
My cousin is a hairdresser and she said she will teach me how to use a straight razor when I go to visit the family back home.

Congratulations on taking the first steps!
It would be best to send the razor out to be honed, at least for the first time.
Honing isn't rocket science but it is something that takes a little practice to do well.
If you don't want to send out and want ti try it again on your own, what kind of stones do you have to hone with?

Yes I did read up on it after I posted here and found out just about everything you just posted here.
I just have a stone that I got in a box of shaving items.
Then I found out that I shouldn't do that so I stopped.
Now I just need to either find a stone or someone that can hone it for me.

Leo - If you're willing to pay for shipping both ways, I can hone your razor for you.

Otherwise, my advice is to get yourself a nice sized coticule from The Superior Shave. A 150 mm La Grise or La Verte stone will do - get a slurry stone too. Then look up the instructions on using a coticule on Coticule.be and get honing.

However, I agree with Brian - you need to have a reference point for how sharp a razor needs to be, so sending it to an experienced person is your best bet.

(06-18-2012, 10:08 AM)yohannrjm Wrote: Leo - If you're willing to pay for shipping both ways, I can hone your razor for you.

Otherwise, my advice is to get yourself a nice sized coticule from The Superior Shave. A 150 mm La Grise or La Verte stone will do - get a slurry stone too. Then look up the instructions on using a coticule on Coticule.be and get honing.

However, I agree with Brian - you need to have a reference point for how sharp a razor needs to be, so sending it to an experienced person is your best bet.

I just might take you up on that offer.
How much do you charge for honing?
I'm going on vacation later this week and will be gone for 3 weeks so it won't happen until I get back.

Leo,

Send it to Yohann now and have it waiting on you when you get back from vacation.

I can't speak for Yohann, but I believe he was offering to hone your razor for the price of postage only. Yohann definitely knows what he's doing when it comes to honing a straight.

I think I'll do that.
Can you PM me your address yohannrjm?

Yep - no charge for the honing itself.

PM inbound.

(06-18-2012, 05:23 AM)MileMarker60 Wrote: Congratulations on taking the first steps!
It would be best to send the razor out to be honed, at least for the first time.
Honing isn't rocket science but it is something that takes a little practice to do well.
If you don't want to send out and want ti try it again on your own, what kind of stones do you have to hone with?

+1 See what a good honed blade feels like to get a reference so you can attempt it later.

Got the Sterling straight today. It looks pretty good, but it's certainly not anywhere close to shave-ready.

It's loose in the scales, and needs some minor polishing.

I think this will be a nice razor when it's ready.

Well, this turned out to be a nice razor.

The scales are replacements, I think. The pivot is not pinned properly, and that leads to the blade being really loose in the scales. The pivot pin needs to be replaced, but unfortunately - after our last basement flood, my repinning tools and rod stock got trashed, so I can't take care of it.

Regardless, the blade (a US made one) is really nice. It is a 5/8"-ish round point half hollow. It had some pitting at the edge, and I had to resort to a DMT600 to get rid of that, but once it was done, the honing went along well. I shaved with it this morning, and it was a really nice, close, comfortable shave.

This will be back on its way to Leo tomorrow.

(06-24-2012, 07:33 AM)yohannrjm Wrote: Well, this turned out to be a nice razor.

The scales are replacements, I think. The pivot is not pinned properly, and that leads to the blade being really loose in the scales. The pivot pin needs to be replaced, but unfortunately - after our last basement flood, my repinning tools and rod stock got trashed, so I can't take care of it.

Regardless, the blade (a US made one) is really nice. It is a 5/8"-ish round point half hollow. It had some pitting at the edge, and I had to resort to a DMT600 to get rid of that, but once it was done, the honing went along well. I shaved with it this morning, and it was a really nice, close, comfortable shave.

This will be back on its way to Leo tomorrow.

Thank you thank you thank you.
You have no idea how exited I am. I just hope I don't cut my self too bad.

(06-18-2012, 10:08 AM)yohannrjm Wrote: Leo - If you're willing to pay for shipping both ways, I can hone your razor for you.

Otherwise, my advice is to get yourself a nice sized coticule from The Superior Shave. A 150 mm La Grise or La Verte stone will do - get a slurry stone too. Then look up the instructions on using a coticule on Coticule.be and get honing.

However, I agree with Brian - you need to have a reference point for how sharp a razor needs to be, so sending it to an experienced person is your best bet.

That's very kind of you.

Well finally got to shave with a sharp straight razor.
First let me thank Yohannrjm for the great job he did on sharpening the razor for me.
I managed to get through it without cutting my self except the normal nicks from the ingrown hair.
How ever after 2 passes I had to stop since my skin was starting to get irritated.
I could not get a really clean shave but was probably my technique since this was only my second time with a straight razor. I want to experiment more with this.
Is it just me or is it really that soothing and relaxing to shave with these things? I would not have guessed that running a sharp blade over my face and neck would be this calming.

Hey Leo -

Good to see that you started using the straight.

It can sometimes take a long time to learn how to use straights properly - months, sometimes.

It shouldn't feel harsh on the face. Please examine the edge closely to see if there has been any oxidation that developed in storage. It's been a few weeks since I sent it out, and if WI is anything like here, you've probably seen some hot, humid days.

If the edge is fine, then it's probably a matter of figuring out how little pressure you need to use and also figuring out the shaving angles, etc.

Keep at it, it should just get better.

Tried it again and I did a little better but had to finish up with the fatboy.
I have now developed an obsession with this and can't stop.