#101
All great advise, I had similar experience with AC types as well. Peter's video with his daughter shaving him gave me some confidence.
I still cringe at the thought of having my 40 yr old daughter attempt the same, even though she has accompanied me to 3 Big Shave Wests.
#102

Living on the edge
(This post was last modified: 09-18-2019, 07:12 PM by Tester28.)
Double Post
#103

Living on the edge
(09-18-2019, 03:24 PM)Max Sprecher Wrote:
(09-18-2019, 09:04 AM)Tester28 Wrote: Blade length: 2.5, 2.75. 3.0 cm?
Steel: Carbon, Damascus (20 layer or 40 layer), any other type with an exotic Japanese name?
Spine: Straight or Curved?
Finish: Polished or Matt?
Grind:  Half hollow or Full hollow?
You will get so many different answers as everyone has their own personal take and experience on the matter. To the answers you want I advise you to call and talk to any pro in the field that can explain to you all the in and outs. Unless you have no phone in your remote area ;-)

Thanks for joining the conversation Max.
I'm just trying to gather as diverse a range of opinions as possible, to avoid being swayed by any one
stream of thought. That way other beginners who stop by can also benefit by reading the answers here.
Once I get some idea of what people prefer, and more importantly why, then I will definitely
talk to an expert. Otherwise I run the risk of emailing or calling the expert, sounding a bit
unprepared and wasting their time.

Out of curiosity, which of the above choices appeal to you?
#104

Max Sprecher
Las Vegas, NV
(This post was last modified: 09-18-2019, 07:33 PM by Max Sprecher.)
You are going at it wrong. This has nothing to do with what is preferred. Granted steel choice and style can be debatable as to personal preference but the shaving properties need to be tuned for your own beard/skin type. It's all about what is best suited for your beard and skin type. I get tons of the same questions emailed every so often and I tell everyone the same... 'There's too many variables and explaining everything would mean sitting at my keyboard for an hour so call me anytime and you'll get more answers in 10 minutes than countless emails and convos'.

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"Simple: not to be confused with easy."
#105
(08-31-2016, 02:02 AM)nachum Wrote: i've been de shaving for several years now but have held off on trying straights.  but curiosity is getting the better of me and i think i'd like to try.  a big reason i haven't tried is that i'm confused by what needs to be done, primarily in terms of prep.  any help would be great...

do i need to know how to hone to use a straight?
do i need to buy stones, etc?
do i need to own several straights and rotate their use? 
what exactly is the prep involved each time?
what are good straights to buy? 
what do the sizes mean i.e. 5/8, 6/8?
do i need to anchor a strop to the wall?

is this really complicated or is it simpler than i think?
I know I'm late to this thread, but I'll give you my answers to your questions, one by one.  For reference sake, I am relatively new to straight shaving, having just over 200 straight shaves and just over 50 shavette shaves under my belt. 

do I need to know how to hone to use a straight?  No.  
do I need to buy stones, etc.?  No. 
do I  need to own several straights and rotate their use?  Only if you want to shave with a straight all the time, in which case you will need two.  That way you can continue shaving while one of the razors it out for honing.
what exactly is the prep involved each time?  A blade needs to be stropped before each shave.  Most people also strop AFTER each shave, but that step can be omitted if you want. The blade has to be kept completely dry between shaves, so it needs to be dried thoroughly and stored outside the bathroom where there is less humidity 
what are good straights to buy?  For me, the best deals are on vintage straight razors.  New razors and custom razors are quite expensive.  
what do the sizes mean?  The size is the height of the blade from the edge to the top of the spine.  People get caught up in this, but the edge actually does the shaving and the rest is a matter of style/opinion.  I have a razor that is really a 4/8 (it may have started off life as a 5/8 for all I know) and it shaves just fine.
do i need to anchor a strop to the wall?  No.  You don't even need a hanging strop if you don't want one.  You can use a paddle strop, which you could store in a drawer in your bedside stand or chest-of-drawers.

is this really complicated or is it simpler than I think?  It is both complicated and simple.  It is both harder than you think it is and easier than you think it is.   


I started with a "sight-unseen" vintage razor from whipped dog.  I also bought a paddle strop, which had two leather sides and two pasted balsa sides (one CrOx and the other FeOx).  As I acquired razors, I sent them off for professional honing.  After a shave I dried thoroughly and did about 20 laps on the leather to make sure the blade was clean, then stored it atop  my chest-of-drawers. 
In the evening before I went to bed, I would take the razor and strop it about 80-100 laps on the paddle strop in preparation for the next day's shave.  

After the blade started to feel dull, I would strop about 10-20 on the CrOx, wipe it thoroughly, than about 10-15 on the FeOx, wipe thoroughly, then strop.  I would do all this in the evening.  I would then go back to the regular routine.  I usually got about 10-25 shaves in between these "touch-ups."  After several months, I felt like the touch-up was no longer keeping the edge where I wanted it, so I sent the razors off for honing again.  

I got through an entire year of 6 days a week shaving and only had my razors professionally honed twice.  


Having said all that, after about 13 months I kind of backed off straight shaving and went back to DE/SE.  However, I really missed it, so in August of this year, I started shaving with a Feather SS shavette.  I haven't used anything else since.  For me, it provides the pros of straight razor shaving without the cons of worrying about the edge all the time.
#106

Living on the edge
(This post was last modified: 09-25-2019, 06:53 PM by Tester28.)
I do not trust myself to pick a good vintage straight that hasn't been abused...because
I just wouldn't know what to look out for.
So I decided to order a nice custom 7/8.
The good part about this is that the razor will arrive with the bevel set and shave ready,
so initially I will just have to learn how to strop. I have been watching some stropping videos and I
honestly don't know how anyone can **** that up unless they are dreaming due to the repetitive
nature of the strokes. It seems to me the trick to avoid scratching the strop is to flip the razor over its
spine, and not the edge, when you change the direction of the stroke.

I don't have the patience to get a shit razor and strop to practice on because Im just not going
to allow clutter to build up again in my den. So if anything goes wrong, it's entirely on me.

The only thing that has me worried is the honing...I really do want to hone my own razors but once again,
I do not want my room looking like a stone quarry. I like the JNAT properties and also the Belgian Coticule
route for honing. I wish there was just one decent JNAT stone I could use along with 4 of those Tomo Nagura stones
that offer different grits. (Oh, and I think a cheap USB microscope would be invaluable to gauge what
the edge is looking like)

JNATs are a real dangerous territory for me as they are so expensive and it seems like such an esoteric subject.
#107
Don't be in a hurry when you strop, especially at first. It is very easy to mess up a strop and also to roll the edge of your razor when you are a beginner, particularly if you are not fully attentive when stropping.

Good luck and enjoy!
#108
(09-25-2019, 06:52 PM)Tester28 Wrote: I do not trust myself to pick a good vintage straight that hasn't been abused...because
I just wouldn't know what to look out for.
So I decided to order a nice custom 7/8.
The good part about this is that the razor will arrive with the bevel set and shave ready,
so initially I will just have to learn how to strop. I have been watching some stropping videos and I
honestly don't know how anyone can **** that up unless they are dreaming due to the repetitive
nature of the strokes. It seems to me the trick to avoid scratching the strop is to flip the razor over its
spine, and not the edge, when you change the direction of the stroke.

I don't have the patience to get a shit razor and strop to practice on because Im just not going
to allow clutter to build up again in my den. So if anything goes wrong, it's entirely on me.

The only thing that has me worried is the honing...I really do want to hone my own razors but once again,
I do not want my room looking like a stone quarry. I like the JNAT properties and also the Belgian Coticule
route for honing. I wish there was just one decent JNAT stone I could use along with 4 of those Tomo Nagura stones
that offer different grits. (Oh, and I think a cheap USB microscope would be invaluable to gauge what
the edge is looking like)

JNATs are a real dangerous territory for me as they are so expensive and it seems like such an esoteric subject.


What and were did you order?
#109

Living on the edge
After evaluating a bunch of custom offerings and responses from the makers, I ordered a Koraat Sheffield design in full hollow....that guy
Ulrik seems to know what he's doing and his razors offer a lot of bang for the buck. Great customisation options too.
I've narrowed the strop down to a kanayama 70000 or a westholme in shell cordovan. Screwing this up would be a costly endeavour
so I have a lot of incentive to make it succeed.

If I can make this razor work, I'd ideally want another in quarter or half hollow.

Im pretty confused about stones but I think it would be good to get some advice from Ulrik himself.
#110
Can't go wrong with a Koraat. Beautiful razors, and the grind on the blades is amazing.

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