old school shaving

[damoc]

wanted to get some insight into how to use an old style straight razor
to shave with?

mostly i want to know anything about sharpening i have one of those
straps it has 2 parts a leather piece and what looks like white woven
plastic?

do i use oil or water on the strap?
do i oil the razor after shaving? (its not stainless)
sorry but except when i go to the barber straight razors are long before
my time. I want to learn how to use and care for one because i just
cant do the mountain man look even after tshtf.

has anybody ever died from a self inflicted shaving accident

[Sam_Luna]

You’re a braver man than I!

Sam

[unregistered29228]

Sounds like a great way to cut yourself!!!

We bought one of those sharpeners from TV, and it works pretty well. It gives an extra 5-8 shavings to the Mach III razor refills we use.

If we couldn't get razors, I guess we'd all just grow hair...

[texican]

I don't shave... but if I did, I'd do it with a straight razor. Believe the smartest course would be to go to a barber, and get shaved, and then pay him whatever he wanted, to give a lesson or two.

A straight razor on your jugular is a risky endeavor if you know not what your doing.

I've always just used some spit on a blade when I was stropping on a leather belt. The little steel and ceramic sharpeners will put a razors edge on a blade in a hurry... stropping on leather gets the edge even finer.

[sgl42]

a whole thread titled: "Any other straigh razor shavers here?" at
Any other straigh razor shavers here?

in particular, a post with refs to web sites:

Any other straigh razor shavers here?

[ET1 SS]

I used to use a straight razor when I was onboard subs, during those times when they required us to shave.

One razor can last you an entire lifetime.

Daily you hone it with a strop, no oil, no water needed.

Surgical steel is the key, mine never rusted.

Any soap with do, in a cup and whip the soap with a brush and a dab of water.

I served 20 years in the US Navy. Most of my career was bearded, but whenever I had to shave, I used a razor.

It does wake you up.

[GoldenCityMuse]

no shaving for me!

[Spinner]

I grew up watching dad shave with a straight razor. He made it look easy!

I don't think he used oil or anything like that. Just rubbed the razor on the leather to sharpen it.

I heard that the best way to learn to use one is to practice with shaving cream on a balloon. When you can shave a balloon without breaking it, then you're ready to move to skin.

[jukebox]

http://www.shavemyface.com/

http://www.badgerandblade.com/index.php

http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/index.php

http://www.straightrazorplace.com/

http://customstraightrazors.com/drupal/index.php

http://thewellshavedgentleman.com/

[beaglebiz]

I am a fifth generation barber, and my DH and everyone else gets lathered down with hot wather and lather, my razors are kept straight from my da's razor strop I inherited (all leather).
keep the lather hot, the razor sharp, no prob
edited to add...you could certainly survive, and thrive with a beard...many of our handsomest HT's do it
Beagle

[Harry Chickpea]

leviticus 19:27

[damoc]

thanks for all the replys i have not managed to get the razor sharp enough
yet it was very old by the looks of it and needed some rust polished of it.

i tried shaving with it and it worked somewhat but iritated my face because it
was not sharp enough.

being able to shave post shtf is not about looks but comfort and hygene
not to mention my bees would get stuck in a beard and sting me more often.

i have tried growing out a beard on a few occasions just because i was
sick of shaveing i get to about 5 days and the heat and itchiness drives
me nuts.

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by damoc

thanks for all the replys i have not managed to get the razor sharp enough
yet it was very old by the looks of it and needed some rust polished of it.

i tried shaving with it and it worked somewhat but iritated my face because it
was not sharp enough.

being able to shave post shtf is not about looks but comfort and hygene
not to mention my bees would get stuck in a beard and sting me more often.

i have tried growing out a beard on a few occasions just because i was
sick of shaveing i get to about 5 days and the heat and itchiness drives
me nuts.

An old razor, that is dull and rusty.

I think you would be better off to spend the $15 on a new razor.

Sharp and with no rust, it would be easier to keep a razor sharp if it began sharp.

The rust issue does concern me. I have never seen one rust. But I trust you, if you say it has rust, then throw it away. Is it possible that when razors were popular, that many factories made them, so some that got into use were of poor quality? So you found one in an old trunk that was rusty? I know here I am insulting your stuff, for which I do apologize. I just think that a razor that has rusted, might not have been the best metal to begin with.




Bees do on occasion get into my beard. Though no bee has ever stung me while in my beard. Usually when I am playing with my bee frames I put on a hood.

[damoc]

its not/was not to badly rusted it cleaned up pretty well but had lost its edge
its probably slightly collectable marked imperial razor warrented registered 20507 germany
it has some nice acid etch on the blade that says extra hollow ground

to me its a novelty that i would like to get functional again as there is nothing
like good old steel even if it does rust

[YoYoDog]

sgl42:

Holy Cow! For some of the prices on the web site you refered to you could go to a flea market and set yourself up with Trac II's for a lifetime and still not use that much money. I understand you want quality for S&EP but even I have my limits.

Dan

[beaglebiz]

Originally Posted by Harry Chickpea

leviticus 19:27

good one!!

[Spinner]

Originally Posted by ET1 SS

An old razor, that is dull and rusty.

I think you would be better off to spend the $15 on a new razor.

Where are you finding this $15 razor you speak of? The cheapest one I've found online was over $50 and a good one was more like $150 to $250.

[paddymurphy]

Originally Posted by Spinner

I grew up watching dad shave with a straight razor. He made it look easy!

I don't think he used oil or anything like that. Just rubbed the razor on the leather to sharpen it.

I heard that the best way to learn to use one is to practice with shaving cream on a balloon. When you can shave a balloon without breaking it, then you're ready to move to skin.

Rouge will help your strop and can be had at most places that sell the soap.

While I no longer use on it is pretty simple but tense until you get the hang of it.

The balloon method works and is something I wish I had heard of when I started. However, I would wait to hit my face until I did two or three ina row with no pops to rule out you got lucky.

Another option to a quality straight razor and strop and paste is to get a shavette (the kind the barbers use). They are very inexpensive (around 20-30 dollars IIRC) and blades are fairly inexpensive as well (not to mention every GI first aid kit has a pack of blades in it).

[ET1 SS]

Originally Posted by Spinner

Where are you finding this $15 razor you speak of? The cheapest one I've found online was over $50 and a good one was more like $150 to $250.

I got mine from a barbour supply store in some port. I do not recall what country.


A quick google reveals:

$4.50 at Bigskyknifeshop.

http://www.bigskyknifeshop.com/servl...lluloid/Detail

$5.41 at
http://www.eshopping4less.com/produc...oducts_id=2686

$5.85 at CoyoteKnifeShop
http://www.coyoteknifeshop.com/catal...shop/pd1323404

$5.99 at VirtualVilliage
http://www.virtualvillage.com/open-s.../sku001010-002

I can go on if you wish.