Reposting from a while ago, wanted to share and it's still amazing to me nearly 5 years of getting into this that I have a collection of something, really snuck up on me...
this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2023
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Straight Razors
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Straight razor use, honing and restoration
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Where are you with your collection now?
Having tried a variety of things and reached my goal of setting the bevel on 100 blades, I've slowed down adding to it. I still idly peruse listings and pick up one or three now and then because it's a deal or just cool, but am not so sad when I get outbid.
I like honing but I don't want to wear out my blades just because and, on balance, I find it's less hassle to list razors for sale than to deal with the customer service aspect of trying to hone other people's and then deal with their expectations and timeframes.
So I have more than fifty and less than a hundred in various states of repair. There's a vague intention that I'll narrow it down to a couple dozen I really like but absolutely no urgency in getting there. That really is part of the appeal---they're older than me, often enough older than my country and will still be there if I don't do anything with them for a month, a year or a decade. And will outlive me. Compared to the usual deadlines it's a nice perspective. Besides, they don't take up much space.
I also like the idea of providing an approachable entry point for people getting into straights so I like to have a few I can give to friends to try or list for a modest price. If I run out of ones that need work I'll pick up some more to hone on but so far I seem to be at a reasonable equilibrium.
How about you, how have you approached the sheer variety of blades available?
Wow, that's impressive!
I've started with DE razors, then moved into shavettes. Then I tried a cheap straight from China, which was predictibly shitty, and finally aquired a used Parker straight, and a used straight with a smiling blade from the URSS. I got a rather bad cut in a finger recently, and I 'm trying not to move too deeply into straights for the moment. Besides, I have lots of DE razors I don't use, and collecting without using I find pointless (for me).
I'm not very gifted wrt handicrafts, and restoring used razors is something I want to keep away from. I even find maintaining the straight without it rusting difficult (I surely messed up with the Parker).
I heard really good things about Wade and Butcher, Filarmonica, Friodur and Koorat blades, but for the moment, that's not really something I want to go into - not before I have the impression that I can maintain a razor without ruining it.
I have lots of DE razors I donβt use, and collecting without using I find pointless
I agree. I have a pretty good collection of DE and SE razors. I find time each week to use that part of my collection.
not before I have the impression that I can maintain a razor without ruining it.
Generally speaking all you need to do is clean and dry the razor well and keep it in a dry place. Right after shaving my solution to this is to use a microfiber towel to dry the razor everywhere, blade and scales, then I strop the blade on linen, followed by leather. Stropping on linen assures that the edge is dry, and the leather passes make the razor ready to just pick up and shave. I also don't store razors, or blades, in the bathroom where it is more humid than anywhere else in the house.
SR shaving is, for me, a more involving experience than with my other razors. But I think you have to be in the right mindset to do it. I started down the rabbit hole, for real, with straights last July. I've used them twice before, though. My first attempt was more about curiosity, "I wonder if I can shave with a straight razor". My second attempt was a bit more than 10 years ago and was more serious, but was more related to expanding my knife sharpening service than enjoyment of shaving.
If your Parker is made in Japan, it should be a terrific performer. If you already have experience using shavettes, I would suggest that the easy method to move into straights is to have your SRs sharpened by and experienced sharpener. This removes edge quality as a variable and allows you to focus on adapting to SRs and their care (stropping, etc.).
Iβm not very gifted wrt handicrafts, and restoring used razors is something I want to keep away from.
I like to tinker and have done some knife blade restoration. Frankly, I did not find it to be much fun; mostly just hours of work. I let other people restore razors. I just buy and use them :)
I started with a Merkur a couple decades back and didn't try another safety razor as it was just a blade holder and about as interesting as a toothbrush. I was mainly doing it for the cost savings and a general semi-hippie pro-environment/anti-corporate leaning. Inevitably though once straights got me into it there were a few injectors included with one lot I purchased and wow those were better. Between that and spending more time reading enabler forums I ended up with a fair few DEs and Gems @djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social had a post that inspired me to play with a Rolls which has been fun and I look forward to tweaking it further yet (grabbed some FeOx for it but haven't tried it again yet, perhaps soon).
I'm almost indecisive as to whether I want to collect without using at this point. So far I've been mostly doing it out of interest in trying the various permutations of blade so I wanted to use them all. Now I happen to be looking at an auction for a pair that just look really cool and are quite old but I can already tell from the shape they probably wouldn't be my favourite to actually use. Still sorta want to have them, but why? Yet I can't quite let it go, so it could be that I may be open to having things purely for the sake of having them. I suspect I'd hone them anyways eventually, I'm no archivist looking to preserve, I like to think there are enough razors in museums doing that job so I don't mind that my razors have to pay for my keeping them safe from rust by losing a bit of metal elsewhere in order to be made useful.
I'm not much for crafty hobbies either but I suspect that's part of what drew me to this. I'm a programmer by trade so it's all very abstract, honing is very tactile and intuitive by comparison so it makes a nice change of pace. Though there is definitely still a problem-solving / troubleshooting technical side to it. Can hardly care less about the scales though, that part has yet to draw me in the way the blades have. Luckily my brother is fond of woodworking so if I need scales done he can be persuaded.
I got a rather bad cut in a finger recently, and I 'm trying not to move too deeply into straights for the moment.
Heh, sounds like you have the opposite problem wherein straights move too deeply into you... Sorry though, does seem to be a sort of misfortune we risk by messing with these and why "safety" razors are a thing. It has become kind of a feature for me though: beyond the tactile part, I like that you have to pay attention. It's a sort of meditation, I make a point of doing my best to be completely present in what I'm doing if I'm holding a razor and that is probably good for me mentally and perhaps has helped me have fewer mishaps than I would without that mindset. eg. I didn't nick my first strop, but I nicked my second one once I got too complacent. My worst injury was when trying to use one of those cheap Ali Express microscopes on a straight held in a vise--to my mind I was clearly looking at the edge ...but I was looking at it on a screen and not the part that was cutting me.
not before I have the impression that I can maintain a razor without ruining it
Luckily for you history has left us thousands of underappreciated blades in middling condition that you'll almost certainly improve from their current state!