Got my first straight

shamreez

shamreez

Messages
264
Hi,

As the title says I got my first straight.

Was not sure if I would like it so did not take the risk of buying an expensive one.

Got one from ebay for just £5.19 (Won in a bid)

It is a little vintage one and I dont know how good it is.

It says on the blade that it is "Elricks Special" Hollow Ground

I am giving pictures below.

Now the real task is to make it shave ready. (It is pretty sharp and takes the hairs of my hands cleanly but dont want my first straight shave to be with a not so proper blade)

Is there any place where I can get some used honing stones to make my razor proper. (All the stones which I could see on the net costs pretty much and I am a complete novice so I am not sure what all stones I would need)

I would really appreciate if anyone could help me

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Thanks
Shamreez
 
Jeltz said:
Neil Miller will hone it for £12.75 you also need a strop to keep it in good shaving order
Click to expand...

I checked Neals site but he has clearly mentioned not to send any cheap razors

I have also got a strop cheaply from ebay (paid £7 for it)

Was thinking if any of the members want to get rid of some old kind of worn out stones
 
Nice! Very good little aquisition is that for a fiver, very pretty. I'm thinking though that it may have been cut down and it isn't as long as it once was. Still, great buy for five pounds.

I'm not a straight razor fan or expert but I get the impression here that most straight fans have them honed professionally and then they strop them daily themselves. I think having your own stones is the next step up on the scale of madness from being totally bonkers.

Neil Miller is the local honing expert. Maybe ask for him.
 
He doesn't mean vintage he means the cheap tatt made in Pakistan which are all over Ebay for £10 - £20, they are made of poor quality steel and won't take a good edge.
 
It's a nice razor that has defiantly been cut down from its original size you can tell by the writing on the blade. This could be because of a multitude of reasons from broken toe to bad crack in the blade you will never know. The best advice I can give you is send it to Neil for sharpening and ask him for a cheap strop to keep it sharp. You will nick the first strop you buy so please purchase a cheap reputable one and practice on that. Once you can strop without nicking the strop by all means buy a better strop if you feel like it. This advice will do several things for you it will show you what a shave ready straight feels like as well as ending up with a very good strop. This is probable the best advice I can give you at the beginning of straight razor use. I hope you enjoy your new razor.
 
I'm sure Neil will be happy to do that one, and it's highly advisable to send it off for professional honing first time around at least so that you know what a truly shave ready edge feels like. It will also work out much cheaper than assembling a set of stones for now.

Clearly it's been cut down which is a shame, but assuming that the Butler "Art" stamp is from the same razor (!), it's a fair bet that it will be very good indeed: that's certainly been my experience.
 
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