Honing practice razor - Gold dollar or an ebay cheap vintage

[gthe]

Hi all,

I started getting into straight razor shaving the last month. I already own 2 vintage razors both made in Sheffield. One Taylor's Eye Witness with a french point and a Kropp with a round point. Both have been honed by a professional honemeister and i enjoy shaving with them every other day. Not really looking to grow up the collection, i am good with 2-3 SRs. Only want to get ready when they will need an edge refresh or full honing.

I am thinking i need to start learning a bit about honing to refresh the edge when needed. No waterstones, will go the lapping film path first till i am more confident to decide what to buy. But i need a cheap practice razor for this. Cheap like up to 20 i guess or something so that i don't feel guilty if i don't manage it and destroy it. At this price range, i can see 2 options. Buy a gold dollar (preferably the 208 i guess which is more refined) from aliexpress or buy another vintage from ebay at the lower price ranges, start cleaning a bit any tarnishing and practice honing till i manage it.

What will be your suggestion? Would prefer to avoid if possilble any geometry fixing issues and focus mainly in honing exercises.

 

[pjgh]

I had a reasonably brief but quite deep flirtation with straight-edge and while I was able to bring a Gold Dollar up to shave-ready, they were the days when you'd have to grind the heel off to get it on the hone straight. I think the Gold Dollar has moved on a bit since then but also got the feeling that the numbering indicated how much (or little) finishing the mechanised blanks got - if they were crap, they'd get the #66 designation.

What I enjoyed honing was all manner of Swedish stuff, yes, some of which were smilers that needed a bit of imagination to get the edge on end to end ... but what I really, really enjoyed honing were some of the American razors. I guess my technique fell right with the metallurgy of those razors and the Swedish razors. Both Swedish and American should come in at reasonable prices and end up a more satisfying razor to ultimately shave with than a butchered Gold Dollar.

This Gold Gem (J Thompson, Sioux City, Iowa 9/16) was one of my real successes and after selling it here have come to regret it ... I'd love to have it back if anyone still has it.

Immaculate spike point! I liked spike points. Spike points and big Dreadnoughts! I could nick off individual hairs around sideburns with the spike points.

Looking through my notes, I think I honed up maybe 15 to 20 vintage straights and only the one went in the bin (the Gold Dollar). The rest, I was happy with the shave and decided that maintenance was not my thing and moved them along.

I was able to get to that level of satisfaction really very quickly, so again, encourage you to pick what appears to be a good (but dull) vintage razor and see how you go.

My kit? Budget!

I was gifted a circa 10K Chinese stone which slurried up just lovely and always put a really comfortable finish onto vintage razors. I tried some of those Welsh stones but didn't get on with them. For a deeper progression, I had a 5K and 8K ceramic set which I think were retailed for Japanese kitchen knives and then some felt and neoprene flat strops* which I sprayed with diamond spray for finishing real stinkers that seemed to go backwards with my technical on that Chinese stone.

This was maybe a decade ago, so a little hazy. I do recall success, though ... and success quite quickly, so jump on in and have a go!

* DIY - take some really flat wood or better, cut a really flat tile and glue the material to it. Neoprene (the underside of a mouse mat) and diamond spray worked out well between the 10K stone and the leather strop. Oh, there's also lapping film which is easier to get hold of nowadays as well.

 

[gthe]

Hi,

Thanks for the answer. I went the vintage way already for my practice razor for honing. Scored a Sheffield made 5/8" one quite cheap in ebay, like 13, it was a no brainer. The razor arrived yesterday and it seems flat. Waiting now the lapping film to check if i will mange to hone it.

I am going the budget way for now too. I started as following since i learn straight and honing in parallel:

1. Got a cheap Sheffield 6/8" from ebay and send it for honing to a honemeister. Starting shaving with this
2. Then got another vintage restored, honed, nice and shinny from the same honemeister. These 2 are the ones that i practice shaving
3. Got balsa for balsa strops, Crox, Feox, got a perplex plate and ordered a full lapping film set
4. Got my practice vintage from the ebay and will start practice honing in this one.

I don't plan to use the lapping films in my 2 shave ready razors before i manage to make the 3rd one shave ready and no plan to buy any stones either for now. Also don't plan to grow up my collection, 3 straights are enough (hope i don't get addicted!).

Later maybe i can buy a finisher stone first and maybe 3 king stones 1000/4000/8000 that are quite cheap. We will see. I guess naniwas are better ones but not sure if i can justify their price for my needs.

For now i am enjoying the shaves with the SRs. Only maintenance needed is some extra strop every week in the Crox, Feox balsa strops.