Cleaning up straight razors

kamagong

kamagong

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2001
Messages
10,938
I just picked up antique straight razor on Ebay. I have a few questions, and since I know that some people here use them and I respect the opinions of the people on this forum, I decided to inquire here first.

First, the razor has some rust spots. This is to be expected for a cutting implement of this vintage. Since I don't want to get tetanus, how should I go about cleaning it? I know that most polishing agents are too abrasive for straight razor use, so is there a product that you would recommend? Or should I just clean it up and then rehone on my Swaty?

Second, how do you hone this thing? The edge is obviously very delicate. Should I hone it edge first, like you do when sharpening a knife? Or should I hone it edge trailing, like you do when you strop a knife?

Third, how do you hold this thing? Do you open it all the way or only halfway? I can't for the life of me figure this out, as I've seen straights held both ways in the movies.

Finally, are there any good books on the subject?

Thanks in advance for the help guys.
 
If it's a collectible antique, you'll want to treat it with kid gloves. If it's an inexpensive one you just want to clean up, re-hone, and start using, I've got a cheap and dirty trick for that. It's called sandpaper and a piece of plate glass. Polish all the rust off the blade, by hand (and very carefully) starting with about 600 grit, and working your way through finer grits until you're satisfied. A so called "mirror finish" is highly desirable to help prevent future rusting (less scratches, etc. to hold moisture).

Now to hone the blade. Put a piece of 600 grit paper on the piece of plate glass and put these on a stable surface like your kitchen table. Honing a straight razor is ridiculously easy, you just lay the blade flat on the abrasive, and that thick spine presents the cutting edge at exactly the right angle. This is why if you look at the spine of old razors that have been re-honed many times it'll have no-kidding flats cut into the spine as a result of the honing action. Keep the blade flat on the sandpaper and use whatever motion that's comfortable for you to hone. Back and forth, circular motion, at this point it doesn't matter, just keep that blade flat on the sandpaper and make sure you're polishing the entire edge evenly. Work in good light, and use a magnifying glass to check your work. As you progress through finer grits (I go all the way to 2000) what you should start to see is an even and consistent "burr" or so called "wire edge". By now that edge ought to be shining like polished chrome. If you can still see scratches along the polished portion of the edge, what most likely happened is that you skipped to too fine a grit to early. If everything's good to go, finish with a few light passes going edge first. This will help remove most of the "wire edge", the rest will be removed by stropping on a good leather strop.

Piece of cake right? Now for the really good news. If handled with care to keep the edge from coming into contact with anything that could dull/damage it, your razor will stay sharp with no more maintenance than a good stropping once a week.

Learning to use an old "cut throat" razor can be intimidating at first, but if you stick with it you'll find they give a clean comfortable shave, that's far more satisfying, on a number of different levels, than some God awful blue plastic disposable three bladed gizmo.

Good luck, and enjoy, run into problems, just give a holler. Oh, by the way, invest in the following; a shaving mug (nothing fancy needed, the old blue enameled steel mugs you can find in the camping aisle of most department store sporting goods is what I use in the field), some cakes of no-kidding shaving soap, a good boar bristle shaving brush, and last but not least a styptic pencil.

Sarge
 
When I started using a straight razor as a teenager, my first thought was to ask my neighborhood barber. He taught me everything I needed to know, and was tickled to do it. He even gave me an old hone to use. You gotta find a strop somewhere-that's a must. And a mug, soap and shaving brush. I've heard the stuff in a pressurized can is VERY BAD for straight razors:rolleyes:
These folks are great for shaving stuff:
http://www.corradocutlery.com/
Brian
 
All I'm gonna say is learn how to lather up a blown up tight balloon and shave the lather off of it without busting said balloon.
I've been told when you can do that then you're ready to use it on your face.
The other thing is become a total arsehole and make it Dayumed Clear that You Want NO Distractions while you're shaving!!!!
Your sweety comes into the bathroom to pee and you turn your head to peek while she drops her unders and there goes your jugular let alone your carotid artery.:rolleyes: :p ;) :D :eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top