Sharpening a Straight Razor

P

PBJ

Joined
Apr 14, 2006
Messages
181
Hi fellas,

My first post on the Blade Forums. My grandpa left me a Genco, Henry's X straight razor and I'd like to sharpen and use it, but I don't have a clue to what's involved in sharpening the thing. Can anyone give me a link or point me in the right direction?

Thx PBJ
 
Go to straightrazorplace.com. It's a dedicated razor discussion group, and honing is one of the most frequently discussed topics. Tons of outstanding info on that site, and great people, too.
 
Sorry, I haven't replied to your answers. I've been away for a while.

Thank you both for the link and website. Perhaps now I'll get the 'Ol' Girl' sharpened.
 
IN the video/DVD that comes with the Spyderco 204 Sharpmaker pretty much explains the methodology involved in sharpening a straight razor. I am also sure that the links these other guys are making mention of are good sources of info as well. It's just another testament as to the vast versatility that this Sharpening tool has.

Spyderco also has a ceramic Ultra-fine Benchstone that I have used to sharpen a straight razor and it seemed to work pretty well too.
 
OK I took the plunge and attempted to shave with a Boker straight razor I got off Ebay for $18. It sure seems to have good steel in it because I spent about 40 minutes sharpening it. Then I stropped it at least 40 strokes on each side.

I then took a hot shower and lathered my face 3 times with very slick liquid soap. Then I applied shaving cream and let it soak in for 5 minutes plus. When I attempted to start shaving by the method that was displayed in that GOOGLE video the razor still seemed to grab quite a bit. However when I would get it to start shearing the whiskers off it would shave some but it was slow.

NOw I know I had this razor sharper than a witches tongue and I honed it on the Spyderco Ultra Fine stone for many minutes. Then like I said I stropped it about 40 strokes on each side. Based on what I've revealed>> What did I more than likely do wrong? I was afraid to put too much pressure on it in fear of filleting my face :eek: OK back to the drawing board
 
JD Spydo said:
OK I took the plunge and attempted to shave with a Boker straight razor I got off Ebay for $18. It sure seems to have good steel in it because I spent about 40 minutes sharpening it. Then I stropped it at least 40 strokes on each side.

I then took a hot shower and lathered my face 3 times with very slick liquid soap. Then I applied shaving cream and let it soak in for 5 minutes plus. When I attempted to start shaving by the method that was displayed in that GOOGLE video the razor still seemed to grab quite a bit. However when I would get it to start shearing the whiskers off it would shave some but it was slow.

NOw I know I had this razor sharper than a witches tongue and I honed it on the Spyderco Ultra Fine stone for many minutes. Then like I said I stropped it about 40 strokes on each side. Based on what I've revealed>> What did I more than likely do wrong? I was afraid to put too much pressure on it in fear of filleting my face :eek: OK back to the drawing board
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Despite what Spyderco claims, their stones, and nothing they make (at least commercially available) is fine enough to properly sharpen a straight razor. Ultrascarywickedsharp for a knife is about half sharp enough to comfortably shave your face. I tried using the Spyderco stones when I first started shaving with a straight, too, and it wasn't until I (a) learned the right way to sharpen one, and (b) got the right sharpening equipment, that my shaves improved. I thought I was doing well with the Spyderco stones until I experienced what a truly well-honed straight razor felt like. I now feel confident I can sharpen any razor (in decent shape) to shave comfortably, but there's a pretty steep learning curve, because shaving with a straight requires both a sharp razor (which most people don't have) and technique (which again, most people don't have). You can't just pick one up and start shaving with it, and expect to get anywhere near the kind of shave a good, sharp straight razor is capable of.
To properly sharpen a straight razor, you need waterstones. Preferably a Norton combination 4k/8k, followed by a coticule, then to stropping. Both stones will set you back nearly 200 dollars, but if you want to shave with a straight razor, and want to do your own honing, I feel they're an absolute necessity. There are several people, also, who can hone your razor for you. On Straightrazorplace.com, honing is one of the most frequently discussed topics, along with shaving technique, and there's a large knowledge base from which to draw, from written instruction to videos, and links to same. Here's a list of people you could contact for honing services, and their SRP handles:
Me / Joe Chandler
Lynn Abrams / adjustme69
Bill Ellis / urleebird
Randy Tuttle / randydance (who also posts on here a bit, too, I believe)
Tony Miller / Tony Miller (who also makes a helluva razor strop)

This is a short list, and certainly not everyone who can properly hone a razor...these are just the ones I know of, and feel comfortable recommending.
 
I've had very good luck with Spyderco's Ultra Fine ceramic benchstone, followed by a stropping. IIRC, the Spyderco is much finer than the Norton 4X/8X. I have both, and it feels that way also. You can also purchase some 3M film from Lee Valley, they have some extremely fine grit, down to 0.3 micron I think.

Make sure when you hone, you lightly put your fingertips on the spine of the razor, don't use any pressure. Keeping your fingers on the spine (very gently) will keep you from distorting the edge. I find that 10 strokes per side takes out all little dings, usually 3 - 5 per side is plenty.

Good luck!
 
sodak said:
I've had very good luck with Spyderco's Ultra Fine ceramic benchstone, followed by a stropping. IIRC, the Spyderco is much finer than the Norton 4X/8X. I have both, and it feels that way also. You can also purchase some 3M film from Lee Valley, they have some extremely fine grit, down to 0.3 micron I think.

Make sure when you hone, you lightly put your fingertips on the spine of the razor, don't use any pressure. Keeping your fingers on the spine (very gently) will keep you from distorting the edge. I find that 10 strokes per side takes out all little dings, usually 3 - 5 per side is plenty.

Good luck!
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If you'll look at the edge of your razor with a microscope (an absolute necessity if you're gonna hone a lot of them), you'll see what the problem with the spyderco stones is. There's no "give", as the stones are so hard. It causes micro nicking. You actually need to dull the Spyderco stones a bit for them to sharpen a razor properly. The advantage waterstones have over anything else, is that they cut and polish at the same time. Yes, the Spyderco UF may be finer, but it doesn't work the same way, and isn't as good as a waterstone edge. And Nortons are the best because they're an artificial, highly uniform waterstone. They cut very fast, so you don't go apeshit trying to hone your razor, but leave an outstanding edge. Far better than the Spyderco...and I've tried damn near every hone out there. And keep your fingers off the spine...you're far more likely to have an uneven edge doing that than not.
 
Suffice it to say we have a difference of opinion.

Cutting and polishing at the same time? I'd like to see the photographs before I could believe that. The fingers on the spine help keep me (and others) from accidentally lifting the tip at the end of the stroke and missing it on the hone. It's a great technique for maintaining angle consistency.

PBJ, experiment a bit, find out what works best for you. Whether it works for anyone else, as long as you find it helpful, then use it.
 
For regular maintenance I use the old traditional tools. A strop with leather on one side and linen on the other. The linen side has a very fine abrasive paste rubbed into it. I use Dovo white strop paste for polishing, no grit size is listed for the white paste but it’s finer than their 2-4 micron red paste. The leather side of the strop has no abrasives but occasionally gets a coat of leather dressing. I also have a couple of old hones, a “Barber’s Pride” and a “Swaty” that get used as needed, which is almost never.

For restoring an old razor to shaving condition I find something more is needed. What I’ll write next is sure to outrage the traditionalists, but it works for me. I use my belt grinder. If there are large nicks in the blade I take them out with a 20 micron belt. This is pretty sure to leave a wire edge on the blade, so I break that off with slicing through some cardboard. Then I go down to a 9 micron belt. If there were no big nicks to grind down I can just start with the 9 micron. Use a light hand here to avoid the wire edge. If one develops break it off with the cardboard. Next I use a leather belt on the grinder with green chrome compound. After that the razor is ready for a light honing on the Swaty and a shave.

The belt grinder method for restoring an old razor sounds somewhat quicker than what some people say they do with abrasive stones. You can also make dangerous or damaging mistakes fairly quickly with power tools if you’re not paying attention.

JD Spydo said:
NOw I know I had this razor sharper than a witches tongue and I honed it on the Spyderco Ultra Fine stone for many minutes. Then like I said I stropped it about 40 strokes on each side. Based on what I've revealed>> What did I more than likely do wrong? I was afraid to put too much pressure on it in fear of filleting my face OK back to the drawing board
Click to expand...

In my experience if I oversharpen the razor so it has a wire edge, it will be sharp enough to cut arm hairs well above the skin. That's sharp! However, when it encounters tough beard hair it will chip out and after the first stroke or two it will be pulling the beard hair rather than cutting it. If you put on a wire edge when you were working with a coarse hone you have to knock it off. Then go to a finer abrasive to finish the sharpening job.
 
Hmm. I was going to try out a straight razor, but this thread was enough to stop me. Hundreds of dollars on special sharpening stones (my Sharpmaker apparently not good enough), pricey razors, strops, special soaps and lather - sheeyit, I currently get my shave done in the shower in 1 minute flat with a 5c disposable that last a week or so. No lathers or pre-soaks or anything, just hot water. Works for me.

Maybe one day when disposables are unobtainable, I'll look at it again.
 
It ain't that bad. You're seeing some purist ideals here. I use a $30 US razor and a good fine stone (I use arkansas translucent but have also used black and hard, don't care for the results of the hard) and a strop without any abrasive on the strop. Whatever lather/soap/oil that works for you is good for you. You should be able to try for less than $50 US especially if you already have a fine stone if you look around some for a good razor.

Don't let anyone discourage you from trying something.

ron
 
mamba-man said:
Hmm. I was going to try out a straight razor, but this thread was enough to stop me. Hundreds of dollars on special sharpening stones (my Sharpmaker apparently not good enough), pricey razors, strops, special soaps and lather - sheeyit...
Click to expand...

Then again, you can get good old razors made of high quality steel on E-bay for < $10. You can strop on an old belt. Use the finest stone you have to hone when you need to. Some of the things some old-timers used for honing are pretty primitive.

We (I) tend to get carried away because the straight razor has turned a chore into an entertaining hobby. Of course, there is a minimalist approach. The old-timers just did what they needed to to get the job done. Even they probably took a little longer than a guy with a modern aerosol can and a disposable though.
 
I bought a couple shave ready from Joe Chandler a little while back and all I do is strop them now. Shave great.I too noticed it takes more pressure than I imagined it would to shave with a straight razor. I havent filleted myself yet. I have had a couple nicks using the spike point on my mutton chops. I prefer the round point one I have for this reason but its nice to have multiples and rotate so they are sharper. I have a total of 5 straight razors now. I need to hone 1 of them its an antique I got stamped 1883 as the year. It was in the original box too. Box is sad but the razor is pristine. Paid $7 for it. I tried to strop it to shave no go. It hurt. Not ready to buy a Norton waterstone yet.
 
Sharpening a straight razor or a knife is no different. A wire edge is sharp - for a few minutes at best.

Take ANY sharpening system that holds the blade at a consistent angle - and work with it (at a low angle for a razor, of course). Get it to where there is no wire edge at all at about a 15 degree angle - and then strop the blade on steel or your palm.

I have blades at 25 degrees that I can comfortably shave with - most people use a a shallow angle (blade to face) thinking it will cut better. In fact, a sharp blade, at about 45 to 60 degrees to the face, works better.

Look at the angle of normal razor blades to your face...and go from there.
 
Draconian said:
most people use a a shallow angle (blade to face) thinking it will cut better. In fact, a sharp blade, at about 45 to 60 degrees to the face, works better.
Click to expand...

My experience is a little different. I find about a 30 degree angle works best.
 
I have a Japanese slipstone that I use to hone my razor, and it seems to be just fine.
However, the best thing to maintain the edge besides stroping is stick abrasive applied to a piece of wood. I use green rouge (1 step finer than jewler's red rouge) and it works better than anything else I have tried.
 
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