So I bought a new straight razor....

T

The_Shadow

Joined
Apr 18, 2006
Messages
657
Recently, I sent for a straight razor from the Young Razor Co. They are on the web and easy to find. Being that this was my first straight, when it came, I assumed it was shave ready, since the ad had said it would be.
Well, it wasn't quite there. In fact, I could not shave hair on my arm, let alone my face.
Being new at this, I went to my barber, who ordered me a strop and a hone.
One strop and hone later, I had a really nice looking butter knife.
So, I wrote to the Young company. I asked for hints on how to sharpen a razor.
Gary Young, the owner, was not satisfied to give me hints. He sent me a new razor that IS shave ready, and apologized for the first one not being up to par. I tried it this morning, and it worked just fine, a really good razor for the $20 it cost! Can't imagine what would make it better, it just works.
So, if anybody is looking for a good razor, I'll tell you go to Young razors and you won't be sorry. They are a class act, they stand behind their product, and the razor works great!
 
Any barber will tell you the art of shaving with a straight razor is a lost art.

Q. Out of curiosity, why have you chosen a straight razor?

A. Only the shadow knows,

Sorry, I couldn't resist.
 
I can't really say why I wanted to try a straight razor, I like the old ways I guess.
I'm not a re-enactor, that's not my style, but I do like to learn from the past, and I take good ideas where I find them.
Anyway, once I got a razor that worked, well, it was pretty cool to use it this morning. I started out with the easy parts, and finished up with my regular disposible (wimp, I know). Take it slow and easy, and try to keep the blood inside the body, you know. Soon, I will be doing just fine with it.
It's just one of those things that seemed like a good idea.
 
That's a very good price for a new razor.

Where was it made?

Please let us know how the edge holds up after a few shaves.
 
The razor is marked Chicago, IL, so I hope that is where it was made. Nice razor, it has a gold wash on the blade that says YOUNG, and the handle is tortoise shell plastic. I'll let you know about the edge holding ability in a couple of days.
 
Good looking razor, darned decent price, and looks like a pretty squared away outfit judging by their website, thanks for the heads up Shadow.

There are several good websites that detail how to hone and strop a razor properly. It's a skill you'll not only need to acquire, but to perfect, in order to continue enjoying shaving with your straight razor. A razor, or knife for that matter, that seems to get duller after "sharpening", indicates a need to examine one's sharpening technique and make adjustments. No big hairy deal, takes a bit of patience and persistence to acquire the knack, but once done you'll have that "tool" in your toolbox of skills for the rest of your life.

On a sidenote (let's hope not a sidetrack), when I went home to Florida for a visit, I left my straight razors home, thinking my old double edged Gillette safety razor would be quicker and more convenient (I don't like to tie up other folks' bathrooms). Mistake. I immediately found myself wishing I'd brought a straight razor along. So, I popped down to an antique shop and purchased a good Sheffield razor (Ford & Medley, ca. 1892) for the princely sum of 29 bucks. Having left my straight razor in Texas, I'd not brought along any of the accompanying accoutrements, time to improvise, adapt, and overcome. Using a diamond hone borrowed from my dad (the rectangular pocket model that Wal Mart sells), an Arkansas stone, and a strip of leather, I brought the old English razor up to shaving sharp. The safety razor got packed away, where it remained for the rest of the trip. Like I said, if you acquire and perfect the skills necessary to sharpening and maintaining a straight razor, you need never go without a proper shave. :D

Sarge
 
I heard that when you sharpen a razor, you lay it down flat because the correct angle is built in to the spine of the razor. Would you agree with that, or is it another fairy tale?
 
That's what I was taught, and it's worked perfectly for about 15 years. You want a very thin edge geometry, and laying a hollow-ground razor flat ensures that.

t.
 
Yup, the part about blade laid flat to the hone is correct. What you're shooting for is to grind until you have a very fine burr, or "wire edge", of consistent width along the entire length of the cutting edge. Much, but not all, of this burr is removed in final honing on a razor hone, which is usually a very fine ceramic, or hard, a.k.a. "surgical grade" Arkansas stone. Final honing is done with edge moving forward in a diagonal stroke that starts with the heel of the blade and ends with the tip.

Where folks usually run into problems is not stropping correctly, or sufficiently enough, to polish off any burr left over from honing. This leaves an extremely delicate edge, which looks and feels sharp, but turns and distorts easily, forming a rolled over edge which is noted by dragging and poor cutting performance during the shave. Can't stress it enough, strop, strop, strop, and then strop some more. If you're using proper technique in stropping, it's almost impossible to overstrop. But, as I've already gone into, it's very easy to stop short and not strop enough immediately after honing. Once the edge is up to snuff, a light stropping every other day or so (depending on your beard and whether or not you rotate your razors out), should keep it shaving smoothly until the edge eventually dulls enough to need refreshing on the hone.

Strop well, lather well, shave well. :D

Sarge
 
OK, after stumbling around the web awhile I found the site. I'll save others the trouble. It's at http://youngrazorcompany.com/index.html .

Looks to be a startup business. Glad to see he takes good care of his customers. He has homemade soaps. He has some of the old classic barbershop colognes too.

I'm still wondering where some of his less expensive razors come from. It seems he is selling them for less than what they would cost to produce in Chicago. He does carry some well-known European brands too though. There's an off chance that some of the less expensive razors could be made outside the US (Pakistan) even though they carry a Chicago imprint. Even if so, that doesn't mean they aren't good. But there have been numerous reports on the web of cheap new poor quality razors from Pakistan.
 
Yes, like the Chicago Cutlery knives pass through O'Hare's freight depot on their way from Taiwan or China to New York.:grumpy:
They don't have a factory around here.

I'm thinking about getting back to shaving with the straight razor. I used to, but some how got away from it. Perhaps getting to work on time had something to do with it...? My dear wife threw out my old strop in a fit of house cleaning (You don't need this old thing anymore.... Do you? UH...Oh, I guess not...)
 
Well, here is the first week report. Still shaving and sharp with daily stropping.
I started with just the easy parts, and today I managed to get a full shave with the straight razor. It's not as bad as I thought, and a lot more fun to use!
 
The_Shadow said:
Well, here is the first week report. Still shaving and sharp with daily stropping.
I started with just the easy parts, and today I managed to get a full shave with the straight razor. It's not as bad as I thought, and a lot more fun to use!
Click to expand...

Good deal, sort of a thrill dragging a sharp blade across your throat without decapitating yourself ain't it? :D

Howard got me curious about them Pakistani razors, so I snagged one, a Simco, and tried it out. What a miserable piece of crap.:grumpy: Oh it'll hone and strop to a proper edge, but the steel is so lousy, that unless you're a fuzz faced boy, you won't get more than halfway through a shave without having to stop and restrop.

That twenty dollar YOUNG razor that Shadow's got ahold of sounds like a good one. And, a possible explanation for their provenance (since I haven't heard of any operating razor manufacturers in Chicago these days), is they could be from a large batch of warehoused NOS blades from a defunct manufacturer. Would be a cinch to etch the YOUNG logo onto the blade and fit 'em with a currently available handle. Just a theory of mine, but if there's any substance to it, those would be some old blades of a quality comparable to current German offerings. Interesting to ponder anyhow. Now I reckon I'd best order one before you scurvy bilge rats snatch 'em all up. ;)

Sarge
 
Sarge,
Still using your Henk for shaving that girlie fuzz or did ya lose it!!:D ...or did you go to an ELECTRIC!BWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
THE DUCK:cool:
 
The_Shadow said:
Well, here is the first week report. Still shaving and sharp with daily stropping.
I started with just the easy parts, and today I managed to get a full shave with the straight razor. It's not as bad as I thought, and a lot more fun to use!
Click to expand...

Great. Thanks for the follow up on the razor too.

Sylvrfalcn said:
Howard got me curious about them Pakistani razors, so I snagged one, a Simco, and tried it out. What a miserable piece of crap.:grumpy: Oh it'll hone and strop to a proper edge, but the steel is so lousy, that unless you're a fuzz faced boy, you won't get more than halfway through a shave without having to stop and restrop.
Click to expand...

Sarge, I already offered to lend you an old rusty can lid. You didn't have to go using a pos to shave with! ;)

Sylvrfalcn said:
That twenty dollar YOUNG razor that Shadow's got ahold of sounds like a good one. And, a possible explanation for their provenance (since I haven't heard of any operating razor manufacturers in Chicago these days), is they could be from a large batch of warehoused NOS blades from a defunct manufacturer. Would be a cinch to etch the YOUNG logo onto the blade and fit 'em with a currently available handle. Just a theory of mine, but if there's any substance to it, those would be some old blades of a quality comparable to current German offerings. Interesting to ponder anyhow. Now I reckon I'd best order one before you scurvy bilge rats snatch 'em all up.
Click to expand...

Interesting theory. It may be right, or they may be a batch of quality imports. In any case, it will be interesting to hear your report after you've tried one.

I'm shaving almost every day with restored antiques or at least old razors nowadays. I wonder how much longer these excellent old ones will be on the market at cheaper-than-dirt prices.
 
Kukri4302 said:
Sarge,
Still using your Henk for shaving that girlie fuzz or did ya lose it!!:D ...or did you go to an ELECTRIC!BWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
THE DUCK:cool:
Click to expand...

Duck! Where the heck have you been? It's about time you stopped by.:p

Steve
 
Kukri4302 said:
Sarge,
Still using your Henk for shaving that girlie fuzz or did ya lose it!!:D ...or did you go to an ELECTRIC!BWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
THE DUCK:cool:
Click to expand...

I got yer girlie fuzz right here ya danged old quackipuss, and dang right I still use that Henckels and prize it highly. Glad to hear you're still kickin', what you been up to?

Sarge
 
Someone mentioned that the straight razor was a lost art, so I just thought I'd mention that my barber uses a straight razor still.

Sounds like Young is a solid company.
 
Sarge & Ferg,
Been around...had hip replaced,Dr. thinks I'm nuts,didn't take any pain pills & was walking two days after surgery.Retiring next yr.been teaching (yeah,still have students that "think I know something):rolleyes:
Blade,privately.Sarge,you must NOT be using the Razor,pic of yours has a girley goatie.Makes you look like an "Offi-ther"instead of a A**Kicking Sarge!Bwaaaaaaaa.Doc did say "DUCK,NO JUMPING OUT OF PLANES !Guy doesn't want me to have"ANY"fun!! Just finished shaving with a Puma Razor.Give my best to Yangdu.Will try to drop by.....if you can still handle my ragging on ya.HEE
the DUCK!:cool:
 
Kukri4302 said:
Sarge & Ferg,
Been around...had hip replaced,Dr. thinks I'm nuts
Click to expand...

HEE, Dr. thinks what we all know fer shure!!!! ;)

Good to see you writing Tsimi, been way too long!!!!:thumbup: :D
 
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