Straight Razors

I have over 300 razors and about 1/3 have come from ebay. As with anything bought on ebay it is caveat emptor. You really need to take a goos look at the razors. I was burned once when I first started collecting and it was not a blade issue it was a pinning issue. The razor had been poorly repinned on the backside which was not shown on the picture. My mistake I should have asked for more pics.
Although I have never bought a straight razor from Ebay, I would be a littly worried about doing so.
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The issue of the edges is basically a non issue. If you look closely and ask questions you can aviod a razor that is chipped or cracked. Minor rust is not a big deal clean your razors as you would a knife. As knife guys you should be able to recognize an over honed POS. As with knife collecting... stay away from anything marked Pakistan. My husband bought me a brand new WR Case & Sons picked bone razor for Mother's Day with an etched stainless steel blade. While I like the look of the thing, I can tell from experience that it is not ready to shave right out of the box it needs a good stropping. A razor should be honed only once or twice a year unless there are minor chipping issues and the blade needs to be reshaped. You can ruin a razor by over honing. The strop is really all it needs to stay sharp & cut well. Please check out straightrazorplace. It really is the difinitive place to learn about shaving from guys who do it every day. Yes, I do use the straight razor on my legs.;)
 
V10011011 - Didn't mean any disrespect to Mr. Anderson (imagine me pronouncing the name like Agent Smith does ;)). Just saying...given the rest of the stuff Josh sells, and the price...odds are mighty good that it's a POS, no matter how nice a design it is. :D
 
I, too, have often thought about trying a straight razor.

On the other hand, I drink a lot so I just don't think it's a good idea for me. Disposables work just fine for my lifestyle.;)
 
Well I just want to carry a knife that is sharp enough to cut a hair hanging vertically. I want to carry a blade that is as sharp or sharper than a razor blade on the Mach 3 Turbos. I already gave up attempting that level of sharpness on my Kershaw Leek
 
I don't really see the practical point of carrying a knife that sharp for daily use. Wouldn't the edge be so thin that you'd destroy it if you hit anything hard with it? :confused:
 
I don't really see the practical point of carrying a knife that sharp for daily use. Wouldn't the edge be so thin that you'd destroy it if you hit anything hard with it? :confused:
 
Novelty reasons? *shrug* :cool: :D The Leek ground on a 20/20 bevel with an UltraFine stone is good enough for my EDC, just want to carry something super-sharp as well
 
I own many a knife by kershaw and I am amazed at their sharpness. I have had a Ken Onion Blackout for four years and only had to give it a good sharpening because I accidentally dropped it and broke my tip. So I had the blade reground. But even then, I only had to do touch ups every now and then. And the Leek? Te word wicked comes to mind. I have had nothing but good luck with the edges on all my kershaws, I just get picky and make sure there is no wire edge. But I did a cool test yesterday. I took a piece of paper and then cut it with my Spyderco Merlin, never used, then cut it with the razor (not a continuing thing, just for this) and scrutinized and compared the cuts. Even a brand new merlin cuts smooth, but leaves micro fibers sticking out here and there, especially at the beginning of the cut. The straight razor, nothing, a perfect cut all the way. Very cool, can't wait to try and shave my kneck with it;) . Anyways, I think this is one of the most interesting threads I have been on, and appreciate all the remarks. Keep em commin. I would like to here more about tactical razors, very good in a self defense situation. From asking a lot of people I know, a straight razor is more threatening than a knife. The look of the thing, knowing how sharp it is, knowing the edge is so fine you can barely see it. And after reading Stephen King's Dark Half, where the weapon of choice for the bad guy is a straight razor, I see why some would be afraid. Good book too, even though we are supposed to talk about knives. Sorry, kind of got off on some tangents. I'll stop now. Thanks.

kershaw72787
 
although i think straight razors are cool and all i simply don't see how anyone can use it every single day to shave. You'd have to sharpen it often and shaving with it is cumbersome. I can't see how any straight razor will actually perform better then a mach 3 (which imo is the best damn razor out right now) Hell i'm often too lazy to even use a mach 3 i just plug in the electric shaver.
 
Ok...now I feel like some kind of pusher. Psst all you str8 razor addicts I've got a Dubl Duck Wonderedge just beggin' to come home with you. LOL Not really. (I wouldn't sell it, maybe trade it and a few others for a Centofante interframe) This hobby, like knife collecting can become highly addictive. And no offense to the Mach III afficianados but it is a heck of a lot closer shave. Most Str8 users only shave every other day. In Straightrazorplace you will find many many Mach III converts who hated paying premium prices for what amounts to a disposeable. :D Once you get started though....watch out it can get expensive as you just have to have that really cool looking pressed horn Wade & Butcher Meat Chopper or wait, no I really want that Cattaraugus Green Lizard, HMMMM Maybe I'll really save my money and try for that Candy Stripe WR Case & Sons Bradford PA with the extra long monkey tail tang.....decisions, decisions. If you are into vintage knives, theres no reason why you wouldn't like or want to collect razors. Kinfolks, Robeson, Keen Kutter, Belknap Hardware, AW Wadsworth, CF Wolfhertz, Wade & Butcher, Cattaragus, Union Cutlery, Genco, many, amny more american manufacturers not to mention most of the Sheffield masters all made razors. High quality materials, handforged blades (depends on age), beautiful craftsmanship....and unless improperly stored it is not unusual to find a 100yr + old razor in mint or near mint condition. They were expensive, men took care of them and kept them in great shape. They were an important tool. Ok...I've given the depth of my addiction a face, but come on...where else can you hold history in your hand for under $20.
 
kershaw72787 - Funny enough I was just thinking the same thing this morning (straight razor being more threatening to some people than a knife). My thinking led to the conclussion that a lot of people just don't realise how sharp some of us knife knuts keep our EDC, hell shaving hair with an EDC is about my minimum standard :p On the other hand even the most dense of people can imagine how sharp a razor is.

Yep read Dark Half as well, good book. The first time I remember reading about a straight razor being used as offensive weapon was in a cowboy book about 20 years ago, can't remember the title but it had a big impact on me at the time.

I did try shaving with a straight razor for a while (breifly) but even if I get up at 7.00am, I don't actually wake up until 10.00am that and my natural awkwardness made it too dicey.
I'm cursed with extra tough stuble and extra soft skin on my face :( which means electric razors seem to have little effect, and I find the newer type of razor like the Mach III don't last too long and also clog up constantly. So now I've gone back to what I started with, the type known as "safety razors" where the sliver of blade is clamped into the head and is the only thing that needs replacing, also it's easy to take apart to clean.
 
With regualr razors it takes several passes on my kneck and side burns to get all the hair, making the razor good for about one and a half shaves, that is if I have let it go a little:) . Yes, I keep every single one of my knives, whether and EDC or my huge SpecOps survival knife, shaving sharp, just maybe at different angles. About once or twice a month I open up the knife case and take them all out, clean them, check the edges, oil, and put them back. Of all my knives I trade off but ususally only have one or two that I carry continually, Cold Steel Voyager XL Tanto:) . I am looking around for strops and am going to pick up the special kind of soap. Then it is time to start shaving peaches and seeing if I can drag the blade acorss a balloon. Keep posting. Thanks.

kershaw72787
 
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