New To Straight Razors ? Read This
- markodams
- Feb 8, 2015
- 3 min read
You have your new straight razor now you have to maintain it which involves a few simple methods to keep your razor in tip top condition and shaving through those whiskers like a hot knife through butter !
Edge Maintainance
Your straight razor may be shave ready now but in around 5 to 7 shaves (depending on skill level) the razor will start to pull a little and not mow down the stubble as it did, this is the first sign of edge degradation.....now the key here is at the first sign of this you need to perform some edge maintainance on your razor, there are a few simple methods to achieve this which I'll go through now.
My prefered way to keep my straight razors in shave ready condition is the use of a whetstone, a japanese or "jnat" do a fantastic job but I'm a fan of the belgian coticule, Simply spray the hone with plain water then lay the razor flat on the stone with weight of the blade only and perform 30 edge leading X strokes......take your time theres no rush just nice and steady, pay attention making sure the whole edge stays in contact with the stone whilst performing the X stroke. After completly dry the blade then go to your linen/leather strop and do 60/60 strokes, after that your straight razor should be shaving just as well as it was before seeing edge degradation. Here is a short demonstration on the procedure.
Next up is Chromium Oxide, there are a couple of ways to utilize this great green stuff the first and most cost effective is a pasted balsa wood hone, quite simple this method.....same as above at first sign of edge degradation take the straight razor and perform 7 to 15 stropping X strokes (edge trailing) across the hone be careful here not to over do it, it may seem like nothing is happening but beleive me it is. Once finished carefully wipe the blade clean because the last thing you want to do is contaminate your clean strop with a paste, then its time to hit the strop again 60/60 X strokes linen/leather. The other more expensive option is to but a second strop for your edge maintainance which you will cover in chromium oxide, the method is the same as with the balsa wood hone apart from your doing your x strokes on a strop instead. Be sure to wipe clean again before hitting your clean linen/leather again.
Basic Straight Razor Care
Its very important to take care of your razor to ensure it stays in great form, Follow these simple steps
Never let water drip down into the pivot point as this is hard to dry and will cause rust, this goes for when honing the straight razor or when shaving with it.
If your not going to be using the straight razor for a prolonged period of time lightly coat the blade with clear oil to prevent rusting.
I recommend a nice cleaning and inspection once a month to check the razor over, I use a microfibre cloth with some metal polish (Maas) is a fantastic one.....if your razor has gold wash on it though be very careful here because it will bring it right off, try not to go over that area.
Be sure to strop your razor well before each and every shave, generally I'll do 30/60 Linen/leather.....you only need to up the stroke count whenever the razor has been on the hones or pastes.
Happy Shaving
Written by Mark Odams
T: 07592303517
