Vintage Shaving

[Indy Magnoli]

I thought I'd pass this on for those interested... Colonel Conk has a great line of old fashioned shaving products at good prices and great quality:

http://www.col-conk.com

I use one of their Solingen straight razors, and highly recommend the Merkur Travel Razor for traveling:

http://www.col-conk.com/210.jpg

I used to sell all this stuff when working in the knife business a few years ago. And if you're frightened of straight razors... don't be. It's not that difficult to do and you can't beat the shave!

Kind regards,
Indy

[LNBright]

How well-timed!


I was at Wally-World the other day looking for the disposable replacement razor-heads for my whatever-it-is little-bitty multi-bladed razor-thing, and I noticed the pack of safety razors on the shelf above....

My dad gave me a safety-razor two decades ago, and it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't seen the thing in over a decade, that I had no idea where it had gotten to.

So, I started browsing around, thinking that it'd be nice to get a safety-razor again, just for the nostalgia of it..... and they didn't have 'em! They have the blades, they had shaving brushes and shaving soap for a shaving mug, but they had no safety razors, nor straight razors either (although that didn't surprise me).

I had actually made a mental note to look into finding a safety razor on-line, and just hadn't gotten to it yet.

And here one appears!

Funny how things like that work....... :)



-Leslie

[BD Jones]

I see these all the time at a local antique store I like to frequent. I've never picked one up since I have a beard (not a whole lot of shaving going on). Is that the kind where you twist the bottom of the handle to open the top and reveal the blades or are the blades already exposed on the sides?

[LNBright]

The way mine worked, you would screw the knob on the bottom to open the doors all the way, and could drop the new blade into place. Then, if you screwed it back down all the way, it'd put enough pressure on the blade to warp it up so that the edges of the blade were bowed up and hidden behind the flap-doors. Unscrewing it just a tad would allow the blade to arc back down to allow it to cut.... at least that's how I remember it....



-Leslie

[ITG]

BD Jones, when did you get a beard?

[Ken]

I tried a straight razor once, but I couldn't get it to actually work (although I was more scared of cutting my throat so I guess this wasn't the worst possible outcome).

Ken

[Michaelson]

Conk's moustache wax is pretty worthless, I'm afraid. It's fine in initial application, but first sign of warmth, it dies. Greasy too. Smells good, though....Regards. Michaelson

[PrettyBigGuy]

I received a Rolls Razor as a gift several years ago from someone who didn't know what it was. Unfortunatly, it was imcomplete (the handle was missing) so I haven't been able to use it. I've been looking for one on Ebay but all of the Rolls Razors I've seen are complete sets! One of these days I'll just bite the bullet and buy one.
I have always wanted to try shaving with a straight razor though. I always remember going to barber shops as a kid and having the back of my neck shaved with one after the barber put the hot lather on there. Nothing is colder than a northern Illinois winter wind on your neck after having that done! Brrrrrr!
PBG

[Michaelson]

I'll try anything once, including a staight razor. Still have the chin scar to prove it!:eek: When in the mood for a 'vintage' shave, I'll stick with my 1912 Eversharp safety single edge, thank you! (grins) Regards. Michaelson

[Indy Magnoli]

If you really want to get into using a straight razor but are a little apprehensive... they say to practice on a balloon. If it pops... you've cut yourself. :) I found that if you just start nice and easy it's no problem. Once you're good at it, it doesn't take much longer than a regular razor, and the shave is much closer. ;)

As for the moustache wax... I never tried it. It would figure that it smells nice, that line is delicious. The almond balm is nice just to whiff...

Kind regards,
Indy

[Michaelson]

True, but when it's supposed to be holding up the ends of your handlebars, and doesn't , well, smell ain't everything!:rage: ;) Regards. Michaelson

[Indy Magnoli]

Well... if you ever decide to go for that Chinese philosopher look, you know where to go... And you'll smell lovely.

Kind regards,
Indy

[BD Jones]

Originally posted by ITG
BD Jones, when did you get a beard?

Summer of 1997. My electric razor broke and I was to cheap to buy an new one and to lazy to lather and use a real razor so I grew the beard. I try to keep it trimmed down as low as possible during the warmer months (almost to a stubble). During those months people often make the comment "Oh, I see you are trying ot grow a beard" not realizing I've had one for quite some time.

[BD Jones]

Originally posted by LNBright
The way mine worked, you would screw the knob on the bottom to open the doors all the way, and could drop the new blade into place. Then, if you screwed it back down all the way, it'd put enough pressure on the blade to warp it up so that the edges of the blade were bowed up and hidden behind the flap-doors. Unscrewing it just a tad would allow the blade to arc back down to allow it to cut.... at least that's how I remember it....



-Leslie

I've seen those to, but the one I am referring to is one where you twist the bottom of the handle, the top doors open up towards the outside. At the same time, the blades move up and into cutting position. There is a cover over the blades (held by a small center screw) that you must remove in order to change the blades. It is somewhat hard to picture, but I've seen three at this particular antique store. They usually run between $15 and $20. I'll see if I can find them again and take some pictures.

[Michaelson]

PBG, I saw several Rolls Razors, still in the box , at an antique store in Chattanooga yesterday, and least expensive was $125! Regards. Michaelson

[PrettyBigGuy]

Yikes! thanks for the info Michealson. I see them a lot cheaper on EBay so I think I'll go that route
PBG

[Michaelson]

Good idea. The booths I saw them in had several, so it wasn't like they were trying to make a killing on one sale....they were EXTREMELY proud of them though. (grins) Regards. Michaelson

[juup]

i don't know anything about the straight razor i've been using since i kipped it off my gramps (with so many other things: pipe, sock garters hats, kippas) I do know that the handle is genuine tortoise shell and bubbe says he got it just after the war. It took me 2 months and 3 stitches to learn to shave with it. Now i won't use anything but.

[Woodfluter]

My, talk about resuscitating a moribund thread! No fault finding, only amazement that you discovered it.

OK, my recommendation if you're interested in such like things, is to visit this website:http://badgerandblade.com/

You'll find a wealth of information about straight edge razors, but perhaps more pertinent a whole lot more about "safety razors" of the single edge, double edge, and injector varieties. Plus shaving products and techniques and all that stuff. I own and routinely use a wide variety of vintage safety razors of all descriptions, dating from 1906 to 1950s. I have some more recent Merkur razors, but alas don't think so highly of them. The real gems were made in abundance during the "golden era"...come to think of it, sorta like hats! So there's tons of them out there, available now on eBay or at your local yard sale or antique store.

Best of shaving luck regardless of your path!
- Bill

[Harry Gooch]

I've thought about trying a straight razor, and am not terribly worried about cuts. After all, what's a little blood in such a manly man pursuit?

My concern was how to hone the razor, stropping, etc.

Any advice?

Cheers.

Harry.

[Shangas]

Honing and stropping is easy. And I mean easy. If a doofus like me can do it...anyone can.

Just remember a few basic rules...

1. NO PRESSURE. If you put pressure on the blade, you bend and roll the edge and that screws up your razor.
2. Light, fast strokes. If you must roll the blade, then roll it on the spine, not the edge.
3. When stropping (I assume you're using a hanging-strop), keep the strop TIGHT and keep the blade LIGHT. If the strop bows or sags, that'll make the stropping less effective and a heavy stropping hand will dull the edge.
4. Strop before and after each shave. Hone when necessary (in my experience, once a month).

[boone33]

Nice. I've been in the market for shaving accessories.

[dnjan]

Honing and stropping is easy. And I mean easy. If a doofus like me can do it...anyone can.

Just remember a few basic rules...

1. NO PRESSURE. If you put pressure on the blade, you bend and roll the edge and that screws up your razor.
2. Light, fast strokes. If you must roll the blade, then roll it on the spine, not the edge.
3. When stropping (I assume you're using a hanging-strop), keep the strop TIGHT and keep the blade LIGHT. If the strop bows or sags, that'll make the stropping less effective and a heavy stropping hand will dull the edge.
4. Strop before and after each shave. Hone when necessary (in my experience, once a month).

Shangas has it right. To provide a bit more explanation:

The honing is probably done at an angle close to what you would get if you put a single layer of electrical tape over the spine and then honed with both the tape-covered spine and the cutting edge touching the stone at the same time.

So, the very slight sag you get in the strop from a tight strop along with light stropping pressure will be enough of an angle (when the spine and cutting edge are touching the strop at the same time) to polish the edge without rounding it. But letting the strop noticably sag will round the edge and result in the too-frequent need for honing.

[Shangas]

You need a good sharpening stone for razors. If you can, the best thing to get is a "Baber's Hone", which were honing-stones used by barbers, because they needed to resharpen their razors all the time. But a standard 4,000/8,000 grit honing-stone (that you might use for kitchen-knives) works just fine.

The best strops are made of leather. You can get a cheap, good-quality one online. Or you can even try and make your own. You can use an old leather belt as a strop (provided it's nice and smooth), I've even heard of people cutting up old jeans and stropping on the denim trouser-legs.

[Harry Gooch]

Shangas has it right. To provide a bit more explanation:

The honing is probably done at an angle close to what you would get if you put a single layer of electrical tape over the spine and then honed with both the tape-covered spine and the cutting edge touching the stone at the same time.

So, the very slight sag you get in the strop from a tight strop along with light stropping pressure will be enough of an angle (when the spine and cutting edge are touching the strop at the same time) to polish the edge without rounding it. But letting the strop noticably sag will round the edge and result in the too-frequent need for honing.

Forgive my ignorance, but what part of the blade is the spine?

Thanks,

Harry.

[Saint-Just]

I'm quite happy with DE razors (Gillette Tech 1946) and a nice Simpsons Super Badger... Choosing the right soap (or cream) is a different challenge altogether.. :D
Straight razors are brilliant but although I am a little into knives :rolleyes: I find that honing and stropping properly is much more difficult than it appears. You think it's fine until you compare your own razor with one properly honed...

[Shangas]

Harry, this is a standard straight-razor. 5/8 full hollow roundpoint. Made in Germany.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/Fruffles/Shaving%20Photographs/Krazor1.jpg

The POINT is the tip of the blade.
The SPINE is the blunt end of the blade.
...opposite to the EDGE (no need to tell you where that is).
Opposite to the point is the SHOULDER (not all straights have a shoulder) with one, or two stablisers, to prevent the blade from cracking (this one has two stablisers).
Then you have the SHANK or the TANG, then the pivot-pins that hold the SCALES and at the very end, the tail of the razor.

[Harry Gooch]

Harry, this is a standard straight-razor. 5/8 full hollow roundpoint. Made in Germany.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a215/Fruffles/Shaving%20Photographs/Krazor1.jpg

The POINT is the tip of the blade.
The SPINE is the blunt end of the blade.
...opposite to the EDGE (no need to tell you where that is).
Opposite to the point is the SHOULDER (not all straights have a shoulder) with one, or two stablisers, to prevent the blade from cracking (this one has two stablisers).
Then you have the SHANK or the TANG, then the pivot-pins that hold the SCALES and at the very end, the tail of the razor.

Excellent! Thanks again.

Harry.

[Young fogey]

I'm sure the experts here will tell me how old my razor is. Thanks in advance. A late South Philly barber used it for decades in his shop.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5062/5773553820_551508e9fb_m.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2607/5773016193_e48d107e5f_m.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5262/5773016775_3caf332e12_m.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/5773017235_98881c981c_m.jpg