Only because my skill is not worthy of such a wonderful blade. I don't do it justice. In terms of quality it far surpasses anything else I have. Give me a while to improve my meager shaving talent. It will move up in rank.
I might be getting in late on this but to offer another option: a 4-sided paddle strop from Tony @ www.thewellshavedgentleman.com is sort of an all-in-one idea. You can get 3 sides pasted with different pastes used to sharpen and refresh an edge and one side with plain leather for daily stropping. If, later, you decide to continue with the cut throat, you can purchase a hanging strop and the Norton. If you talked with Tony, he'd be able to set you up with the right choices for pastes. Just a question, but the package you purchased off Ebay didn't have the name Zeepk anywhere on it did it?
No, I don't think so. In fact, I don't think I have seen any maker's name anywhere on the blade or scales (which isn't a good sign, but hey, for under 20 quid for two ...). I think I would have remembered a name like Zeepk I'll have a look when I get home.
OK, home now. No maker's name anywhere on the razor. On the blade, a "gold" inlay with a strange device and the words "Best Brand". Ring any bells?
Result! Some positives to report. Today I bought a sharpening stone from the local DIY place. It's a Norton India stone, with two grades of grit. The finer of the two is pretty fine - I would say about 1200 from the feel, although nothing is stated on the box. I know that's nothing like the 8000 grit some people recommend, but it's a start (and a whole lot better than the oilstone in my workshop). I've given the straight razor blade about 50 to-and-fro trips on the stone, then stropped it with the short strop and a bit of black paste. Result - a good shave. Not a great shave, but a good-enough shave. A million times better than with the unhoned blade, and a heap better than the SE Ever Ready. Now I know why I was having the problems - a simple matter of sharpness. The blade seemed extremely sharp to the touch, but obviously there is a whole new dimension of sharpness that I was unaware of. Wishlist now includes a Norton 4000/8000 stone and a decent razor, but I'm going to keep working on this cheapie until I get to 98% acceptable. I'd say it's around 90% acceptable now. The fun is in the trying. One thing is for sure: I'm happy enough with the results to use the straight on an everyday basis. I'll only revert to the cartridge razor if I'm in a real hurry. One other thing. A drop of rainwater had splashed on to the blade from an open window and had made a rust spot. I got some metal polish to remove it. I also removed the "gold" inscription on the blade face in the process, and most of the "best brand" etching. Hey, I'm dealing with quality here.
It sounds like you're sticking with the straight razor, but here are some notes for other razors. The Gem Blue Star blade isn't stainless. If it's from an old pack, the blades may have deteriorated. The best SE blades to try first are regular Gem stainless. Since you're in the UK, it should be fairly easy to find what are often called the "Swedish" Gillette DE blades, which are one of the very best all-around blades, very sharp, but very smooth and easy to use. (They are marked on the package with several European cities, including Stockholm, but we're not really sure where they're made.) Injector razors are apparently very rare in the UK, and the better US-made Schick blades are no longer made, so I won't go further here. It's unfortunate, since in many ways, the injector may be the best of the safety razors, easier to use than the DE and with a much smaller head than the SE.
Feather injector blades (ProGuard, Professional, and Super) are a bit longer then the old Schicks. They can be made to fit in a Schick by cutting off a bit the end off them with a pair of sharp tin snips. Their magazine is not made for injecting into a Schick, so there is some blade handling involved getting to get them in. It might be a little easier to put the blades into an old Schick magazine, then inject it into the razor. Hope that helps!
Well, I've trawled this site and decided I ought to give the DE experience a go, so today I ordered a Merkur 1904 from Connaught. I've also ordered a blade sample pack. That should keep me out of mischief for a while.
Yes, I have used the Pros a lot, the Super and the ProGuard are thicker than the regular Schick injector, but may work. I use a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to do 5 blades at a time, then usually pack 10 of them into an empty Schick magazine (the newer white plastic ones are easy to take apart). I generally use the "featherjector" about 1/3 of my shaves for the last ATG and touch-up passes. Ten blades will last you (well, me) about a year at that rate.
Hiram, I'd send the straight out to a honemeister. This will give you a benchmark for what a shave ready razor feels like. Then when you hone, you'll KNOW what you're striving for.
That's a really good idea. I'm not sure I would do that with the straights I have got, though. They are really cheap! I'm sure that a proper honing from someone who knows what they are doing would cost me more than the razors did. If I can get a nice vintage razor, I will certainly do that. For the time being, my 1904 has arrived (not opened yet, just got in from work), so I'm going to put some time into getting that right first. I want to persist with the straights, but I'm thinking that is going to be a longer-term prospect for me. Thanks for the input, anyhow. Hiram is my brother, by the way
