What Straight Razor Did You Use Today?

I did indeed hone it. To my amazement, with one layer of tape on the spine it produced the nicest, crispy, nearly invisible edge on the blade, and contacted the blade at no point other than the very edge, preserving the patina.

 

Wester Bros No. 16, another German razor, the last of my ugly razor posts. I think I will PIF several of these to people wanting to start straight razor shaving.

 

I'd like to find a 6/8 or larger minty Wester Bros. I have a couple smaller ones and they're outstanding razors, IMO. You don't hear a lot about them, which is a good thing when your looking to buy. I think both of mine are Di-Fi Wester Bros.

 

6/8 Wacker Inox
Prep Shaving Soap
Omega "biggie"

 

What a commendable gesture!

 

UGLY RAZOR/GREAT SHAVE DAY 7:
It was a long week, but finally, it's come to a close. We all know the point of this little exercise was simple: a great shave has little to do with a particular name or aesthetic. Great shaves can be had with some real ugly ducklings with only a little honing and TLC. And with a bit more effort, some of these have the potential to be beauty queens as well.

For this last day, I selected one of my all time favorite razors. My wife had gone to an estate auction earlier this Spring in Kalona, Iowa at an Amish farm. Knowing I was always on the lookout for old straights, she bid one dollar for this one and brought it home to me. It's an old Montgomery Ward mail order razor. the scales had broken off long ago, and some very old cotton bandaging has been wrapped around the tang and sealed with some kind of varnish, making it in effect, a stubby kamisori. It was the ugliest razor I'd ever seen. Without question.

I began to give it a good looking over, and made a couple of observations. The wrap looked like it had been applied about 50 years ago. The hone wear, though beyond excessive, was consistent on both sides of the blade. The impression I got was that the same person had been honing that razor for a long time with the same stroke. Wear along the edge was also very consistent, and the blade was the same width at heal and toe down to less than 1/10th of a mm. The edge itself was sharp. I mean honmeister-meister sharp. Definitely shave ready.

Then it occurred to me. Somebody loved that razor. For a long time. Amish are widely known to be thrifty. The same old Amishman had probably owned that razor his entire life, his one razor. He probably ordered it out of a Montgomery Ward catalog in about 1930, broke the scales in about 1965, did a field repair, and continued to use it to his last days.

I did no restoration to the blade, but did whittle out some bone scales. It might be the last razor I'd ever get rid of.



With a Simpson Wee-Scott, a puck of Williams, and a healthy splash of Floid.

 

Razor Filarmonica 14 Especial 8/8 AKA Big Momma

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6/8 Wacker
DVH
homemade boar

 

Dovo 55 Fritz Bracht

 

LOVE the French point on this!

 

Got a great shave today with my Koraat 8/8"

 

Filarmonica 14 Sub Cero

 

Japanese Three Kings deluxe for Barbers full hollow 13/16

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6/8 Wacker Inox
Prep Shaving Soap
homemade boar

 

A newly-honed Worscester—smoooooth shave!

 

Celebrating the successful completion of UR/GS Week with a Playboy Shave...
Jack Black Beard Lube as a preshave
Custom Mastro Livi 8/8's Spanish Point in carbon Damascus with Olivewood
Simpson Polo 10 Best
Martin de Candre Fougere
Captain's Choice Cat O' Nine Tails aftershave
My home made after shave balm (best in the world, BTW...)

 

I love the olive wood scales! You don't see it (olive wood) much around the US, but one sees items made from it everywhere in Israel.

What's the secret of your post-shave best-in-the-world balm ( I make my own as well)? Of course, if you told me—it wouldn't be secret anymore...

 

The olivewood Mastro Livi uses he collects from downed branches around Perugia! The natural choice for scales for a ML razor.

Here's my recipe-Don't tell anybody!


3 tablespoons Aloe gel

About 1/2 inch squirt from a tube of Lidocane

1 tablespoon olive oil

2-3 drops lanolin

2-3 drops eucalyptus oil (or any essential oil you prefer for scent)

Witch Hazel added until proper consistency

Mix together in bowl until combines.​

 

Excellent, Thanks! I'm prepping to make several batches of both pre and post-shave balms using primarily shea butter, so your recipe is a welcome addition!

 

Well then, allow me to share my Pre-shave oil recipe. I've been using the Jack Black Beard Lube as a pre-shave, but this is a pretty good recipe:

3 tablespoons coconut oil (insert shea butter here!)

1 tablespoon lanolin

1 tablespoon mineral oil

2-3 drops eucalyptus oil (or your favorite scented oil)

Witch Hazel added till proper consistency