Dylan Farnham Razors

[rustycrusty]

For those interested in starting- a few things to consider:

If you can't sharpen a kitchen knife to the point of shaving hair off of your arm you won't be able to maintain a straight.
-learn to sharpen before learning to shave
you will ruin your first razor edge while stropping and then have to sharpen it back to restore the edge you rolled or tore off... And then strop it again just to get back to shave ready.
-learn how to strop first.

Learn how to do both of these on a $10 antique razor, before doing serious damage to your +$100 razor.
learn how to shave on a full hollow ground razor- they give much more feedback before they slice and are MUCH easier to sharpen and maintain. Look for a rounded tip- the straight 90 is nice for sideburns and such, but it does catch and cut when learning.

I started with my great grandfathers' straight razor, learning how to sharpen it- and what to sharpen with. I was extremely lucky I didn't ruin the blade completely before getting the hang of it. Now I use that razor occasionally, but use a $70 Dovo Half Wedge most of the time.
The thicker blade profile gets through my thicker hair easier, but is much more sensitive to angling while honing as well as poor stropping technique.

The razors pictured above look awesome- most look to be somewhere between half and full wedge. They look heavy too- that much weight behind the blade will make what would be a small nick into a hospital visit for someone who was rushing a bit. Still, cool

[cofi]

For those interested in starting- a few things to consider:

If you can't sharpen a kitchen knife to the point of shaving hair off of your arm you won't be able to maintain a straight.
-learn to sharpen before learning to shave
you will ruin your first razor edge while stropping and then have to sharpen it back to restore the edge you rolled or tore off... And then strop it again just to get back to shave ready.
-learn how to strop first.

Learn how to do both of these on a $10 antique razor, before doing serious damage to your +$100 razor.
learn how to shave on a full hollow ground razor- they give much more feedback before they slice and are MUCH easier to sharpen and maintain. Look for a rounded tip- the straight 90 is nice for sideburns and such, but it does catch and cut when learning.

I started with my great grandfathers' straight razor, learning how to sharpen it- and what to sharpen with. I was extremely lucky I didn't ruin the blade completely before getting the hang of it. Now I use that razor occasionally, but use a $70 Dovo Half Wedge most of the time.
The thicker blade profile gets through my thicker hair easier, but is much more sensitive to angling while honing as well as poor stropping technique.

The razors pictured above look awesome- most look to be somewhere between half and full wedge. They look heavy too- that much weight behind the blade will make what would be a small nick into a hospital visit for someone who was rushing a bit. Still, cool

Are you able to bring any knife to a razor edge? Can I practice on my Kershaw?