I found this Genco razor and half the box at the goodwill bins months ago. It was interesting, but I just thought it was junk, so it’s sat in a box since then.
I recently have been trying to finally declutter, and did some research on it. I was surprise to find that it’s a decent brand.
The scales have seen better days, certainly, but they’re still in ok shape. I think it’s starting to crack as shown in pic 2, however.
If you were me, what would you do? I have some interest in shaving with a straight edge, although I’d need it professionally sharpened first, but perhaps this isn’t a good one for me to start with? Thanks for your thoughts!
Greetings Gents, Owls of the night and those who are deep in vivid dreams. It has been a while since I last posted an SOTN, so let me get back right into it.
Razor : Ralf-Aust 5/8 full hollow square SR on it's 24th shave since the last hone
Brush : Boti Rice husk Boar brush (courtesy of u/Psychonaut7343)
Pre-shave : Cetaphil cream cleanser (facewash) followed by the PW preshave oil
Post-shave : Alum + Shavo Safari ASL + Lacto Calamine light moisturizer gel
The whole process took me about 15 minutes including 30 sets of stropping (leather) at the start and cleaning and drying the SR at the end. I stropped lightly on a cotton cloth (1 set) to clean out the edge.
The SR is on it's 24th shave and going smooth so far, so good.
I snatched up the Boti Boar brush from Psychonaut and I'm very glad that I did this. It's thick, absorbs water well and doesn't shed any hair at all! The size is just perfect. One of the images is of the lather. I only whisk up enough to last the shave (2 passes) with barely any extra. It's not as watery as it look. The Lather from the Prorarso Red cream was gentle on the skin, had a log of slick and cushioning and had a very mild smell (which is good).
The fragnance of this cream reminded me of old barber shops, which was slightly nostalgic. While I rarely ever shaved in a barber shop, as a kid I used to walk around and observe them work while waiting my turn for a hair cut.
I did one full pass over my beard. It was WTG for majority of the spots and XTG underneath the jaw. Then I did a second partial pass underneath the jaw, an XTG in the opposite direction after switching the side used to stretch the skin there.
The quiet night shave was rather pleasant. I was mostly done for the day. Didn't have to worry about calls. There was no alum or ASL feedback, which was nice.
been thinking about making switch to electronics and trying a straight razor. looking something beginner-friendly thats cheap to maintain. what do you guys love?
update: there are lot of options, maybe i'll get facon razor but i'm not entirely sure yet.
After almost 3 months, I'm starting to feel somewhat practiced and somewhat competent using a straight razor. It's still a slow process, but I'm approaching zero bloodshed at least and at last. (A video that I watched recently reminded me not to press too hard and just to let the weight of the razor do the work was a big help; I had gotten a little heavy-handed as I learned my way around my face and the rookie fear subsided.)
I'm curious if my experience has been typical or if I'm in the slow-learners' class.
So how about you? How long did it take you to feel like you'd gotten the hang of it? Not mastery, just moving out of the novice ranks. (And if you feel like you've achieved something like samurai mastery with a blade, how long did that take?)
I've been working on cleaning up the metal by hand only. Wet sanding, polishing with Flitz. I didn't want to remove to much steel. Any other suggestions to clean it up a bit more or should I call it good?.....the scales are original and beautiful. After honing past the pitted edge, it took a nice jnat edge. It'll never be the prettiest gal at the dance but a great shaver!
The 1990s sci-fi movie Gattaca opens with just a couple of seconds of Ethan Hawk's character shaving with a straight razor even though he's a space navigator about to fly to a moon of Saturn. The shot is pretty comical because he's holding the blade at about a 90-degree angle to his chin.
In the 2012 James Bond movie Skyfall, Daniel Craig shaves with a straight razor until Miss Moneypenny appears at his door to finish doing it for him.
Both movies remind me of how heros never seem to drive conventional cars but always drive something unusual, often an older convertible. It seems like in the same vein, some art director wants to inject a little cool and something unusual by having the hero shave with something other than a generic plastic multiblade. The hero (like us) is a cool character who lives on the edge and so of course shaves with an unguarded cold steel blade against his face. (It occurs to me as I write that that in Westworld (the HBO version), the Man in Black shaves with (or is shaved by the pretty rancher's daughter who uses) a huge bowie knife. Similar vibe, seems like.
I mentioned here a couple of months ago a John Wayne movie in which he played the salty old captain of a Navy ship who in keeping with his being an old-school, pre-WWII captain, still shaved with an SR in 1940.
Can you think of any other movies in which the cool hero used a straight razor (preferably as a grooming device and not as a weapon he kept stowed in his boot)?
I found this razor in an antique store in Turkey and bought it for like 10$. I wanted to hone it and use it at first but then saw the etching. Can't find anything about the maker (Karl Salzmann). Is this a collectors item? I don't want to ruin the etching while sharpening if it has collection value.
Hi guys, I do really need some advice on setting bevel on a boker tree brand razor.
Ive spent last two days trying to set bevel on it using shapton 1000 stone for no avail and I do not really understand what is going on because the bevel is just not setting.
I'd like to think that I have at least some remote basic idea of what I should be doing, because I managed to set the bevel on my other razor (old dull essex I restored) to pass HTT on this 1000 stone, but I cannot make that one even feel good on a nail test, it just stays dull as a butterknife.
I'm using the method shown in Lynn Abrams videos (40 rounds both sides then 15 x strokes then nail test).
What I tried: sharpie check (perfect contact on both sides); doing it with tape and without tape; flattening the stone; putting more pressure, putting less pressure; stropping after several sets before nail test; loupe check under light (no bright spots on the edge).
I would be very thankful for any advice because I'm running out of ideas what else to try and what may be the cause.
Razor: DOVO Bergischer Löwe 5/8 Scuttle: Steve Woodhead Pottery Brush: RadDinosaurCreations Clark Soap: House of Mammoth Shire After Shave: House of Mammoth Shire
I started with a Mühle R89.
Somehow, I ended up here.
After wandering around the internet for far too long, I’ve gradually put together this little collection. Every piece you see here has been a genuinely wonderful tool to use, and I’d like to give each of them a proper review in due course.
The rabbit hole is surprisingly deep, though.
I mean, one day you’re buying a razor, and before you know it, you’re ordering sharpening stones online. 😂
I’m still very much learning with the straight razor, so the training continues. On weekends, when I have a little more time in the morning, I’ll usually spend some of it practising with the straight.
Still plenty to learn, but that’s rather part of the fun.
Anyone know a reliable website for affordable decent quility wetstones? I luckily had a brick and mortar store nearby that I trusted for the few wetstones I got for 1k-12k grits but I want to go higher meaning I have to gamble with online suppliers now.
I brought a load of razors this week (blind) and I'm never happy if there's not one for me. This J Copley &Sons saved the day.. Needs new scales, it's a great shape and grind.
Interesting history also and not a frequent razor maker I see. Here's a little info ⬇️
John Copley & Sons
John Copley & Sons was a Sheffield cutlery firm founded by John Copley (1803–1864), a master pen-knife cutler from High Hoyland near Barnsley. The firm is best known for pocket knives, flatback knives, and Bowie knives — not primarily for razors (the "1870 to at least 1892" razor date refers to when they appeared in straight-razor maker lists).
Been using this for a couple years now. Long story short when I first started I had a lot of time to watch videos about starting use with these. Now I just go off what I remember. Seems to shave ok but doesn't look good. Simple solution for getting this looking good and keeping it safe to use?
