I saw this last night at my girlfriend's house. I was dying to comment, but waited till I got home. I sure hope you've come along in your straight razor journey! You have to hold the blade at about a 30 degree angle, and scrape the hair off in smooth sweeps. Shaving soap works wonders. I've been loving wet shaving for about 8 months now, and I love learning the ins and outs!

All i want is a redemption video man!

I was in knots the entire time you were shaving. I switched to double-sided safety razors and straight-blade razors about 8 years ago and there is absolutely a learning curve. Grab a Muhle open-comb double sided safety razor to learn blade feel - I found it to be a good approximation to a straight razor in terms of blade contact and angle of attack. After using that for a while try the straight razor again but please, please, please read up on soap and lather technique. Get a good badger brush and find the soap that’s right for your skin.

Thumbs up, he didn't cut himself even though it was his first time and he was scraping his face at first xD

Gillette the Best A Man can Forget !

Dude, where's the soap? I cringed when you started shaving dry.

I have a solingen made in Germany. Just asking about the tensile strength of the steel, and what sight do you acquire your stones from?

Hey Burrfection, are disposable razors reshapenable ? If so how many times it can be resharpenned before tossing into the bin ?

Awesome video as usual. Do you ever use the strap strop, like the barbers?

hey ryky, have you continued using straight razors? if so, how much time would you say it takes a week to maintain the blade at an appropriate sharpness? I've been thinking about switching to these ever since you uploaded this video.

Hola y alfin seguiste afeitandose con barberas rectas? Que marcas recomiendas?

where do you get a good 15000 or 20000 grit polishing stone or paper to finish off your straight razor

Curious to hear a update! Are you still using a straight razor?

One comment on your sharpening/stropping technique. Straight razor blades (as you can tell) are very, very fine. Fine enough that you can actually roll the edge on your strop. The trick is to always lead with the spine and then when you get to the end, roll the blade up over the spine before moving the blade. You always want the edge off the strop or stone before you lift the blade. I'm a long time straight razor user myself and am pretty stoked to see you start out. Shaving with a straight becomes a ritual as much as an exercise in grooming.

Just wondering if you are still using a straight?

Was there a second video showing any improvements?

I got myself a nice Boker Elite Carbon from Classic Edge Shaving Store, best shave ever, stropping helps a ton and obviously a nice cream, foam or oil goes a long way. I don't use any past but use a good quality leather strop. I am going to attempt to whetstone sharpen this weekend. Thanks for all your videos. Cheers.

y have a full beard and i also shave dry sometimes, it's easier with soap of course but there is nothing wrong on dry shaving, it is just more difficult and umconfortable

Hello Ricky, good video glad to see you branching out. I too am looking at getting into straight razor shaving. Would like to see you do some more razor honing. Take care.

This is coming from a guy with 10 years of using and maintaining a straight razor - so take it for what it is worth to you. Just trying to help. First - just like knives the steel you use in a blade matters. Invest in a decent German brand to begin (dovo, boker, etc..) then move up from there. There is whole world out there for straight razors. The razors you purchased are - how do say this politely - junk. You technique to sharpen a str8 is different than a knife. You intended only to create a burr/wire edge which is great for a knife cutting veggies / meat not for a str8 cutting hair on you face / skin. I am afraid your technique was not good you are asking for razor burn with that sharpening technique. You want to create as very smooth and very sharp edge. Place the razor on its spine and move it down on the stone - not up. Also do not apply any pressure when sharpening simply let the blade do the work. Keep direction of you blade at same on both sides. The good news is you have the stones to do it. You will also need a leather strop to finish the razor. There are plenty of tests you can do to measure the sharpness of your blade. The bar for sharpness is much higher than a knife. MUCH higher. I can tell you looking at your video your str8 razor was not sharp based on how much the blade was tugging at your hair rather than cutting. Shaving technique another big area to cover here. Need a lot of help here as well. Start with a 15 degree angle approx. Read up on some forums on shaving techniques and sharpening. Lots of material out there. ask for help!

Brave!!!!!!!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 I'm curious of the hardness level of these things. Do you have a file for a simple, ballpark scratch test?

What type of steel is

Love your line "I'm not an expert...", dude you are a pro!!

I would love to see more straight razor content! Did you stick with it? Are you still shaving with a straight. Did you watch any how to videos or do research to learn the proper way?

Why are you using a stropping stroke instead of leading with the face of the blade?

Im interested in see if you can sharpen a paring knife to the point of being able to shave

Welcome to the club bro, switched to straight 6 years ago. Disposables are stupid expensive.

I stopped when you started shaving. Damn! Videos are free! Thanks for what you do! Greg

I was all set to buy one a few years ago. Then a friend lent me one of his. Once was enough, and i went back to my DE razors - Edwin Jagger, Muhle and Merkur. I guess these things are not for everyone, and i do my head too. One of the pleasures of wet shaving is that we get to treat ourselves to all the fabulous soaps, creams and smelly stuff on the market to make the chore into more of a treat. I cannon understand why anyone would want to dry shave! I recommend Mitchells Wool Fat, Tabac, Cella, La Toja, Speick, Proraso, Arko, but there are many more. Treat yourself!

How about an update on your straight razor shaving?

oil soap ?

When sharpening a straight razor turn it over on the back side of the razor, not the blade side. Also, I always used a good leather razor strap to hone the blade. This will help you get a sharper edge.

4k, 8k, and 12k super stone as a beginner set up. Stropping is very important especially on clean leather and linen. I'm new to straight razors also.

Try out that expensive Shapton lapping plate on your Shapton glass. I'd like to know if it works better than your Atoma.

A nice test for sharpness of razors: Pick a single hair and move down across the edge at 90deg. The razor should first cling to the hair and cut it clean. The edge should grip every time and cut through the whole hair, not split it. It's a quick and easy test and you can feel and hear the difference quite clearly. Do thi from both sides to check if the edge is even. Since hair hair fine-structure holding from the tip or the root makes a clear difference. This also works on knifes, depending on how sharp you get them. Would be great to see this!

I’ve been using a straight for a few years and I love it. Japanese Natural stones are my current favorite to use for a straight, I got a Shoubudani Mizu and Nakayama Asagi from Alex G. at thejapanstone. Natural edges are very smooth. Also, don’t hone with any pressure. Shallower grit scratches will make a smoother feeling edge for your skin. A razor can’t just be very sharp, it also needs as much smoothness as you can attain. Some people put Shaving lather on their stones just to cushion the grit for shallower scratches on the bevel. Definitely buy a Shaving soap! Slick and protective stuff and a brush. I would recommend Sudsy Soapery Sandalwood and Citrus with Turneric and a bottle of witch hazel to finish the shave with. Also get a brush, a basic synthetic would do fine like a Razorock Plissoft. You’ll also want a good strop. Tony Miller makes his fast bridle strops for a good intro price and they’re great quality.

Yo Ryky great video as always, often wondered if you would do a straight razor vid but didnt expect you to shave lol. Get some proraso white cream for sensetive skin and a shaving brush and your away.

I’ve been using a 3 inch translucent Arkansas pocket stone that I’ve kept in my portable shave kit for a few years now, and always had a super smooth shave after a couple swipes on the stone, followed by some stropping.

I'm 33 and use a straight razor, it is great for a few reasons and one being you can cover more area and two you don't have to clean them out like a regular razor. Also it is great that you only need to buy one and can sharpen it instead of buying 30 dollar refill cartridges so it saves lots of money in the end!

your first shave angle! omg!.

Can we get an update of your straight razor sharping

Omg it makes me squeamish watching you. My beard is so tough I am afraid to go this way. But I read some of the suggestions and it is nice to see people that have experience willing to help out. I'm keeping my eye on the future vids. Great job not cutting your throat not having a mirror. :)

Thank you for this video!

Kudos on putting up the video. My first straight razor shave was sort of like that. I wonder if you are still shaving with a straight razor. I was actually binging your videos because I'm waiting on some pocket knives that are in the mail and watching sharpening videos helps me cope with the wait. I was actually going to comment on one of them to suggest that you try straight razor shaving. Anyway, I love your channel. Others are suggesting a buch of info on where to get advice. The best advice I can give is is to watch tutorials by either Lynn Abrams. His sharpening technique is what gave me the best results and I've watched tutorials from geofatboy for shaving technique. My system: Norton 4000/8000 combo Chosera 10000 to finish. Strop lightly, almost not at all, on a strop with green compound but better to not do it at all than to do it too much. It can really ruin your efforts. Then before every shave strop on the smooth side of a nice long leather strop BUT put the strop on a flat flat surface (as per the recommendation of Murray Carter). You need to do at around 50 passes but if you put your strop on a flat surface, then you can't overstrop. Going from stropping like barbers do to stropping with the strop on a flat surface has really increased the quality of my shave. I put a good amount of pressure when I strop on a flat surface. I'll strop until the razor tree-tops arm hair while hovering about 2-3 mm above the skin.

A hot shower before shaving, use soap and a brush. One pass with the grain, one pass to the side and another pass against the grain. Also stropping with a hanging strop before shaving, first on a linen side and then the other side with leather

Excellent shave

That Fiodur is dope. Nice job. 🔥

Please, please, please watch some videos of long time straight razor shavers.

Razor strop?

I’ve been straight shaving for years and number one use a good shaving soap I suggest sterling to start! Get a brush and that get up! Light pressure stretch your skin and do passes! With across and against the grain!

From a guy who is still learning and trialling combinations after many years.. I just come agross this video and could stop laughing... (in a nice friendly way)... it just reminded me of my beginnings with cut throats. I wasnt as bad but i did watch tutorials on the Tube thanks to Lyn Abrahams & DrMatt my go to guys. I couldnt believe you didn't get the blade to bite your face during the video making. It was straight razors that got me into artisan knife making and care. Im sure you have learnt plenty by now on honing, sharpening, maintenance and how to shave and understand all where you went wrong. Im glad you you now can appreciate the differences in cutlery knives and cut throats razors. Maybe you will find a way to mish mash or refine certain technical aspects to apply on one or the other ... I would be very intersted with a man of your skill in blades to come up with a technique and progression with various stones and cut throat blades. Look forward to an update on what you have found that is important and your style, bcz in the stright cut throat world once you learn the basics, many variables may be applied with the gear you have and budget. Theres is no right or wrong.. it only what works for you to give you that nice shave. GaZz

Did it stick Ricky?are you still shaving this way.

Wow, razors and shaving are a bit different beast than kitchen knives... must say you are brave for doing this without any prior research.... just imagine how well you'd do and it would feel when done better

GOOD LORD!!! Please do some research and look up Dr. Matt on KZfaq. He's the one who got me interested in straights.

Welcome to your new addiction.What I use are vintage razors, Naniwa water stones (on bases), Straight Razor Designs paddle strop with changeable strop material. I usually just use the rough leather and finished leather. For touch ups I use hard felt with .5 diamond spray. There are a lot of great KZfaq shaving channels and I highly recommend Straightrazorplace.com for supplies and such. Nothing but great experiences with them. And if you have any questions I have been solely a wet shaver for about 7 years now, I’d be happy to help anyway i can.

I make natural shaving soaps and after shave lotion. love to send you some to use for your future razor videos..... Love ur insights.

Another little secret is to strop your razor hot, then cool the blade and strop once more. You will see a huge increase in the fineness of the edge.

Very gutsy without hot water to soften up your face and shave cream. Best of luck in the future with using your new razors... it's worth it and most shaving costs are gone forever.

The sound definitely changed at approx 4 minutes... I have no idea what that means regarding sharpening . I'm a musician

Use a nice foaming gel or shaving cream. It makes it much easier & helps skin.

If you like the carbon Kramer steel, you might want to check out Jerry Stark razors out of AZ. He uses 52100 to make some of his razors. I use one and it holds an edge really well but can be intimidating because it’s a larger, heavier razor.

Shaving angle for most straights is to hold the spine 1-2 spine widths from your face.

Just a very warm water is enough for me when im shaving with a straight razor and repeat hydration process

Have your heard about a thing called KZfaq video how to shave with a straight edge razor???

oh my goodness i so happy this day has come. i have been hoping you would do some straight razor sharpening videos.

The only advice I could see you needing would be reverse your flipping direction between passes....when you flip the blade between passes, do it with the spine facing the stone...that way if you accidentally brush the stone between passes, it will be the spine that makes contact instead of the edge...and when you lay the blade on the stone, spine first then the edge.

This was an interesting watch, I’ve wondered about sharpening a straight, I have a friend that redoes old blades, he goes to 10k

I am impressed you admittedly attempted this process with no research. You actually did a decent job-no blood, clean outcome. But imagine what you’ll do with some experience and a gain in knowledge. Great video!

Heres me using a 8k finish £30 stone set finishing on a la lume to shave with my boker çarbon 3.0, get my shapton pros soon tho, cant wait to use them . Did you sharpen th the correct way at all after this hopfully used soap at least lol. With your sharpening skills to get that to dry shave with just a backward draw," on stone is normally just to take the bur off" you will have them straights cutting through trees lol if you go lead with the bevel.. Do another sharpening video to show the difference in techniques, Oh you might of already done some.

This is kind of like when Ceasar Milan decided to try his techniques on a cat. Worked better than I thought it would.

I was stropping a knife whilst listening to this video. You started talking about how you cut your thumb, I looked up at the screen whilst wiping off my blade, cut through the leather into my own thumb. ....oh the irony.

I hope you've watched a video or two and given this another shot since this video. Sharpening the straight razor is a bit different than a knife and gives a better feeling shave in my opinion.

say what 30 dollars a month for disposable cartridges? I've been using the same cartridge from dollar shave club for 4 years using shave buddy to hone before and after use but I shave once a week.Hot towel soak and shaving cream at least-my friend. Sharpen a double edge razor disposable

I use a pull strop. Board strops are fine I am sure. I like a strop that is thick, like 1/4". Letting a pull strop bend will dull your hone. You need a good hook that you can really pull tension on, to keep as straight or taught as possible.

Welcome to the brotherhood of straight razor shaving! Lol but like everyone else that made me cringe when you were shaving without soap but it was your first time with it and got to start somewhere. A good channel to check out is Geofatboy, he has some good tutorials and advice in buying razors. Love the channel and keep it up man!

Nice to see that you got yourself a straight razor, thats awesome. But there's a learning curve and a probably few cuts on the way as well. Personally a live my Dovo Astral, not to expensive and great quality. And by the way, do yourself a favor: proper hot water preparation and shaving soap is a must to very enjoy it and be more safe.

Wooot right on brother! wet shaving with a cutthroat razor is amazing and the closest shave you'll have. May I recommend a Imperia La Roccia 15000 grit stone amazing for razor honing. Shootz aloha P.S If you can find a vintage Filarmonica Straight razor it'l be the best shave you'll ever have ever but they are a bit pricey. Cheers

Hooray ! You have found the joy I have every time I shave. In the video you were holding the razor wrong. You should hold it with a traditional grip(See a shaving video) and angle at about 30 degrees until you get familiar with it and get yourself some quality shave cream and a brush just to complete the experience. I enjoy using Sheffield Steel from the early 1900 period antique razors. Silver steel is also my favorite from the same period or you can just simply buy a decent new Dovo or Boker. You did very well for your first shave and sharpen. I was impressed as my first time was thirty years ago and was not so great. Keep the videos coming, we are here watching..PS. Never put a straight razor in your pocket. you can cut yourself or worse you can damage the primary edge and it will never sharpen the same.

Oh man, how could you do that to yourself and us! Always have some sort of soap/shaving cream the sound was tearing me up 😜 Really interesting to watch though, the price of razor refill blades is just killing me ($30) a set of 4 these days in Aus, so this is a really cool option to look at.

Nice video👍, you are a skilled sharpener but when you do complete shaves remember to always use a good shaving soap (Proraso, Omega, TOBS...), properly lathered and before make a solid preparation (critical) by washing the face and/or using a preshave cream/oil (Proraso, Prep...). Cutting hydrated/soft hairs is completely different than cutting dry/hard facial hairs. It is a complete process. There are several wet shaving channels.

I'd suggest Portland Razor Company, they make a stellar product, beautifully crafted from the absolute ground up, they make their own scales and turn metal to blades. Really great stuff!

Hi; Love the extending to real time. I got mine at Portland razor for 400 though I'd buy for the grand kids they have videos also.

as others said, never shave without lather.. also, try to hold the razor at the same angle your normal razor would be (15-20 degrees?).. Just like how you teach start with a angle and adjust until it slips...kind of the same thing, start with the blade 90 degrees to your face, like laying it flat against your face. Make as many passes as you need, increasing angle every time. You'll figure out the point with the optimal razor angle pretty fast. Good rule of thumb is angle the razor away about 1 spine width

More videos on this argument.... very interested....

And all the shaving experts went nuts, LOL. First time I sharpened my own straight razor, it cut nothing. Lots of practice later, it cuts through facial hair like butter. I've started using a Japanese style straight razor, and I enjoy it very much. :)

nice video :) I dont shave but now I think I am going to start :)

Hi Ryky, Here is a suggestion for a low price but great value shaving brush, and a wonderful American made French style shaving soap. -Brush - Samoag 1305 Boar brush -Soap - Katie's Bubbles LTV There are plenty of opinions on these product categories, and I must have sifted through a thousand of those opinions before I identified these two items as standards in the shaving community and bought them a couple years back. The combination has made shaving a different experience. I’m sure you can dry shave with a spoon at this point, but life is too short. (: Hope this helps! Chris

you are meant to run the blade at 45 degrees to the long axis of the stone , u did it at 90. No need to turn it over every stroke when resetting the edge, you can do 10, 8, 6 etc each side, a lot faster that way. when stropping, flip over every stroke. When flipping , do it reverse of what you were doing ,that is the edge roles over and not under, this is specially critical when stropping. Use a disposable 'feather' blade and you will know what sharpness to aim for in the realms of straight razors. Good fun

This looks soooo scary! lol I'm wondering fi you are still shaving this way.

I think the other comments cover it. I've been hoping you would do something with strait razors, the community at large seem to limit there sharpening "stones"to just a few choices ie j Nat, coticule norton. Etc. I'd like to see some alternatives but please! Do some research! It will help me and others to weigh the different sharpening options out there! Love your channel!

Bro! You are one brave man. Your angle should be ALMOST flat... Just a little above the angle that the spine of the razor. And you ALWAYS do 1st pass WITH the grain or North to South. Then 2nd pass can be X-cross. Only after a lot of experience should you go against the grain or S>N. Your 1st shave with just water?! You Mad Man. You should've gotten some gauze ready with those t-shirts. Full disclosure: I consider myself a sharp edge hobbyist with mixture of kitchen knives, whetstones, and yes, straight razors, including a Theirs-Issard, Ralf Aust, and self-restored M. Tregor & Co. circa 1800

Inspired!

J. A. Henckles Friodur, supposedly the best shaving straight razor brand. Did some research before buying my first straight, ordered one off Ebay for a good deal, should be getting it in a week.

(pre watch comment ) no way i found a video that i thought i would have to ask you to make!!!!

The way he holds that blade lol

I don't like leather or loaded strops in the bathroom, because you can't clean them. I just strop on a hand towel laid on top of the sink, and I don't care if it gets wet and soapy and hairy. I don't know why it works, but it does. I am sure there is some kind of difference between kangaroo leather and linen. Board strop vs hanging. Pastes vs dry. Japanese newspaper or a paper towel. But that difference is very small compared to the difference between not stropping and stropping... on ANYTHING, even if it's the back of your arm! That, and use soap. And try holding the razor about 75 degrees to your face. Almost perpendicular. You can get your edge too sharp to shave, properly. For the closest shave, you need to be able to press the blade into your skin, a bit, at this steep angle without cutting yourself. This starts the cut closest to the base of the hair, and the angle of the blade effectively pulls the hair as it cuts, so it cuts the hair flatter vs leaving angled stumps sticking out of the skin. I think you get a closer shave against the grain, at least for the final pass. Stropping helps to keep the nap/burr down and to slightly round and smooth the apex. The sharper/acuter you finish the edge, the more often you need to strop it as you shave, because the hairs will damage the apex, and this is when you will start to cut yourself. What we use for an edge on a straight would be considered a BURR on a knife. If we freehand sharpened a thin knife at the same angle, on a dense and smooth stone, we would end up with a very palpable burr - which we would remove with our method of choice; because the straight has a spine guide, and because we stone it with light pressure, this "burr" is hidden and becomes the tip of a clean but weak apex. On the straight, we turn schmooey, ductile metal into a keener apex, but this requires more maintenance as we use it. When the edge wears down and becomes more stable, you won't need to strop as often, but this means the edge is getting to the point it will probably need sharpening, soon. At this point it will shave fine, but soon after this point, it will start skipping over hairs instead of cutting, IME. So, if you are cutting your skin and/or pulling on hairs, strop the razor. If you are skipping hairs, sharpen the razor. And after sharpening it very keenly, be aware you will need to strop it more frequently, at first.

It's all about the angle and learning your own techniques that work for you. But definitely need to use more of an angle. Try to mimic what a Gillette disposable razor's angle looks like and you'll shave with ease. It gets easier the more you do it too. Also I failed to see the links where you got those straight edge razors from.

My eyes are filling with tears as I imagine how much IT HURTS, when you first tried shaving with those razors! poor thing.

The Art of Manliness has a great OG book on the straight razor. It's comical cause they trash talk the safety razor.

Straight razors don't clog. That is the magic of them❤