There was a time when men did not rely on disposable razors and blades.  When a man bought a razor, once it became dull, it was the job of someone to resharpen it.  Most often than not the razor was taken to a barber, but sometimes the owners themselves would do the sharpening with a hone.  There are primarily two varieties of hones that can be purchased today: natural and synthetic hones. This article provides a brief introduction to the types and their advantages. 

Many people assume that a razor strop is a simple accessory, but there are dozens of options available that can make a new straight shaver's head spin. There are strops made by major companies, such as the Illinois Strop Company and Straight Razor Designs, and then there are artisan strops by craftsmen, such as Tony Miller and Ambrose. The materials are diverse and there are many types of finishes of leather and canvas that are offered. Each strop has unique characteristics that give it a feel and life of its own. 

One evening after a nice long honing session on coticules and shapton hones, Mike suggested filming a simple video in HD to show how to sharpen a straight razor on the most common and affordable beginner hones out there – the Norton 1K, 4K, 8K and the Chinese 12K hones. We began with a dull razor that we were actually using to cut electrical tape to cover the spines of the custom straight razors we were honing. This nearly 10-minute video is unedited other than added music and subtitles.

For the adventurous shaver, using a straight razor can be a fun challenge. Using a straight razor appeals to a variety of men, from those who collect knives and cutlery to the environmentally or economically conscious who don't want to purchase replacement blades. The larger cutting edge of the razor gives you complete control over the blade angle and the old-school, traditional style of shaving is enjoyed by many. We recently discovered an article written by our friends at-The Shaving Shack about the basics of straight razor shaving. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel, so with their permission, we're sharing their tips on how to shave with a straight razor.

For those of you who do not know, CA stands for Cyanoacrylate (aka Superglue). Most people usually don't think of Superglue as a finish for wood, but it works and works well as long as you do it properly. The finish is very popular with pen makers as it is easy to apply very thin, fast drying coats on a lathe when turning pen blanks. On something flat, like scales, it is more difficult to get a nice even finish. This article will give a brief tutorial on razor restoration using a CA finish.