Obsession

Monday, June 11, 2007

As many of you know, I entered the world of straight razor shaving about two months ago. You can read about it on my blog, if you're so inclined. But what began as an interest has now become an obsession.

The top razor is my Dovo, my current shaving razor. The bottom three are my latest acquisitions. The first is a Wade & Butcher 6/8” spike point, which I found at a yard sale for $5.00, cleaned up with Maas metal polish, and plan on honing to perfection as soon as I get a stone. It’s pretty sharp already, but not ready to caress my cheek just yet. Plus, it needs to be sanitized. I imagine this will tell me how it feels to shave with an axe.

The next one down is another Wade & Butcher, the same size as my Dovo, 5/8”. This one cost me $20.00 at a local antiques shop. The blade needs to be polished, obviously, and although it’s sharp, the jeweler’s loupe I bought (yes, I bought a jeweler’s loupe for exactly this reason) reveals it to have a few nicks in the blade that will have to be ground out on the stone before it gets anywhere near my face. Good thing I'm buying my honing stone tomorrow.

Last but not least, I bought the bottom one at another antiques shop for $35.00. It’s from the HMC Cutlery Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts, which is pretty local to me. Despite this, I never heard of HMC Cutlery, so before I bought the razor I took my question to the forums. I was told HMC razors hone up real nice and are good shavers, but not much is known about the company. This razor dates from the 1940’s or so. Because of the local collectibility, I felt like I should buy it. It’s thinner than my Dovo, probably ½” or 3/8”, so shaving with it is going to be precise.




Shaving now takes me half an hour to 45 minutes, as opposed to when I could do a lap on my face with the Mach 3 in about one-tenth the time. It’s quite relaxing. But for the occasions when I just don’t have the time for a proper straight razor shave, I bought these babies. The first is a Vintage Gem Single Edge. It shaves ok. The second is a Gillette Doube-Edge. I shaved with it this morning, and it shaves so smooth I couldn't feel the friction on my face. Which is kinda scary, actually, when you think about it.

Tomorrow I get my Norton 4000/8000 grit stone, after which I plan on honing my straights to vorpal-weapon sharpness.