A couple weeks ago somebody posted a straight razor on one of my favorite forums, asking for money or trade for a knife that I happened to have an extra of. So we traded for the blade, my first straight, a gold embellished Solingen in tortoise celluloid.
Since I make knives I already have strops that I've made and I made a brush out of a pure badger knot set in elk antler. I got a couple different soaps and watched a lot of video on instruction of shaving and I went for it and never looked back.
The first few shaves were a little tricky and I was shaking like a leaf out of fear that I would end up with a bloody cheek laying in the sink but it all went very well with minimal mishaps. Since then I really feel comfortable with the razor and feel good about the lather I'm able to work up with my brush.
Along with my obsession of looking at beautiful custom razors to lush after (Laura calls it my porn) I have purchased a dozen or so blades in need of restoration. These range from chipped, cracked, rusted blades to clean blades that just need new scales. I have purchased a bundle of wood to make scales from that includes purpleheart, padouk, maple, walnut, cherry and ash. Tonight I started on my first set of custom scales to dress up the blade that was left at Laura's parent's house when the original owner died. There was a major crack in the blade so I had to grind it off and make it a mini. Larry Andreassen honed it up for me and I made some scales out of something that I've never seen on a straight razor - kydex! It will be interesting for sure but should make a nice flat-black set of scales that will be quiet and subtle.
I was also asked by a friend to make her husband a brush and strop and get some blades ready so he can pick one out of my collection to start shaving with. I am really excited about that and really hope I'm able to help introduce more people into this seemingly long-lost art.
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