Thread: Money Saving

I just wanted to know some of the cool ideas people have used to save money...as a student who just got married what money I do have Isn't mine anymore . Don't know what happened there...

So far I've made a linen strop with an old pair of jeans and contact cement, paddle strop from a leather guitar strap and a piece of pine, brush hanger from some wire, I use one stone honing and set bevels with sandpaper, I use goats-milk bar soap for lather(actually works really well with a little baby oil), And finally I did a complete razor restore of an old $35 Sheffield.

So what weird stuff have you done to save money on a hobby that has the potential to be very expensive?

I made my strop out a piece on the "scrap table" at Tandy. If you have any up there, it works just fine. Get 4 Chicago bolts, and a 2 in D ring, and you're in business for less than $20. I had enough leather in the piece I got for 2 strops.

I got my two D-rings from an old belt. A "scrap table" is scrap leather that Tandy isn't going to use? In Newfoundland i had a very hard time to find leather, i eventually settled to guitar a strap. In the states and on the mainland there's lots of cattle and stuff so that leather has remained available.

I had a laugh though after i made the strop i looked at the end and i saw the depression of a dragon in my strop from the brand of the guitar strap. I tried to make it gentlemen looking but i got some teenage like dragon image on my strop.

I made a scuttle out of a dip chiller and the lathering bowl from a Van Der Hagen shaving kit, see pics. The VDH soap isn't that bad, I use the brush to brush lather onto strops when they need cleaning. The top part of the dip chiller is used to dip water from onto my coticule when I hone......nothing goes to waste.

I also made a brush hanger out of a mop/broom holder and screwed it into my medicine cabinet, see pics.

Also made a strop hanger out of the clasp from a strap from a gear bag and nut, bolt and a couple of flat washers, see pics.

BTW, the razor in pic is not for shaving. I made it out of some old scales and a piece of clear acrylic for my grandson so he could shave with his papaw.

You've given me an idea about a scuttle interesting....I like your play razor for your grandson that's cool but he'll soon want to try a real one!!

I got stuff that was verified to be good and didn't gamble on unknown equipment.

Love the DIY spirit. it really is one of the best things in life.

DoughBoy, ask for some chicago screws down at your hardware store. Couple of bucks and the backside of the strop will not scratch up the wall. Cheap and professional. Good idea for the brush hanger.

The gamble is on ones own ability. The payoff is in the ability to prove you can do it and have it be even better the 2nd time around.

Here is the ROUGH razor I made from a small file. Shaves real good. Not much to look at but it was just to prove to myself I could do it. Numbers 2 and 3 should look much more professional.

Thanks guys! I had to come up with ideas on doing things as I don't have the bucks to shell out for the normal stuff. I have recieved a lot of help from members here since joining and just want to pass on some ideas to members who may be in the same situation and maybe help some of the new guys give str8 razor shaving more of a chance by not spending a lot until they make the final decision to stick with it.

TURNMASTER,
Nice idea, I like it, it doesn't have to look good to shave good. I guess you can make a str8 out of anything as long as the metal is good and you have some imagination....good job!

111Nathaniel,
I had to give my 5 year old grandson something because he did take a liking to my razors, he thinks they are cool. I have explained to him the dangers, he is very cautious....he will look but won't touch, thank God for that.

Hello,

Thought i'd show some pictures as well, here's my linen strop, brush hanger, and a razor i have heat treated but haven't had the time to finish...I think what
i'll with the razor seeing it has a fixed handle i'll get a razor case or fancy toothbrush case and mold one to the shape of the handle that way you could put it safely away without hurting the edge, hope the pictures work...