Alright, y'all. I have taken the plunge. I found a nice little 4/8 Garantie/Solingen spike point on eBay. Of course I already have the brushes, soaps, creams, etc. Now I need a strop. Gotta look and see what Tony has. Raf recommended a wide hanging strop, so that is what I am looking at. I will hold off on the honing for now. If the straight isn't as shave-ready as advertised, I will be looking for one of you hone-capable folks for a little help. This is definitely a weekend thing for me for a while. I teach eight o'clock classes, so I don't want to commit hari kari before I even get to Spring Break!!
Smedley, here is a thought why not strop the razor before you go to bed then its ready for you the next morning that would save some time ? certainly in the beginning you would not want to do it on weekdays the learning curve is quite steep. what you can do for starters is for example only shave your cheeks/neck to get the feel going for a Str8. but finish up with a DE. you dont want to do this for too long or else you will always have a poor technique. Strongly advice to get the Lynn straight razors DVD excellent info there.
You can strop the night before? Don't the angry stropping elves take offense and kick the edge out of alignment again if you don't shave with the razor immediately after? But seriously, thanks for the tip. I have had the DVD for a month now.
@Rene: Stropping at the evening is a bad idea if you have only one razor. After shaving you should give it at least 24 hours of rest, in that time the edge will realign itself for a certain part. If you strop after only ~12 hours this will have an impact on how long the edge will stay sharp and how often you'll have to hone. Instead, you could strop after lathering up in the 2-3 minutes you let the lather rest on your face to soften the whiskers - this actually is what most guys do (except for me as I don't keep my strop and razors in the always-humid bathroom ) Also, the chome-paste is ONLY for refreshening the edge and NOT a replacement for the hone. As soon as the razor starts to get a bit dull, hone it, don't use the chrome-oxide-paste (or at least only once). Believe me, I've seen razors that have never seen a hone in their entire lifetime and have only been kept sharp by the green paste - their edge is misaligned, they have a curved edge - in short: they're hell for someone restoring straights. So, learn how to hone your razors, it's NOT difficult and it's much better for the razor than using the green paste.
Paddle Strops and Hones I have to agree with moviemaniac tosome extent but starting off is a really daunting prospect, however my first dovo has never seen a hone,even though i have quite a few...all i got was a four sided paddle strop from tony with 3 sides of leather and one of balsa, coated with 3.0,1.0,0.5 and 0.25 paste,it came with instructions which were easy to follow. I do agree with honing a new razor but i havent actually done it ( chicken out..lol) but with a bit of care and the right technique on a new razor the padle works great. An ebay razor for the most part will need the hone. These are just my experiences and opinions at the end of the day you will figure most of it out for yourself and what worksbest. regards,simon::
Sure, Simon, use whatever suits you best. But, just as a thought: This might work well for a coupla years, but after treating a straight like that for 10 or more years it'll require a SERIOUS hone job, i.e. removing quite a bit of material to get a good, flat edge once again. Using the paste-strop for 10 years in fact does the razor much more harm and removes more material in the end than honing it twice a year only slightly. Believe me, honing isn't hard to learn (well, for most straights, that is ) but in the end you'll get better shaving and longer lasting razors than with the strop-paste. Many of those ebay-straights only require the serious hone-work they do because they've been treated badly (only the 4-sided paddle-strop and no hone) for years and years - they wouldn't require much work at all had they been taken care of properly, meaning being honed and not stropped on the paste. Everyone restoring straights will be able to confirm this. Give it a thought, it's better for your shaves as well as for the life-span of your straights.
I'm by no means an expert but it would seem that paste stroping a ebay razor would not remove enough of the old metal to get to the new where it can be given a new bevel and a new edge. I am not saying it can't be done but it would take a lot longer. Simon, your new Dovo was probably pretty close to shave ready so a few laps on the pasted strop was all it needed to get it ready. Raf
Like I said, the angry stropping elves jump out and wreak their vengeance. ::sesel This is a possiblity, but I see these messages like "I stropped 40 times on the linen side, then 60 times on the leather with my Frau Bluchner 6/8 Damascus steel every morning," which to me is more than 2-3 minutes.
Hi David, a razor that needs 40 times on the linen and 60 times on the leather side is either a very special and hard to get shave-ready blade or simply a nealy dull one. Any good everyday-razor (and especially your new Dovo) just needs 10-20 full rounds on the leather strop. I use 15 for all my straights, that's all they need.
Are you coully from the srp ,if so good to hear from you ,I remember you said you were going to jump ship and reside in the US good to see you have moved forums as well , if it is a different Simon good to talk to you as well Kind regards Peter
Pasted Stropand honing Moviemaniac,I fully agree with you on the pasted strop, my point was that for a newbie with a new razor it is a less terrifying prospect .I have been to busy lately with my move to the usa to get back into it and this week has seen me honing more, i now use my pasted strop more for finishing after honing, but is nice to have the info from others to make this an excellent discussion. My knowledge of honing is ok and i think the biggest part of it, to me anyways, is confidence and self belief,that you can do the job and then shave after it...... Bg , yes its me..lol...good to hear from you...got skype yet?..if not why not...lol, we made it safe and sound, now a domestic technician,so more time to indulge.....hehe regards to you newbies, simon::
Oh, yeah, you've got a point there, Simon. For a newbie it's good to know he doesn't have to hone the razor, he can just use the paste-strop for some time. But, then again, for ME I was never afraid of honing, I even looked forward to it, to learn how to keep my razors sharp by myself without needing to send them away. It's a process of learning, but it's fun too, at least for me Oh, and I fully agree on using the paste-strops _after_ honing to get the edge even sharper that you can get with the hones. ::
OK, what about those posts where guys talk about taking divots out of their face when they shave? And these are experienced str8 users, not newbies. I mean, I'm as muy macho as the next guy, but when it comes to using Crazy Glue to put flaps of skin back down, I kinda have to draw the line.
I think the key is to always know where the edge is and what it is doing. Complacency is an ever present enemy so focusing is key. This is what actually relaxes me in the morning. All is quiet, just me the stubble and the blade. Listening to the stubble being cut is the only sound I hear. Raf
'xactly. I too find it relaxing to shave with a straight in your morning. Your mind is focused to the blade and your face alone, you forget about troubles, about unsolved problems, it's really like a form of meditation for me.
Naw... it's my left wrist. It's what convinced me not to be too lazy about shaving the left side of my face with my left hand instead of crossing over with my right. The cut went into the bone as well. That was several years ago. Never even went to the emergency room. Had a BBQ to start and didn't have time to waste sitting with a bunch of people who would be coughing on me for a couple hours. Super glue... worked like a champ.
Geez, Bill. I had to see that right before I try my first str8 shave! :rofl Seriously though, glad you survived!
