Hey Guys, I'm finally ready to dive into the world of straight shaving. I have a decent razor that has been sitting on my shelf for almost a year. I plan on sending it over to Ken at RupRazor for honing in the next week or so. I'm also receiving a Filly strop from RupRazor as a gift from someone. Here's my question: Once I get it back from Ken, what are the necessities for general upkeep? I have read a lot of posts and wikis on a lot of different sites that tell me I need a lot of different things. Some say I need a strop and a 4k/8k combo stone. Some say a strop and a barber's hone. Some say a strop and a Cro-Ox paddle. Some even say, just a strop. Which is it. I just want to keep a decent, shave-ready edge on my razor. I don't plan on doing any restorations (yet). Thanks in advance!
John, I hate to disappoint you but there is no definitive answer. I'm not a self-professed "honemeister" or stropmeister. You've exhaustive your research. It's time for you to find what works best for you. If anyone tells you otherwise they're bloody ignorant. It's your face and your razor. I've sensitive skin and I've yet to have problems with any razor honed from 8k Norton. Always finished with it. If razor needed more strokes on 8k my skin would tell me due to edges coarseness. Many others have ways of gauging how "finished" the razor is. I have a SWATY, Norton combos 220/1000, 4000/8000, Super Naniwa 5000 and 8000, Guangxi and Maruka. That said take what I say or anyone's spew at arms length even if they consider themselves to be "honemeister". I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that. Also remember "opinions are like a-holes, everyone's got 'em" I will add that some stink more than others.
The best combination would be a strop, a balsa strop and a barbers hone. The combination of the 3 should keep you going for quite some time.
Kenrup puts an excellent edge on straights, stropping before each use should keep it going for a few months anyhow assuming you don't damage it or the strop. I would hold off on buying more items for now in a couple months if still straight shaving your needs/wants may have changed, if not eventually you will need to decide if you want to hone or send it back out every few months. The options for honing are limitless but generally you need a coarse stone and a finishing stone and also perhaps something for touch ups, a Norton 4k/8k and a paddles strop with either diamond paste or Chromium Oxide could be an inexpensive start, but again the options are limitless.
If you start with a well-honed razor, a strop will keep it shave ready for a very long time. But, eventually, the razor will have to be re-honed, so you'll need a stone of some sort. At that point you'll have to decide for yourself what to get. In years past, when staight razors were the only shaving tool available, most men used some type of barber's hone. Today, we have more options when it comes to stones. My choice is the Norton 4k/8k combo because, in my opinion, it offers a wider range of sharpening ability; plus, top quality barber's hones aren't all that easy to come by at a reasonable price. Bottom line: I think most seasoned straight-razor users would agree that, at a minimum, you need a strop and at least one stone to maintain your razor. The opinions, though, begin to vary when it come to what particular stone to get. At that point, as others have said, it truly is a matter of opinion.
Thanks everyone. These answers have been more helpful than anything else I've read. I think I will take the ol' "cross that bridge when I get there" approach to a stone. For now, I'll have my razor honed and focus on my stropping technique. If/when I need a stone, I'll figure out which one to get (probably with your help).
I maintained my Dovo with just a strop and Swaty barbers hone for 28 years. The edge off of a barbers is hone is perfectly adequate for shaving but, nowadays, you can get sharper, smoother edges in innumerable ways. My recommendation would be to start with a strop and barbers hone, which is a simple, effective set-up. Then, with experience, you begin to try out the other options.
This is sound advice. I would say that for a beginner though, the norton 4K/8K stone is a great tool for re-touch honing. I found it particularly good with old Sheffield blades. If you want something above that, I say go with a Naniwa 10 or 12K or if you are frugal, the chinese water stone works great, but very slowly.
I would say that the bare-bones minimum would be a Strop and a Barber's hone... A pasted strop is nice, but, in the end, you NEED a stone. You don't NEED paste. Get the razor professionally honed, then strop and shave until it tugs, barber's hone, strop and shave, repeat.
you need a strop for regular maintenance - good stropping will keep a decent, shave-ready edge on your razor
For how long? I'm still new to the str8s and have been following this thread with interest. I know I don't need any type of hone-stone-swatty-what-ever just yet as I am rotating through three str8s recently honed by Glen. Your answer, hoglahoo, makes begin to wonder... If the answer to my question of, "For how long?", is forever, then I don't need to worry about a hone. If it is not forever, then I'm right there with John wondering EXACTLY what it is I need. Christmas is coming...
Steve, Beard type, strop, use'rs technique play role in how long you'll need to strop till it needs to be honed. Friends have mentioned bout 60-90 shaves another had mentioned his friend shaved daily for 6 months no paste/touch ups.
As the blade begins to dull, the razor still shaves but the BBS doesn't last as long. I have no doubt that some people can go 6 months before a touch-up but my limit is about 2 weeks. Regardless of how long you can keep the edge going with a strop, it's my opinion that everyone ought to have at least a barbers hone or other finishing hone.
Thanks guys. As I'm only using a str8 on Saturdays, AND I am rotating three razors, I should be good with just the strop until Christmas. I'll still be keeping an eye on this thread to see what the majority promotes. Thanks again.
That's where I think the definitive part of the answer breaks down The supplies you need depend in part on your skill and your expectations of performance. I agree with Chimensch that you ought to have a finishing hone of some kind. And if you ever damage the edge, you'll want a coarser hone for repair. But I don't think hones are absolutely necessary for maintenance of a shave ready razor - good stropping is enough For what it's worth, I generally hone my razors every dozen to 40 shaves on a strop loaded with fine abrasive - not because I have to in order to get a good shave, but because it improves my shaves
Here are some things that I have found to be fairly well true... The first cycle through on your newly honed razor it will go from Shave Ready to Dull pretty darn quick... Why??? You are learning, and that is hard on the fine edge, the wrong angles shaving, the wrong pressure and angles stropping, and for some the wrong prep, and lather making... The second cycle though after a fresh honing should about double in time... why?? Because you are learning to get things at least half way right... The third time through, you should be at your personal norm, where everything is clicking along, and you should triple the time from the first honing cycle... Now is the time you should start thinking about Hones/Pastes/Stones and how to maintain a razor for yourself... Notice I never said how long these cycles would be??? that is what varies between people, for all the multitudes of reasons already posted...
I agree with what gssixgun is saying here. As it turned out, an old friend of mine saw my video and decided that he wanted to try shaving with a straight and I had an opportunity to put my philosophy of how to start to the test. Here is what I did: 1. I sent him two Wapis that I had honed and shaved with so that I knew they would be in good shape and he would have a second to fall back on if he screwed one up. 2. The razors were finished on a barbers hone because I wanted him to experience a basic good shave that was finished in such a way that he could easily bring it back if he screwed up the edge. My personal beef with some honemeisters is that they feel it is necessary to deliver some kind of ultimate edge that would be difficult for the newbie to recreate. Why they do this is the subject for another thread. My reasoning is that the ultimate edge is not necessary for learning to shave and, probably not even appreciated. I believe that newbies should learn on a basic good edge that is easily recreatable. If, after they have some experience, they want to improve the edge, they will have ample room to do so to the level of their ability. After my friend has shaved and maintained his own edges for a while, I have no problem in saying, if you want to try to improve it, here are some things you can try, pastes, finer hones, etc. The point of this is that he needs to feel autonomous right from the get-go. 3. I sent him a Nox-All barbers hone. What grit is it? Who cares? I finished the razors on it and shaved with it and it was a good shave. My index for sharpenss is how long does the BBS lasts. It gave me a good BBS shave that didn't last as long as I get off of my finer hones, but who cares? He has to be able to maintain his own razors and I wanted to leave him some room to improve. 4. I sent him a strop, for the obvious reasons. He did his first shave yesterday and it went well. He's off to a good start and will be able to screw up the edge and fix it (barring a disaster) or maintain it, with room for improvement, if he wants.
Well, I picked this up on saturday for $8 at a local antiques shop. From what I understand, this and a strop should keep me in business for quite a while. I also found a nice EE Mos that I will post in another thread.
I am getting a start up kit from Larry Andro at whippeddog.com Cheap straights, strops and the necessary things as you require. I will be new to straights and know that the edge is going to be tortured to no end as I learn. This seems ideal for newbies to straights like me.
