First-time Straight Razor: Need Help

Hi All

I went to Art of Shaving last week in NY and bought everything: blade, strop, stropping paste, shaving kit, etc.

I was told to strop the blade before every use, and slather the paste (putty really) onto the strop as well. Now, after one use, my blade is dull and strop is black with putty. While stropping, the putty would cling to my blade, and I'm worried that it's done more harm than good.

In short, I believe my blade was not sharpened enough by the factory, and I am planning to send it off to be professionally honed.

As for the strop, should I just clean it? Or is it fine the way it is? How often do I strop/how much paste do I use?

Help is greatly appreciated. Just VERY frustrated that I shelled out $275 for all of this and I haven't even had a decent shave.

Hello and welcome to SRP! :)

First, I do not know what the art of shaving does but most new razors are not shave ready from the factory. What is the razor? A Dovo? Sending it out to be pro-honed is a very good idea, so well done there.

Second, I am not sure about this "putty" - there are two possibilities I think: it's either a strop treatment paste (like leather conditioner); or it is an abrasive paste. If it's the first case a new strop would not need to be conditioned straight away, so they gave you a bad tip there. If it is the second case, you may have applied the paste too thickly - abrasive paste needs to be applied sparingly in general, and in addition it really shouldn't be put on your day to day strop - you need a leather surface to strop on, and a pasted leather surface is really only something you use occasionally (like perhaps once a month or even less).

As for cleaning the strop, if that paste is abrasive I'm afraid it has been contaminated and will remain abrasive (for all intents and purposes) - your best option is to scrape off the excess, keep that strop as a touch-up strop into the future, and get another strop that is just plain leather for day to day use. If on the other hand it was just leather conditioning paste, again wipe off the excess, rub what's left in well with your hand, and all should be good.

I understand your frustration, but try to relax - you've found the right place and with just a little more patience and a whole lot of practice you'll soon be enjoying shaving with a proper razor. :)

James.

Welcome aboard blake123! Jimbo seems to have hit all of the pretinent points. There are lots of good people here that are very helpfull. The Wiki is also a great resource. Best of luck!!

This is Beginners Tips article I did about your exact problem some time back,

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tml#post908878

If the paste was white in color and designed to go on the Linen then it was most likely the TI paste they sold you
Did you put it on the leather on the linen ???


Also putting your location at least to the city/town, might find a Mentor very close that can really help you out..
But basically no they are not "Shave Ready" from AOS

Quote:

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

This is Beginners Tips article I did about your exact problem some time back,

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tml#post908878

If the paste was white in color and designed to go on the Linen then it was most likely the TI paste they sold you
Did you put it on the leather on the linen ???


Also putting your location at least to the city, might find a Mentor very close that can really help you out

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I put in on the leather, as that was what I was instructed to do. Wrong move?

So it is the white paste? I believe that is abrasive - as evidenced by your description of it going black. I've heard of people putting it on leather, but the bottom line is that you now have an abrasive strop. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but you really do need just a plain leather strop for day to day use.

The other thing is it sounds as though you applied the paste quite thickly. The excess needs to be scraped off and what's left worked into the leather with your hand.

James.

blake123,

I would add, do a generous amount of reading and research on this forum. Also, as I've learned(I'm really new to SR shaving as well), don't hesitate to ask. We don't know what we don't know, so ask.

Most importantly, have patience. There are tons of helpful, encouraging people here who take it upon themselves to hold you hand through the entire learning process.

Welcome blake123!

This stuff ???


The Art of Shaving - Theirs Issard Strop Paste Stick - Purchase Quality Strop Paste

Face palm. It is sad that you were sold a lot of kit and apparently not given much instruction. I trust that you will receive ample help here and I am glad you found this resource. Not only are there lots of guys that can hone for you, there is lots of great info.

Think of its site as the renaissance-dad you never had;)

Welcome to the hobby.
I don't know what AOS location you dealt with in NY but I use the one Roosevelt field mall on Long Island.

For the record I really like AOS products, more specifically their creams. I must say however my experience with the sales staff is always leaving me something to be desired; in short I'm not entirely convinced any one who works there knows anything besides what their corporate product training tells them. I was there a couple months back to get some kelp EO shave cream and the lady was talking to me like I was a complete ignoramus. It's like I had 'what ever I'm currently doing is wrong' stamped on my head.... After basically thanking her for bothering me I asked where the razors and I told her I'm a collector and I use them, what she said next shocked me.... She said 'you actually shave with one of those? That's really dangerous'...... They sell straights there and she's calling me crazy for using one.... Yea....

So chances are you are heade in te right direction but were sold on what they wanted to sell you as opposed to what you needed. All you need is a SHAVE READY razor, a cheap strop, a brush and a puck of soap... Read read read, you'll either love it or hate it... If you love it you will probably own a minimum of a dozen razors in the first 6 months, then you will sell some of those razors realizing that you have no need for half the stuff you bought.

Have fun with this, trust us- not them (AOS). Haha

Sounds like a case of poor knowledge on the sales person's part at AOS. As has been said you now have a pasted strop that includes an abrasive. You only want to use this one occasionally and only for half a dozen laps or so . You need to get an everyday leather strop and don't put any abrasive on it at all. I'd go back and explain to the manager what you were told to do and see if they will offer a discounted price for the new strop.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brenngun

Sounds like a case of poor knowledge on the sales person's part at AOS. As has been said you now have a pasted strop that includes an abrasive. You only want to use this one occasionally and only for half a dozen laps or so . You need to get an everyday leather strop and don't put any abrasive on it at all. I'd go back and explain to the manager what you were told to do and see if they will offer a discounted price for the new strop.

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I was taught to use abrasives only sparingly, and to rub it in and not leave a coating of it on the surface. The abrasive particles need to embed into the stropping surface. I am using balsa for this, and diamond paste.

You need another strop. Don't put anything on your new one. Clean your old one off good and use it after shaving to keep your edge sharp. Use your clean new one to get your razor ready for your shave. Your old one will still have enough abrasive in it to do the job after you clean it up.

Those AOS guys sound like total clueless retards. My suggestion is to only buy straight razor stuff from somebody who shaves every day with a straight razor. Don't let some chick sell you shaving stuff. What would she know?