New to the forum. Need advice.

Hi, i am a 34 year old from Norway that need some advice. I have been searching the web for a while for tips, but it is just too much out there. I have been shaving for some months with a straight that i put a half gilette blade into, but have decided to purchase a real straight razor. I know that many of you recommend vintage and used ready to shave razors, but i really want a new one. Since they are probably not shave ready, which hone do i need? 4/8k? Do solingen razors come with the bevel ready? I want to buy medium priced hones. What brand is good for strops? Is stropping compound a must? I want to learn as i go, but could really need some advice to get started. -egil from Norway-

Hey and welcome to the forum. Yes, there sure is a lot of info out there and it can get confusing trying to make head or tail of it. Most would suggest you buy from a reputable retailer who supplies the new razor professionally honed and shave ready. A strop is a must but not the stropping compound. Most would also recommend that you do not learn to use a straight and honing at the same time. There is a group here specifically for the Nordic area and they may be able to help you with the specifics of where to buy Nordic region .

Bob

Hi Egil,

welcome to the forum.

That's all I can say I'm afraid :)
I'm fairly new at straight razor shaving as well.
So the only thing I can do, is tell you what I did and why.
I've bought anew Dovo razor, which was not completely shave-ready. It is sent to a another member of this forum, so he can check it out and hone it if needed. And it is needed., so he'll do it for me.
I don't have any honing stones yet and I wont be buying them for some time.
First I want to learn how to shave in a way I'm more comfortable doing. I want to get used to blade and get to know the feeling of it.
Because I know, that if would buy a honing stone now, I would do more wrong than right. But that is of course something personal and everybody has to decide that for himself.
I can't help you with the other questions, but I'm guessing the others will help you soon enough :p

It might be easier if you put your country and town in your profile so a mentor near you might be able to help you.

Thanks for your help guys:) i think i will try to buy a 1k/6k stone and a good strap to begin with. Is there any strop you reccomend? 3" with linen on one side? And maybe a 8/16k stone as well? Is there any brand to look out for?

Hi and welcome. Its recommend to start with a shave ready razor as st the moment you don't know what shave ready is. Honing has a learning curve and unless the basic bevel is done properly the rest is pointless. A 8k stone will give a a shave ready razor the rest is just refinement. For a strop it is advised to start with a cheap one as you will nick it up. Hope this helps. Ed

I ended up ordering a Dovo 6/8 half hollow at ebay. Seller said it was shave ready. It is a new knife. I am going to take a deep study in here at the forum so i can learn to hone it. I read somewhere here at the forum that a 1k/6k can be good for a start, which brand should i choose, anyone?

If it were me I would watch Lynn Abrams u-tube video on honing . there is some instructions . advice on which stones and how to use them. that's how I learned to hone. also there is a lot of info here on the SRP. there are others with very informative videos. if you can watch them all before you start. also before you start try to buy a cheap razor to learn with you will be glad you did. Oh yes welcome to the SRP.

Spend the extra money and buy the 4k/8k norton or the 3k/8k naniwa (or whatever the numbers are on that combo). You could probably get by with that 1k/6k king hone, but it is subpar compared to those two.
A new Dovo is 99% of the time not shave ready (when they are they are so barely). So it's either honed by the seller and or he doesn't know what he is talking about.

Welcome to SRP. Glad to have you aboard. Straight Razor design has razors for sale and they ensure they are honed. They also will re hone it for you. You may want to check that out. Tony Miller makes a Plain Vanilla strop that is not very expensive, but good quality. Face prep and getting comfortable shaving with true straights should be the first challenge you conquer. Stropping takes some time to learn. If you can video yourself doing it and post it, we can give you some pointers. I hope this helps

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gonzo4str8rzrs

Welcome to SRP. Glad to have you aboard. Straight Razor design has razors for sale and they ensure they are honed. They also will re hone it for you. You may want to check that out. Tony Miller makes a Plain Vanilla strop that is not very expensive, but good quality. Face prep and getting comfortable shaving with true straights should be the first challenge you conquer. Stripping takes some time to learn. If you can video yourself doing it and pos it, we can give you some pointers. I hope this helps

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Please no stripping vids :)

Wow 6 hours from first question to pulling the trigger on an ebay purchase. Since your in a hurry let me be brief.

Razor: If it's a factory edge then it's not shave ready. If seller honed it then it depends on their honing ability.
Strop: 3" with leather on one side and cloth on the other is just fine. Compound optional.
Stones: If you're insistent on honing so early then go Norton 4K/8K combo. If you want to refine the edge get a Naniwa 12K superstone as well.

Last piece of advise: in case the seller actually knew how to properly hone do not under any circumstances strop it before your first shave.

Hope this message get to you before you've purchased your second razor :)

Good Luck

In case you missed this http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...-razorcon.html . It might be a good idea to attend for all the knowledge that will be available there in person.

Bob

Thank you so much for taking the time guys. I think i have the information i need to get started now. I have used the shavette type straight for two months, so i felt i wanted to get a real straight that i really care for and take it trough the whole prosess. I am going to get a norton 4/8k and do like lynn in his utube circle honing video. How is the sharpness of a traditional gilette blade compared to a straight after say 8k and stropping?

You may also want to read the Nordic section of the international forums... we have a few mentors in Norway and with luck one might live within an hour or 2 of you. a few hours spent with a mentor will make a huge difference in your shaving enjoyment.

jim