Quote Originally Posted by BSM View Post
I'm a complete novice to the world of straight razors and need some advice and help.

I've bought a Dovo of Solingen 'Bismarck' 5/8 straight razor and a Dovo strop along with the other obvious things.

I have a couple of questions:

Is this razor okay (from what I've read I think it should be)?

Is the razor sharp enough to shave with when it arrives? and if not can it be sharpened on a strop?(I realise that I need to strop before and after every shave)

When used correctly should it glide over the face or will there be more resistance that say a gillette razor?

What shaving creams/soaps should u use?

With standard usage will I need to use the canvas side of the strop or will the leather side be sufficient if done before and after every shave and should the strop be held tight or allowed a bit of play.?

Should I put anything on the blade to stop it from rusting after useage?

Do you have any tips or other useful information I should consider?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

The razor you bought it fine, but I would also suggest that if it has not be professionally hones or purchased from someone on the this site, you should probably get it sent it off to be properly honed. For the most part the strop is only for aligning the "fins" on the blade, and there is a lot of debate about the number of passes, linen and leather, leather only, etc. Go to the strop section, and there is no shortage of different ideas to be exposed to. I would suggest only putting something on the blade if you are going to be leaving it alone for a while. One of the cheapest things is plain old mineral oil, but there are many other products than can be used. Lynn Abram's DVD has a lot of information - if you can get your hands on it that is...