Thread: Just bought my first Straight Razor

For a few years now I have been using a Dovo Shavette but finally pulled the trigger on a new straight razor. It is the Dovo Bismark Ebony, I had been waiting for the right combo of price, brand, and style. I did not want to spend a hundred dollars or more on a razor that had cheap plastic scales, but at the same time I did not want to spend several hundred dollars on a razor. Aside from my excitement over this razor, I do have a few questions.

As far as using a strop;
Do I need to do it before every shave?
Just how precise do I need to be when I strop (In other words, how much damage can I do by stropping poorly)?

As far as strop maintenance;
I have seen several different oils, fats, dressing for the leather strop, just how much maintenance does the strop require? Or are those things just products that only help marginally and are really just bait for suckers and beginners?

Some strops have a canvas backing, some do not, how important is the canvas strip?

Any and all advise will be appreciated.

First and foremost, you'll have to send your new straight out to get it shave-ready honed so that the bevels are known to be done right. After that, with the bevels right, keeping it sharp will be much easier.

Secondly, be prepared to dull your razor learning how to strop. Everyone does it, me too. So, get prepared to get the razor sharpened again if you can't do it yourself.

Third, don't worry about buying any sharpening stones yet. Learn the razor first while you are researching which stones you want to get. It'll save you a bunch of $ if you do.

Lastly, you don't need a canvas strop. A leather strop will serve you just fine until you figure out what you're doing.

You will get frustrated somewhere along your learning curve, that's expected, but stay at it and go slow. It will be fun!

Originally Posted by nschulte25

For a few years now I have been using a Dovo Shavette but finally pulled the trigger on a new straight razor. It is the Dovo Bismark Ebony, I had been waiting for the right combo of price, brand, and style. I did not want to spend a hundred dollars or more on a razor that had cheap plastic scales, but at the same time I did not want to spend several hundred dollars on a razor. Aside from my excitement over this razor, I do have a few questions.

As far as using a strop;
Do I need to do it before every shave?
Just how precise do I need to be when I strop (In other words, how much damage can I do by stropping poorly)?

It is a good idea to strop before shaving but it isn't mandatory. There are times that you just wont be able to but if your razor is kept in excellent condition it should not be a problem. Improper strop technique can and will cause problems with the geometry of the edge. For instance, you can "roll" the edge by holding the strop to loose or applying to much pressure to the razor as you strop.

Originally Posted by nschulte25

As far as strop maintenance;
I have seen several different oils, fats, dressing for the leather strop, just how much maintenance does the strop require? Or are those things just products that only help marginally and are really just bait for suckers and beginners?

The strop should be maintained on a regular basis much like your car needs regular oil changes and it can be different from on to the other. I rub my strop with my hands before I use it and if it feels dry I will treat it with a leather conditioner, others may have different approaches.

Originally Posted by nschulte25

Some strops have a canvas backing, some do not, how important is the canvas strip?
Any and all advise will be appreciated.

It is basically used to "clean" the razor before you put it to the strop but it is also beneficial in prepping the edge.

You do need to take care when stropping, poor technique will at least not be beneficial to your razor, and could damage the edge.
I dont know about conditioners and such, but i have literally just come from a thread where a guy uses leather conditioner for handbags, and i have a strop that i am going to have to condition as it is too hard, i only got it the other week so i havent had a chance to do anything with it yet.
On the other hand my other strop which i have had for a year has only had a bit of palm rubbing during the first few months, but that is much thinner and more supple.
There are a pile of threads in the strop forum about this topic, so a visit would probably be worthwhile.

Stropping is very important and a far as I know it should be done before every shave.

Dressing the strop is something I can't speak on and the canvas is a preference I think.

For whatever it's worth... I'm new to straight shaving, myself. For fear of dulling, or doing damage to my good 'shave ready' razor, or cutting my strop, I purchased a cheaper 'practice' razor on ebay. Its a good quality antique with a desirable makers mark, so I know that the steel is good. It's also quite sharp, but not shave ready. I'll be using this cheaper razor to practice my stropping technique and eventually honing. This made sense to me. A small price to pay for peace of mind and relaxed practice.

More than likely you are going to ruin your first strop. If you bought a nice one, then go on and order a cheaper one to start with.

When I started, I stropped before I shave. At the advice of others here, I started stropping after I shaved and shaves got smoother.

For strop conditioning, I rub it with my hands before I take a shower and about every other month I end up putting a little bit of mink oil on it because it doesn't sound or feel right.

Definitely have the razor professionally honed before using it. The classifieds here have several people that do it.

The canvas strop is used to clean the razor and heat up the blade so that the leather will work better. Without canvas you have to do more strops on the leather to heat the blade up and smooth it out. I prefer using the canvas strop as opposed to just using the leather. Plus the canvas lets me warm up my arm.

Originally Posted by criswilson10

I prefer using the canvas strop as opposed to just using the leather. Plus the canvas lets me warm up my arm.

There are other ways to warm your arm...

Thanks for the advise everyone. The razor is listed as "shave ready" and I do have a nice vintage razor I got cheap for the purpose of rescaling with some wood ones I have designed (in my head), then eventual professional honing. It is not shave ready so I think I will use that to practice stropping. I have also found strops on Amazon for $15-20, all "on sale" of course.

This is the razor I ordered.