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Beginners Tips: September 2014
What to do with your new razor ?
Here's a few pointers I always suggest.
First of all go shave with it & don't strop it first.
If you don't have the experience & muscle memory to strop properly you will damage your edge & strop.
Practising on a single piece of newspaper, the width of your strop, held by a small bulldog clip, is good. Too much pressure will make the paper slip from the clip.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...technique.html
Also try using a butterknife or similar to develop manual dexterity. Actually, even a tooth brush will work. The motion is similar to twisting a volume knob but use your other fingers to assist.
Once you can comfortably flip the butterknife 180º back & forth try with your razor then finally move to your paper strop. If you feel you have it wired move to the leather but go slow. A little practice can save a lot in honing fees.... & leather.
Yes it's true. You do not have to destroy your first strop.
Do not test the edge on your thumbpad or nail. Do not cut anything other than hair with the razor . Ideally don't even attempt the HHT unless using superfine hair. A coarse bristle eg from a shave brush could damage a finished edge.
BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO FOUL THE EDGE ON OPENING & CLOSING. Use two hands opening & closing the razor. Hold the back of the spine with fingertips of one hand & the scales in the other . This way you can guide the edge. Not all razors centre perfectly & even if they do flexing the scales can misalign the action.
Be careful not to brush the edge against a fingernail. The edge is delicate & needs to be treated as such.
A safe thing to do is always close the razor into at least a V shape when placing on bench tops etc. (See pic.) This will prevent the edge rocking into contact with hard surfaces.
Do not store razors in leather cases for extended periods as they attract moisture leading to rust.
Which brings me to my last tip. Steel begins to rust at 40% relative humidity so take some precautions like oiling razors &/or storing in low humidity.
