Thread: First OFFICIAL SR Shave today~ Bloodless!!!

I've been shaving for a couple weeks with a cheap shavette I bought on Amazon... to learn technique, and to make sure I liked it... well... the rest is already history. Today was my first shave with my new Boker King Cutter. I used Proraso menthol preshave before the shower, heated/soaked my brush during the shower, then a little preshave oil after the shower... bowl lathered baume.be shave cream... and took off... even made a two pass shave.... (I shave around my beard, so it's my neck and top o' cheeks... no blood... the razor was honed by SRD, but here's my terror. Stropping.... I'm scared to death of 'stropping it dull'... I bought a 3" Natural strop from SRD, stepped up one step with the fabric... I've watched countless videos... I know to flip on the spine... take my time... keep the razor flat... but honestly... how do I know I'm doing it right... and how does one strop a razor dull? I've got a Dovo Inox 5/8ths Olivewood on the way... and plan on a Dovo Best Quality Black 5/8" 1/2 Hollow... just to try the different type razors..
thanks in advance for help
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Only way you can strop it dull is poor technique. Lift the spine & roll the edge, cut into the strop, too much pressure/not enough tension. Things like that.

Don't worry about stropping it dull. I don't think there's a straight shaver alive that hasn't dulled an edge while figuring out tension, pressure, torque, and technique unless they had someone watching over their shoulder. I've done it several times myself. Just take it slow, pay attention to what you're doing, and dig in.

The litmus test for getting it right/wrong is how the edge feels. If you're feeling it improve and maintaining it for a good amount of time, you're on the right track. If it feels like it's shaving worse than the day before you need to make an adjustment.

I couldn't tell you how long an edge should last with just linen and leather. I think my record was about a month of shaves before I rehoned the edge just for kicks 'n giggles. Too many blades in the rotation to remember what was honed when. It's all I can do to keep track of what stone I used on which blade.

Congrats on the first shave!

Watch a few stropping videos if you have the time. Main thing is to go slowly at first and keep the razor flat on the strop. If the spine lifts while the edge remains in contact with the strop, that is one way to strop a razor dull. Gasman posted his video in the Stropping section a few days ago. Check it out. That is about the speed you should be shooting for initially. Once you have several months of shaving under your belt, you may find yourself going faster.

Make sure to stop at the end of each stroke before flipping the blade. My initial problem was trying to go too fast. This did more damage to my strop than any of my blades.


I use an alternating race track stroke to get the entire razor. An x-stroke or windshield wiper pattern are alternatives. Good luck and happy stropping!

You will build muscle memory and speed will come with time. Focus on technique and you won't have to worry about dulling your edge while stropping, even as you speed up with practice. Poor technique won't improve with speed.

Thanks guys... I noticed I've already nicked my new strop! 😡 But working on slow and steady technique...

Congratulations on your first shave!
As far as the stropping, you might want to practice for a while using newspaper.
Fold the newspaper so it has a little cushion and lay it flat on something like the kitchen counter close to the edge. I stropped this way for a couple of months when I first started. I'm sure that doing it this way saved me some cuts and nicks that would have occurred if I started with a new stop.
Keep at it and enjoy the shaving!

Pete <:-}

Congrats on the shave. As stated stropping will come in time and when it does it just seems to happen, almost an AH HA moment. At least for me it was, the advice I will share on stropping and don't take this too literally, bury the spine in the strop. Burying the spine is what I mean not to take too literal. You will develop an ear for what it should sound like when stropping, another technique to try is put your razor on the strop spine only. Run the spine back and forth a couple times pay attention to how it sounds, then carefully lay the blade on the strop as you would and strop, notice the sound difference.
If you should lift the spine you will hear a distinct sound. When you hear that you will know and an angel will lose its wings. JK
As far as tension there is no need to pull your attachment point from the wall, pull it taught and that should be sufficient. Your arm should not be tired or sore when done. Best of luck

I initially hated stropping just as much as I thought I would. The leather on the first strop looks like it has been through a war. Too fast, too much flex, not enough flex, no muscle memory, lack of concentration, afraid to go to slow for whatever reason. I got a new leather piece from PRC, the manufacturer, replaced the original relic, take my time, and the stropping is beginning to feel very natural. Practicing enough that little by little, things become second nature and you don't have to overthink every move. My razor is about six weeks old and still has a first rate edge. Like you, I shave around my beard. I use a PRC Sprite which has a shorter 2" blade, so stropping on a 3" strop is easy. Take a deep breath, practice on something other than leather for a bit, then very slowly on the leather side following some of the suggestions of others. If you roll the edge, it can be fixed for $20 or so, but the stropping learning curve is steeper than many first thought.