Thread: hello!

http://www.gentlemans-shop.com/acata...stone.html#a70
this is a link to the strop/hone i have purchased is it ok for what i need?
the razor arrived this afternoon so will wait for the strop/hone to arrive before i do anything with it,i have a hanging strop i got with the ebay razor but its narrow and quite short and i,m finding it difficult to develop a technique but practice makes perfect i suppose, but hey i,m only 5 days in

I don't know about the hone, I am afraid; perhaps someone else has come across one of these before?

As a newbie, you need a shave ready razor and a strop as minimum equipment; plus soap and brush, of course. You have already discovered that decent shave prep is more than half the battle.

If you don't have a shave ready razor, then it's best to get one (look in the BST section), although you can teach yourself to hone; it just takes a while :-). If your shave ready razor seems a little dull, this is more than likely because your technique needs improving.

Start with just the cheeks, slow and gentle. Use the lightest possible touch, with the blade as close to parallel with your skin as you can manage (20 degrees angle is ideal, which is as close to resting on your skin as you can get without it touching). The hard parts are the chin, and getting a completely smooth shave on your neck. Most people find that using the other hand to stretch your skin helps considerably. If you get razor burn, then in all probability you are using too much pressure.

Good luck!

thanks for your advice paul,i,ve arranged to send the blades to the invisible edge for honing but i,ll keep the ebay one to practice honing.
thanks again

Hate to say it, but when I started out due to limited research and resources in the UK, I bought this strop/stone.
I never use it now.
The strop side is good for diamond paste, but not much else. I have found the stone no use at all. I emailed Cyril R Salter about it, and they told me it was a 400 grit stone, which is obviously wrong. I guess it is 3/4k but it is terribly slow, and must be used dry to avoid contaminating the strop side.
You will definately need a higher grit to achieve a good edge.
I would suggest sending your razor out to somebody.
I have bought lots of razors from the invisible edge and they seem good(but most required some restoring), however I haven't tried the honing service.
Bruno offered me very good service honing my razors a few months back. If you still need someone in the future I woul recommend a PM to him

thanks nick,havent recieved it yet should be here tomorrow,i,ll send it back and get a refund,i,ll do some more research before investing in a replacement... any suggestions ???

Wojtecs strops are a good budget choice, and in europe. Tony Miller is most peoples choice on this forum, just do a search on this site for him.
I have got a strop from diamond edge http://www.diamondedgeltd.com/acatal...rushes_52.html
It is meant to be similar to the dovo strops, but branded for this company and sold from the UK.
Stone wise, Wojtec also sells cheap stones, but they are very slow acting.
Most people swear by the norton as an all rounder for beginners. It is expensive but seems to last forever, and there is a wealth of advice on using them on this forum.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news with the stone/strop. I had the problem that nobody on this forum seemed to have tried it when I ordered it, so I didn't know any better - just be wary on some of the claims that shops make to sell you their stuff. Eveybody writes 'shave ready' and 'good for honing razors' on their products. Just check with people here first.