Need advice on stropping.

Hi everyone

I used to have serious razor burns when i was teen and completely avoided shaving since then and started using a trimmer. Recently i saw a straight razor and i wanted to try one. So i bought a Boker King Cutter and Dovo XL 180. I have shaved 3 times till now and had no razor burns or cuts on my face.

But right now i am confused about few things.

1)How many times should I strop the razor on the leather. For the first shave, i didn't strop the razor. Second and third time when i shaved, i stropped it 15 times. I felt like the blade is sharp enough. But since i am new to it, m not 100% sure.
2) I have bought yellow paste from dovo. How often should i apply it on XL 180.
3) I don't have a linen strop. Should i buy a linen strop too? or is it enough if i wipe the blade on a towel.

How much to strop is often a point of disagreement. So I will just give you a range. 30-100 on linen and 30-100 on leather. I fall into the category often referred to as excessive stroppers. I don't mind, it is relaxing and does not take long. I often do 60 linen and 60 leather post shave and 60 linen and 100 leather pre shave. Quality means more than quantity. One one thousand back one one thousand forth. Nice and steady, smooth strokes with the blade flat on the strop and no pressure. The use of the linen strop is also debated as to wether or not it is needed. Some guys are straight leather. I do not use the Dovo paste and will leave that to others.
Most of us are here because of the quality of the shaves. Straight razors have been the gold standard since 1876.

Aloha!

Philosophy comes into play here.

I was taught to straight razor shave, strop and barber hone by a professional barber when I was 18 and I inherited my grandfather's Solingen. Barbers do not have the piliosphy (in general) that the strop is a contiuation of honing (sharpening). The strop is simply for alighment. Nothing more. 10-20 passes is all you will see a barber perform and thus, that's what I've done for many decades. I touch-up the blade with a barber hone, but I align the blade with a strop, and 10-20 passes puts my blade back into alighment. You can imagine that if barber started stropping for 200 or 300 plus passes between shaves back when barbers were doing multiple shaves a day, he'd have very upset clients waiting for the next cut and shave. That would be a recipe for bankruptcy.

But we are hobbyists, not barbers. Some gentlemen coat their strops with CR-OX and do continue the honing process on the strop with many passes on coated linen then on leather. If that works for them, then it works for them and that's great. There is more than one way to skin this cat.

So again, it's a philosophy mind-set here. I hone with a stone, I align with a strop. 10-20 passes on leather before my shave and I'm good to go. I strop after shaving to dry the blade and put it back into alighment for storage. 20 passes on dry linnen, then 10-20 passes on leather. I do have a travel strop with NO linen (to answer your question) and I don't miss not having linen when I'm mobile. My grandfather and the barber that trained me to strop didn't have linen. Just leather.

Have fun and good luck (and don't roll that edge!)

-Zip

Yes, I am really happy with it as I had no razor burns. The reason why i stropped only few times is coz i was scared of damaging the blades. Thank you for the quick reply.

It takes time to properly strop so just go slow and steady, you can do without a linen. The act of stropping is not only about of alignment, it burnishes the edge to relieve the harshness of the stones. As you get better you can actually improve edges with a strop. Also I have know several old barbers who stropped a 100 laps, before each shave sometimes a few in between for the show, it only takes a couple of minutes and the smooth of the shave is a proven fact, 20 is enough, but 100 won't hurt unless they are bad form. The smoother the edge is the better the edge is. Just make sure you have a decent strop too. Tc

Tc speaks the truth....Spare the strop.....Spoil the edge! ;)

I pretty much agree with the advice the other gents have given. Stropping on leather is really important for a nice comfortable shave, but using a linen strop is convenient but certainly not essential. It is indeed enough to just dry the razor carefully on a towel before putting it away.

(I'm also of an age that barbers still used straight razors. The ones I went to down here in California used both the linen and leather. So the philosophy I learned from them, and more so my dad was to use the linen whenever the edge still felt slightly dull after stropping on leather. I'm in the "strop about a dozen times on leather" camp.)

I believe that the Dovo yellow paste is used to soften and condition the leather strop. If so, use it very sparingly and only occasionally, when the strop's surface looks and feels a little dry. You might check out Dovo's web site for instructions if the paste tube doesn't have any.

Be careful, enjoy wonderful shaves and have fun!

All good advice here so far.

There is no need to rush out and buy lots of stuff immediately. I would hold off on using the paste too for the time being at least (it is made by Dovo but not limited to their razors).

Check out the beginner's section and the library here before spending lots of cash. You will come to it all in good time.

I am glad that you have no razor burn or cuts. I know that once you get into this you will discover a love for shaving that you didn't know was possible.

Take your time and good luck.

I do 25 linen, 75 bare leather after every shave.

Please let me explain, I was just giving advise that he can get by without the linen. As he gets more equipment money he can get one, I myself never miss using my linen ever! I find its the first step in my final edge that cleans and aligns before. Go to the leather, it's just the way I Like it. But you can do without it, just do enough leather to get there, but I like the idea of cleaning my edge before I go to one of my nice strops. Tc

I think you're doing the right thing. I was also very careful with my first straight when I got it, not more than 15 strokes.. today, I do closer to 50-60-70 (don't really count anymore). Take it easy and with time, you'll feel more comfortable and confident in your stropping strokes. You'll find yourself increasing the number of passes and you'll also feel the difference on your face, when you actually start improving the edges with stropping.

Linen is a good idea for drying a blade's edge, and also after honing, to clean the metal residue, so it doesn't end up on your main leather piece.