Thread: getting started

over the summer I got taken over Ebay for a zeepk, tried it, talked to some people, got the lowdown on how hideous it really was. I recently bought a Genco razor from JoshEarl, when it arrives I'd like to start getting things ready so that I could shave with it. What kinds of waterstones do you folks reccomend? I hear a lot about a Norton 4000/8000 waterstone. There's a Lee Valley close to where I live so I could get one from them. The only problem is Strops, where could I get a decent strop for a decent price. I'm a university student, so I don't have a lot of cash to throw around. Any good shops online? Will I need strop paste or does that matter? There is a barbershop here in my town that used to offer, not sure if they still offer, straight razor shaves, I plan on taking the razor into them when I get it and asking them about it.

Thanks,
~Colin

If you bought a razor from JoshEarl then it is "shave ready" unless he specifically told you otherwise. This means that it will be ready to shave when you get it and you will absolutely will not need to take it to a stone. There is a learning curve to honing and if you take a great shaving razor to the hone then I can guarantee that you will do more harm than good at first. My recommendation would be to purchase a strop and learn to shave with your "shave ready" straight. Once you get good at this then you can purchase some more razors off eBay to learn to hone on.

looking for a strop? Tony's your man!

www.thewellshavedgentleman.com

Originally Posted by edk442

looking for a strop? Tony's your man!

www.thewellshavedgentleman.com

Definitely, Tony's your man. He has everything from budget starter strops, to more exotic ones (which are still great value).

Thanks a lot guys, I'll check out Tony's website. I have a Zeepk that I tried to hone once or twice, before I found out it was garbage, on an oilstone I use to keep my wood chisels sharp, I put a better edge on it than it had, but it still wouldn't shave. I'm going to check out Tonys website now. My question is could I learn to hone on my Zeepk, as it's useless I don't care what becomes of it, and how often does one have to hone a straight razor, I've heard once every two months to once or twice a year?

what about paddle strops? I saw a few of those on Tonys website and they seem to be less expensive than the hanging variety.