Thread: First shave/strop paste

Just got a straight razor from JoshEarl, it's a real beauty, shaved with it yesterday and had a pretty solid shave out of it. Had a bit of trouble with the left side of my face, I'm right handed, but I feel I got the hang of it. I didn't go around my adam's apple with the straight, I just used a regular razor on that, figure I'll wait for a while until I go around with that the str8. I'm looking around for strops now, I won't shave again without a strop because I don't want to hurt the razor. Can anyone let me know about strop paste? What does it do? is a two sided paddle strop from Tony a decent starter?

A two sided paddles strop simply hones the razor with the selected paste. Use it sparringly, both as it is applied and in how often you use it and the number of strokes.

Alright, thanks a lot. I take it that I will still need to purchase a razor hone, like a norton 4k/8k though? Is there a certain side to which I apply the strop paste, or does it matter?

Originally Posted by colin_rudolph

I didn't go around my adam's apple with the straight, I just used a regular razor on that,

Lets get something straight sonny boy... a straight razor is a regular razor! Everything else is "new fangled"!

I thought it might help to hear from a fellow newbie. The following is the deal on hones/strops/pasted strops as I currently understand it. Keep in mind, this is all from a newbie perspective. If I get any of this majorly wrong I'm sure someone with more experience will jump in and offer more accurate information.

As for Tony's strops, I think it would be safe to say that ANY strop from Tony would make an excellent starter strop. I've just started out with his "#4 starter strop." It depends on how much you want to spend. You could start out with a fairly plain, inexpensive strop that gets the job done like I did or get one of the fancier models if you prefer.

Now, repeat after me - pasted strops are not for daily use. Go ahead, say it. No, really, say it out loud. Say it again. Write it on the bathroom mirror in your wife or girlfriend's lipstick and read it every time you look in the mirror. Then, go out and buy her some flowers and a new tube of lipstick so you don't get into too much trouble.

Unpasted strops are for daily stropping before shaving. That can be a hanging strop, paddle strop, loom strop, etc. Whatever variety of leather strop you can find can be used WITHOUT paste for daily stropping.

Like hones pasted strops remove metal. Coarser pastes remove more metal than finer pastes. It might be a very minute amount of metal, but they do remove some metal. I know some folks can rattle off numbers off the top of their head. I have no pasted strops or hones in my collection yet, so I'm not quite up to that point. A paddle strop is a common strop to use with pastes but pastes can be used on a hanging strop also. But, once you've put paste on a strop it can't be used for regular daily stropping ever again. So, if you want to use a strop with strop paste it needs to be dedicated for that purpose. Some folks use pasted strops for final polishing after honing. And I think some use them to give a razor a lite touch up if the razor is starting to develop a hint of drag.

As for hones - you will either need to invest in a hone, or hones, at some point or be prepared to send your razor out to a honemeister when it needs honing. The Norton 4000/8000 combo seems to the the most commonly recommended hone to start with.


Kevin

Good job Kevin and Colin! Welcome to SRP to both of you guys. Only thing I'll add is that a couple of laps on a .25micron pasted strop nearly daily is not the worst thing (for me) though I have actually overhoned on pasted leather before!! Hard to do, but hey, I was enthusiastic . Overall, you're right. Pasted strops are typically mildly abrasive and sharpen the edge - thus they are not usually used daily. Plain strops are to be used before each shave to align the micro-serations that are present on the edge of the blade, resulting in a smoother (read: not really sharper) edge. The unstropped razor will not be damaged by use, but your face will feel the roughness if you shave with it. Welcome guys!

Originally Posted by JMS

Lets get something straight sonny boy... a straight razor is a regular razor! Everything else is "new fangled"!

Hahahaha! Thanks a lot, I'll keep that in mind.

So I'll probably start looking into a beginner strop from Tony, he seems to have a pretty solid reputation from what people on here say. A pasted strop doesn't seem like a necessity right at this point (correct me if I'm wrong) it seems I'd just need a regular strop, for daily use, and a hone for when my blade became dull. Thanks a lot for your help, and if there's any fellow Canucks on here, happy Thanksgiving!

Originally Posted by colin_rudolph

Hahahaha! Thanks a lot, I'll keep that in mind.

I am glad someone is getting a chuckle out of my sense of humor!
Tony is top notch all the way! As far as pasted strops go, it's not really necessary.

I have seen advertised strop conditioners, and one website said you shouldn't use a leather strop unless a strop conditioner has been applied...

True or false?

toolarts

Yes! My Dovo and paddle strop came from thewellshavedgentleman.com today. I had my first cut throat shave; luckily with no cuts. I was thoroughly impressed; nay, I was amazed. I can tell this is going to be a beautiful relationship. Although my first shave was not close at all, I missed patches, and I had some pretty good razor burn, I was none-the-less damn impressed. I attribute the razor burn to 1.) my dry skin today, and 2.) my unsteady hand not keeping the correct angle between the blade and my face.

STROP CONDITIONER
According to the detailed instructions included in my thewellshavedgentleman.com package, strop conditioner is not required. In fact, the anonymous author prefers to never use it, and strongly warns against using too much.