My mother gave me an old straight as a gift for Christmas as I had been talking about switching. My wife then got me the rest of what I need for my b-day (today). So, I got one of Tony's strops (although I didn't use the good one, just the practice/starter strop). I also have a shavemac silvertip and some col. conk soap.
Eariler in Jan. I sent the razor off to be sharpened and recieved it in return this week. Last night I watched Lynn's DVD which my wife also purchased (she gave it to me at midnight, on my b-day).
So, this morning for the first time I stropped my razor and used a brush for lather. It was a good experience overall. It wasn't exactly a close shave. I didn't have any major cuts, I had one minor nick that bled just a touch, and two what I would call scratches around my chin, they looked on the virge of bleeding but didn't bleed. One thing, I think the razor should have been sharper. It's entirely possible my strop technique did more harm than good. The razor felt like it was pulling on my hair a little. I expected more of a clean "gliding" feel during the shave. Any thoughts on what it should feel like?
So, I was thinking of maybe giving the razor a few swaps on my new norton 4k/8k (on the 8k side of course). I've been sharpening my own knives since I was a kid and can get a good edge, so I imagine I could do a decent job on the razor. And I think the next time I shave I probably need to hold the strop a bit tighter.
In any case, I'm happy to be among the str8 shavers now. I certainly had a feeling afterward like I had just graduated or something.