Thread: Advise on strops, for a beginner

Im a new guy here getting into the use of straights, im just sick of the gillette scaping me up, anyways i reciently purchased a nice Borke, and want any advise on getting a strop , should i start with a chaper one or not? Also my straight is honed and ready, how long will it last before i need honed again, i shave about 3 times a week. I've been doing some reading , is the paste stoping the way to go after awhile? Anyway, any advise or insight from u guys would be apprecited to help me out thanks!

http://www.thewellshavedgentleman.com/

Pick up a starter strop. High quality, from a high quality vendor. Can't go wrong with this guy.

Honing is dependent on a variety of factors, from how thick your beard is to how you treat your blade. Good rule of thumb is every 2 months starting, but it can really change. Good luck with you new straight, and welcome to SRP!

Welcome Dono. I would suggest you get a starter strop from Tony Miller at the wellshavedgentleman. It is not uncommon for new str8 shavers to nick their strops. If you want a nicer strop, I think Tony has an option where you can buy one of his higher-end strops and add a practice strop for something less than $10 additional cost.

If I think the pasted strops are a good way to go for touching up, but others like to jump right into honing. I would say read the posts in the forums and see what you think you'd like to do.

Jordan

I would agree on getting one of Tony's strops. Either his basic strop.
Or get his higher end Artisan strop. With the purchase of the Artisan strop, you can purchase a full length practice strop for an additional $6.50.
Choose either of there options, depending on your budget.
I went with the Artisan + practice strop. The practice option is great for a new guy like myself.

Regards,
Mitch

thanks guys, something else i just thougth of, obviously keeping your razor in a dry place is ideal to keep rust away, what are good things to use to keep clean or rust free. should you clean with rubbing alcohol? What are some of the things you guys do ???,, thanks

I've only been using a straight for about a month and a half or so, but what I do is rinse with hot water and dry thoroughly with tissue. This is what Robert Williams' recommends for care of his mirror finished customs on his website so I figure it should be a good way to go.

I don't know if it's necessary or not, but I keep my razors out of the bathroom when not being used. We have a very small bathroom and my wife takes ridiculously hot showers with tons of steam so I'm afraid of the razors being exposed to moisture if I keep them in there.

For long term storage I think people recommend using some kind of oil to prevent rust but I don't remember the exact type that is suggested.

I hope that helps.

Casey

Originally Posted by SinglerM

I would agree on getting one of Tony's strops. Either his basic strop.
Or get his higher end Artisan strop. With the purchase of the Artisan strop, you can purchase a full length practice strop for an additional $6.50.
Choose either of there options, depending on your budget.
I went with the Artisan + practice strop. The practice option is great for a new guy like myself.

+1 for this. I decided to get a nicer strop out of the shoot. With all of the great reviews Tony gets I figured it was a no brainer. I didn't know about the practice strop until I was ordering. That was just icing on the cake. Now I can chew up the cheapie (which I'm sure is still of good quality) and use the sweet one when I get used to using a strop.

Welcome to SRP!!