Thread: Straight razor question

Douce,

Most impoortant! Welcome to SRP. Read all you can here on the forums. Great info for you.

At a minimum you will need the following:

1. Shave ready razor
2. Strop (hanging the best, paddle will work)
3. Shave soap/cream (personal choice)
4. Brush (many, many sources)

In answer to your question, your razor is ready to use if you sent it out to be honed. After your first shave you will need to use the strop each time you shave.

Plus one to what was posted before me.

A freshly honed razor will absolutely be able to shave you. And so long as the edge isn't too harsh it will be an ok shave. Stropping though makes all the difference in the world.

I too got my first straight before the strop. I tried to strop it some on newspaper and the shaves I got were nice considering I was also using a boar bristle brush and cheap soap. But once I got a strop and gave that blade a good stropping you could actually hear the hairs on my face screaming if you listened close enough.

If you do shave with it now, do so knowing that with a strop you will achieve better results.

I have stropped on my thigh wearing denim. It will do in a pinch but I wouldn't recommend it as a daily thing. Also since your not used to stropping it may be a great way to cut up your pants and worse yet your leg. I would try the newspaper route if you have it available.

Definitely use newspaper, if you have nothing else. Some people say to put the paper on a very flat surface and strop that way, but I used to tape a strip to the a table and hold it like a hanging strop. On newspaper, you probably want to strop more strokes than on leather, but I don't really know. Perhaps someone else can chip in their $.02 on that.
J.

Thank you everyone, for your advice. I appreciate it.

or use an old belt...leather belt from 2nd hand shop.