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I just had an old straight razor honed. I've never shaved with a straight before, but I am anxious to try. However, I do not yet have a strop and I'm unwilling to start without one. My question however is, should a newly honed razor be sharp enough to shave with?
Thank you
It darn well ought to be. If it isn't sharp enough to shave with it isn't honed.
yes a newly honed razor should be more than capable if providing a good shave... but the blade is only part of the shave.
good lather and stropping are important as well.. view the videos for techniques and remember a shallow blade angle is important!
i think another key here is that stropping doesn't necessarily sharpen the blade. it realigns the edge which is already sharp. i have read some people shave right off the hone, i don't as i like the routine and i think it smooths the blade out when you strop. so, the razor should in turn be at the same sharpness before and after stropping. now if you are using a paste on the strop then that is a different story as an abrasive will actually sharpen a razor that needs a touch up. but that is another story.
get a strop, you definitely need one. a razor should be at its sharpest straight off the last hone, maybe not smoothest but definitely sharpest. hope that helps.
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.
When, you acquire your strop consider some kind of sacrificial one as well. There are always some slip ups when learning. It's less stressful if they happen to a cheaper piece of leather.