Help - first razor - several questions

I just recieved a straight razor for christmas. But they just bought me a hone of some sort, it wasn't marked.

What is a good strop, that is a good value?

They gave me a c-mon caddy knife is that a good quality razor (it is the one his barber recomended)?

If I've never really stropped a razor before how bad can I screw it up if I understand the general concept?

And how much does the well shaved gentlemen's strops usually run?

What are some of your favorite cremes and aftershaves?

Thanks for the help.

C-Mon is good! Bad stropping will reflect in the shave. Lay the blade flat on the strop with the spine leading, do not strop edge first. Move the razor up the strop, roll it over n the spine and drag it back, keeping the razor flat and using just enough pressure to keep it flat! You have to strop after every honing and before every shave! Check the SRP Vendors for strops, soaps, brushes, these 3 things are basic must have.

Brands? links? Personal preferences and why?

tony miller strops, non better, a good badger brush, and shave soap from mama bear are good,or prorasso cream italy's best selling for many years

I am a big fan of the red russian type strops due to their feedback when stropping, am fanatic about the soaps from the gentlemans quarter; bay rum, leatherneck etc, be sure to get a badger silvertip brush. You said you got ahone with the razor, what kind?

Wow, lots of questions in one post. Are you interested in good value for your strop or pure quality? In therms of quality, I think that most people agree that Tony's strops are the best. In terms of value, some people find the Illinois to be rated high. When I bought my strop, I was told not to buy the best strop because it is easy to dent it as you develop proper technique. A good strop should last for a long time. I think that was one of your questions.

You can dull the edge of your razor with bad stropping technique. There are videos in the wiki and a recent post (flipping the razor or something similar) that approach some of the details. I am sure that there are other sources of info as well.

In terms of soap, it is a matter of personal preference but there is a thread going in the soap forum (best soap anyone or similar) that addresses that part of your question. You already got a good recommendation (Proraso) and if you live near a Bath and Body Works, their C. O. Bigelow shaving cream is made by Proraso.

Same thing with aftershaves. A lot of people like the Clubman Pineud others, like me, prefer Bay Rum and some like more contemporary scents and formulations.

WARNING!!!! Before you use your hone, make sure that you know what you got.

Al raz.

Hi & Welcome, There is lot's of great videos on you tube about straight razor shaving, stropping & honing that will help you. The more you learn the better shaving experience you will have-!!
Good luck

Thanks all for the help.
what I got as a gift was this big box of peach color bars of soap, a badger brush, I have no idea the quality, it says Raiser Pinsel pinceau a barbe with a 1000 which looks like a stocking number. It sure feels soft. Then a hone, my brother said he'd get me a link to what it was. Then the razor.

The razor was new out of the box.
I actually got a decent shave out of that. When I had the angle right, it felt as good as my mach 5 blade. And I didn't cut myself at all.


Another question, can you really get a smooth shave shaving with the grain? I never did with my mach 5's. That was the only way to get my skin smooth for a couple of hours. I grow a ridiculously thick beard. Or do you guys actually shave against the grain.

For the ever popular BBS(baby butt smooth) 1 pass with the grain, 1 pass across the grain, 1 pass against the grain.

so if I picked up this strop. Do I need anything else like conditioner for the leather?

And what about the stops made out of other materials like canvas or wool?

Its a good basic strop, no conditioner needed. Alot of things like canvas vs linen vs wool etc is just personal preference.

OK you answered a few questions I had with that one, The razor must be stropped before each shave and stropped a lot after honing...
That is a good solid performer that you picked out, personally I like the #827 a slight bit better but either will do for the same price....

You "must" (better put that in quotes before the strop it on yer jeans or hand, guys kill me) have a shave ready razor and a strop to use a straight razor to shave....

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

OK you answered a few questions I had with that one, The razor must be stropped before each shave and stropped a lot after honing...
That is a good solid performer that you picked out, personally I like the #827 a slight bit better but either will do for the same price....

You "must" (better put that in quotes before the strop it on yer jeans or hand, guys kill me) have a shave ready razor and a strop to use a straight razor to shave....

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This is the hone as best i can tell. Colonel Ichabod Conk Straight Razor Stone

Why do you like one strop over another?

The conk stone is crap. Conk pushes them, I dont know why, it might maintain an edge but I doubt it. Cuts way too slow for restoration work. I like my russian strops 1) great feed back . 2) they are older than I am and still going strong, Im 49.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

The conk stone is crap. Conk pushes them, I dont know why, it might maintain an edge but I doubt it. Cuts way too slow for restoration work. I like my russian strops 1) great feed back . 2) they are older than I am and still going strong, Im 49.

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Do I have to "restore" a brand new razor? And for a completely new person less might be better when grinding on their blade?

no you wont have to restore it but unless you ordered it honed from the supplier you will need to put an edge on it

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Originally Posted by stdreb27

Do I have to "restore" a brand new razor? And for a completely new person less might be better when grinding on their blade?

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edge maintenance with a barbers hone will keep the razor sharp enough to shave when stropping alone will not be sufficient. Edge restoration is what is needed when a razor has been neglected or damaged. Anew razor generally has been honed from the factory but not well enough to get a smooth shave. Therefore they need to be honed, preferably by some one who knows how.

The generally consensus, almost universally backed by truth, is that even the new blades of good manufacture (Dovo, Theirs Issard) are NOT “shave ready” brand new, out of the box. They need to be honed by the new owner, or sent to someone who has the tools and skills to get that edge truly shaving sharp. You don’t have to “restore” them, but they probably need some tweak work. Just part of the game. The honing will be needed a few times a year no matter what. You will be one step ahead of the game if you learn how to do it yourself. You’ll will have fun with it.

Against the grain – this is the only way many guys can get near BBS shaves. Definitely go with the grain first. You want as little errant hair getting in the way of the blade when you do go ATG. You may get BBS in many places with the grain. Anything left, try against the grain or across the grain. It takes a while to get a good enough feel of the blade in your hand and on your face to do this effectively much less safely. Do it a little at a time, the feel will come.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stdreb27

I just recieved a straight razor for christmas. But they just bought me a hone of some sort, it wasn't marked.

What is a good strop, that is a good value?

They gave me a c-mon caddy knife is that a good quality razor (it is the one his barber recomended)?

If I've never really stropped a razor before how bad can I screw it up if I understand the general concept?

And how much does the well shaved gentlemen's strops usually run?

What are some of your favorite cremes and aftershaves?

Thanks for the help.

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Everyone will have their opinion on what they like, what's best, etc...You really should visit the WIKI here, There is a wealth of information there. Tony Miller makes some of the best strops on the market today. Visit his site, His prices reflect his quality. He closed for the Holidays right now. Don and Lynn at Straight razor designs have some nice Mastro Livi Strops too. Yes, you can screw up stropping. It takes practice. you can screw up the strop too, you can cut it. There are some good articles in the forums here about Tony Miller's strops. There's one where he explains the differences between strops.

Colleens soap/shave creams are very good and very reasonable, Shaving, Bath and Body, Skincare, Home Fragrance, Brushes, Creams, Soaps If I didn't have that much money, that's the creams I'd use. Some of my favorites are Castle Forbes, Tabac, Nancy Boy, Colleens, Vintage blades triple milled is great.

Asking about hones will open up a huge discussion. there's a lot of info on the wiki. I haven't even talked about pasted strops which will keep your razor good to go without touching a stone for some time. A norton 4k/8k combo is good all around hone and will serve you well.
If you really get in to str8 shaving, then you have your Coticules, Shaptons, Eschers, Japanese water stones, DMT's, etc....Read through the WIKI, You will learn a lot.

I have a Col. Conk hone. It's of no use for str8s.

Dave

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zib

Asking about hones will open up a huge discussion. there's a lot of info on the wiki. I haven't even talked about pasted strops which will keep your razor good to go without touching a stone for some time. A norton 4k/8k combo is good all around hone and will serve you well.
If you really get in to str8 shaving, then you have your Coticules, Shaptons, Eschers, Japanese water stones, DMT's, etc....Read through the WIKI, You will learn a lot.

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What do you use when preparing a new blade for a shave?