Am I going about this correctly?

So, I'm completely new to the straight razor world (a cross over from DE shaving). I don't even have my supplies yet! Just wondering if what I've got coming to me is good or not. I purchased a $5 timber-rattler razor to use just for practicing honing and stropping before I ruin my good razor. I got a presharpened dovo special tortois for my good razor. A Norton 3in 4000-8000 combo waterstone and a simco razor strop leather and canvas. Is this a good start to straight shaving or am I in for a rude awakening?

Sorry, but most likely, the answer is a rude awakening. SRP maintains a list of razor brands to avoid, and guess what? Both Timber Rattler and Simco are on that list. I'm not familiar with Simco strops...hopefully at least it is leather. If it is anything like the Zeepk (another crap brand) strop, then it's garbage. The Dovo on the other hand will serve you well if it's already been sharpened. Also, the Norton hone is a great choice. Just don't be quick to jump to the hone if your first shave is not perfect. Most likely it won't be the razor's fault so don't try to fix it.

I strongly suggest that you first click on the Wiki link and read the info for beginners. If you check out the Well Shaved Gentleman website, run by our member Tony Miller, you can get yourself a good beginner strop and then you will be all set.

Welcome and feel free to ask questions!

First, welcome to SRP. Lots of great information here. Read through the various forums, and the Wiki. Now that you have received the bad news, cheer up. There are several sources for good quality razors, strops, and all the other items you will need. First, and foremost, your razor and strop are two things that you want to have quality. Look through the classifieds here for both. Our members have reputations to protect so you will be getting great quality razors at very attractive prices. There are other routes as well. Kenrup (a member here) and SRD have great starter sets. As already pointed out Tony Miller has some great buys on starter strops. Wherever you decide to buy your razor ensure that it truly shave ready.

Besides a razor and strop you will also need some shave soap/cream (personal choice) and a brush (from less than $15 to obscene prices). Check out the classifieds and Vendor's Corner forum below.

You have a very nice combination hone. Now put it away for awhile. You won't need it for quite some time unless you damage your edge. I recommend getting either a pasting strop (with CrO paste or diamond spray) or a barber's hone to occasionally refresh your edge.

I also HIGHLY recommend getting a copy of Lynn's CD. It contains over 3 hours of gtreat information about most all aspects of the straight razor, including shaving with it. :gl:

Many people make the mistake of buying a crap razor just to practice honing and stropping. This is not the way to go because a crap razors we avoid will not develop an edge when honed. So you are not able to tell if you are doing it right. If you want something to practice honing I would suggest buying a cheap razor from the classified here. Once you have done some reading and know the good brands to look for you can go to ebay. Just be aware that ebay can sometimes be a bit of a gamble. Thats why it is so addictive.

+1 on crap razors being bad for learning to hone. Check out the classifieds here - there's plenty of decent razors to learn on for fairly cheap, if you're not after something that's as gorgeous as all hell, and being from SRP members they're all brands that'll actually take an edge, unlike Timber Rattler, Zeepk et. al. Once you start shaving for good with the Dovo, I've been told it's best to avoid using the canvas strop until you've got the stropping technique sorted with the leather side, as it acts sort of like a fine hone and can bugger your edge if it's not used right - can a senior member confirm this is correct?

For brushes, I had the Tweezerman Badger brush recommended to me as a good starter brush, and at $13.50 for a pure badger brush, I think you're getting a rather good deal. Check out Amazon for brushes and soaps and all sorts of great stuff for shaving (bowls, mugs, aftershaves etc). I'd also recommend getting a proper stand for your brush to hang in while it dries, as this'll prolong the life of the brush - there's a simple plastic one on Amazon too that should do the job.

+1 on all the information above - great advice. Although I am no expert I would suggest you read every step of the wiki and then reread it again. Str8razor shaving is by no means a science as much as it is an exercise in observation and technique. Your face and hair growth is like no others and will require a different approach to each area compared with everyone else. Pay attention to what doesn't work and make the necessary changes to adapt to what does. The Dovo you have is an excellent choice. If it was not "shave ready" when you purchased it then do get one of the pro's here to hoan it for you before you use it. Put that norton away and forget you have it for a while. Get yourself a beginners strop and maybe some Chromium oxide or .5 diamond paste and find out how to apply and use them properly. Your newly hoaned Dovo will give you about 20 to 25 shaves before you need to touch it up with the paste and you will only need to strop it between those touchups. Welcome to SRP and enjoy your journey.

Ray

thanks rayman, from what I was hearing from everyone else I was starting to feel like everything I purchased was useless. I think people just saw the words timber-rattler and got a bad taste in their mouth. Don't worry everyone, I've read the wiki posts about bad razors. The timber was the cheapest thing I could find and is for nothing more than building muscle memory I realize I won't be able to put a keen edge on it I just wanted to practice the motion with a razor and not spend any money for one! As far as the strop goes I'll give what I got a go but I'll probably end up getting a strop from tony miller in the end based on what I've heard about strops, his seem to be the best. Thank you all for you're help and concerns. I'll keep you posted on my transition!

P.S. In regards to brushes and soaps, as I've mentioned I'm a DE convert and believe me I have my share of quality soaps/brushes, etc! Thanks again.

What I tell everyone when they start is to buy a shave ready razor from Lynn on Straight Razor Designs, or a shave ready off the classifieds here. Once you have a razor that is sharp from someone that knows how to get it that way, you can learn how to use it properly without wondering what is wrong with the razor. I also say to buy a good soap or cream (like Tabac or Taylors Cream) and a decent brush. After that, you'll need a strop, I love the ones Tony Miller sells. Ruprazor.com also has a really good starter Jimmi strop for very cheap.

honing isn't something you need to know, you'll have enough time to learn that and the learning how to shave with a sharp straight should be the biggest concern.

You can always buy a Swaty barber's hone to keep the shave ready razors sharp for years a long with a good stropping method.

Welcome to SRP. That Norton 4/8 wasn't a waste of money. That is a darn good tool for sharpening and maintaining razors. Jump into the SRP Wiki and you will find all the information you need to get you going in the right direction and keep you there. Ask any questions you may have and someone on here will give you the benefit of their experience.