Thread: got a straight razor for my birthday!

Hello Everyone!

So i got a straight razor for my birthday and after reading the forums im sad to say from Art of Shaving, the exact razor i got is provided in this link - The Art of Shaving --- so now the question is this - ive been looking at a lot of youtube videos of instructionals of straight razor shaving and i just want to know. Should i hone in and strop my razor before my first shave with the razor? or can the very first be alright without honing it in. The reason i ask is, my mother is going out of country and i know i can get quality strops and honing for the fraction of the price, so please let me know what i should do!

thanks guys and i hope to hear from you soon!

most razors are not shave ready directly from the factory so you may need to send it out for a honing before it will be ready to use.

Yes, send your straight too them. You can't go wrong with a Lynn and Don honning.
Nuff said,
nate

Welcome, mate

What's so sad about the razor? It's still Thiers Issard.

Here's a few links to get you started:

Straight Razor Place Wiki:Books/Beginners Guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki

First straight razor shave - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Wiki and the forum contain ample information to get you started. Don't stress and you'll be fine. Keep in mind that there are quality differences in strops too.

Long story short, as long as you are sure to hold your strop tight and strop properly so you don't roll the edge, your razor should be fine to just strop for around 6 months. If you get some CO powder from ChrisL in the classifieds, you can put that on the back side of your strop and it should help you maintain the edge a little longer.

Originally Posted by commiecat

That is the sales site for the people that founded this forum. Like natepaint said, they are reputable and will care for your blade. Aside from the honing service, they also sell a ton of shaving/sharpening gear for competitive prices.

There are also several members on the forum who offer restoration and sharpening services:
Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

They will sharpen the cutting edge of your razor so that it's suitable for proper shaving.

The first line is what I was wanting to say, but it was way too early and I was nott fully awake.

Have it honed by one of the honemeisters here, and use both a pasted strop and a plane strop, I got mine from Tony Miller about 2 years ago. I have been running the same razor daily for about 18 months, and it just now getting to the point that I will need to send it out for honeing, or bite the bullet and get my own set of stones.

Originally Posted by commiecat

That is the sales site for the people that founded this forum. Like natepaint said, they are reputable and will care for your blade. Aside from the honing service, they also sell a ton of shaving/sharpening gear for competitive prices.

There are also several members on the forum who offer restoration and sharpening services:
Member Services - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

They will sharpen the cutting edge of your razor so that it's suitable for proper shaving.

+1 from me on that, If you bought your razor from those guys and they say its shave ready then believe me it is! you will need at least a strop to use before every shave after the first time you use it and also consider another pasted with Chrome Oxide to refresh the edge from time to time, and when the edge wont respond to stropping its time for a quick touch up on a finishing hone, IMHO a Coticule bout does this job famously, altho there is a world of hones out there that are up to the job.
Use the wiki on here dude, it will save you weeks if not months of learning

Good luck, have fun, learn and enjoy

thanks guys!! i really appreciate all the information! So i asked my friend who got the razor and he says its "ready to shave" thats why Art of Shaving said. Now my question is, how can i verify that? are there any physical things to look at on the blade? or should i just on a extra precaution just send it in for honing??? thanks guys! looking forward to hearing from you guys!

Okay! so i did a test run on my arm, i did about 2-4 passes with the razor and it take off the hairs for sure but it might be because my arms were dry and obiviously no shaving cream on it. So should i still get it honed? or just strop the razor and shave?

(i did 2 posts instead of one becuase i dont know if anyone had already read it and were still posting)