Expectant Shaver

After considering getting my vintage razor honed and using it, I finally decided to pick up a Wapienica instead from Fendrihan.com and am looking forward to getting into straight razor shaving. I was wondering if I could get some thoughts from you guys though before I get going.

I have read the wiki on shaving including just working on one cheek and then the other, quit when you should and so on but I'm hoping some of you guys have some tips for the Wapi itself. Mine has wood (pink ebony) scales so I won't have the off-balance of the metal ones but I'm wondering about stropping it. Do you strop when it comes from Dan (Floppyshoes) for the first shave or should I just leave it be? For anyone who has a Wapi, how many strokes do you use? Is it hard or soft metal? The strop I bought has 'fabric webbing' (whatever that means) and leather - how many strokes of each? When do you hone? Does anyone have any experience with this stone: Chinese Natural Sharpening Water Stone, 12000 Grit Even though it's out of stock right now it's pretty cheap.

And any other feedback anyone has will be appreciated. I'm pretty pumped about this. I've been DE'ing it for about 5 months now and shaving is much more enjoyable. Thank all of you for everything you post because it has been very helpful.

If it comes shave ready than for heavens sake, LEAVE IT BE!

I got my first shave ready razor freshly honed from Max and it wiped hair off my face. I have heard a lot of stories about newbies (like myself) ruining a perfectly good edge before our first shave by stropping improperly.

So shaving first has 2 benefits:

1) You will know what shave ready really means.
2) You will be able to tell if you rolled your edge by stropping improperly.

Just my friendly input from one newbie to another.

Oh, and great choice of razors, I love the look of those rescaled Wapis in Pink Ebony, but my college budget just won't let me get one yet.

Someday though.

You'll see a lot of different opinions on # laps for stropping, but all will say you need to strop before every shave. I do 20 laps on the webbing, then 50-60 on leather. Nobody seems to know the min number of laps needed on the leather, but since you can't "over strop", it does not hurt to do more... so you'll need to experiment to find what works for you and your particular razor.

Some folks strop after shaving to clean the edge, I don't, but I do "strop" against a piece of tissue with some mineral oil on it to ward off corrosion on the edge.

-Chief

As for the number of passes needed on the strop before shaving, the correct number is that which brings the blade to a level of keenness needed to shave comfortably. So YMMV! You will learn this primarily through trial and error, at first. Later, you will be able to tell just by the way the blade feels and sounds on the strop. I would suggest 20 passes on the webbing and then at least that number on leather, for starters.

Cheers!

Thanks guys. That's good info.

I also picked up a couple vintage razors to see about honing and the like - $25 for a practice razor seems ok by me. I'll keep you posted on my first shaving experience - likely this weekend.

The advice is a guide so go with your comfort zone. The advice given is a nice way to ease yourself into straight shaving and building upon success.

I was overzealous and tried to shave the entire face each time out. It took 45+ minutes and I had to use my Mach 3 to clean up the results. I just keep getting better and better as I read the Wiki and shaved until the Mach 3 wasn't needed anymore. I had the fortitude to do it this way, but it could discourage a lot of newbies.

Each of my straights vary on the stopping. Generally, (up and back = 1 pass) 35 on the canvass and 40 - 50 on the leather strop get the razor into shape for the next shave. My stainless steel straights get more passes on the canvass and leather so about 45/60. Its the same with the pasted strop as well.

Every 2-5 shaves, I use my pasted strop and do anywhere from 5 - 10 passes on the 1.0 paste and 10 - 15 passes on the .50 paste. My Dovo Tortoise Swedish steel is soft and dulls quicker than my other straights. So that one gets a visit to the pasted strop more often than the others. It has 35-40 shaves on it, so it going to need a honing soon. Its still gives a great shave, but its feeling a little harsher than the other straights when shaving.

I hope this helps give you some idea and welcome to SRP.

Pabster

Well, it came in yesterday. It sure is pretty! I'm going to wait until the weekend so I can devote some time to it. It whipped off a few arm hairs pretty easily so I think it's sharp enough.

In prep I booked a shave at a local barber to see what he does and get any tips I can. He's also said he's got a barber's hone he'd sell me so that will help I'm sure. I'll let you know on Monday how it goes.

I own a wapi and use the chinese 12k to refresh the edge as well. I like it a lot as it gives a really smooth finish to the edge and I no longer use diamond pastes to refresh as I prefer the edge straight off the 12k better.

That being said, if you plan on owning a lot of razors you might want to invest in a 'faster' hone as my wapi usually needs 100-120 strokes on this hone so it takes a little longer. I don't really mind this though as I only own two razors, so it's up to you I guess.

I have 3 Wapi's with original scales. No major balance issues for me.

The C12k is good, and you can also find them at Woodworking Plans & Tools | Fine Woodworking Project & Supplies at Woodcraft

I started with a Wapi and metal scales and it's still in rotation. I like the blade a lot. I would run it 50 laps on straight leather every shave and then 15 post-shave but I have a different strop now so I'm running less laps. Not knowing the edge your personal strop will give makes me a bit reticent to say do exactly this many, but around 50 should get you close to what you want. Try less and try more and see what your edge likes. I also waited for a weekend so I could devote time to it, but I went for the whole face. I figure if your going to do it, then just do it. I was running about 45 minutes a shave back then but have since dropped down to BBS 99% of the time using only 10 minutes. I could now be easily done in less than five with just a single pass. If the razor really is shave-ready, then you won't need to strop it the first time prior to shaving. Stropping after the shave will be your option. You will need to strop it prior to shaving from then on out. Experiment, learn, enjoy. It is a wonderful thing, IMO, and isn't to be reduced to mere machinations or throttled by fear of the blade. Learn to STRETCH your skin, take your time, practice, and enjoy. The more you shave, the better you'll be. Too easy.

I have a lot of razor, but no Wapi's. I don't think they're that different from any other carbon steel razor, so, with that being said, I think the norm is about 20-25 laps on your linen or cotton webbing side. The thought is that is will warm up your edge for leather. I like to think it cleans it up a bit. When you get to the Leather, 50 lapps is the norm. Pay attention to your stropping. Speed will come with practice. The Chinese 12k you have is a slow finisher. 100 lapps is the norm for that hone. When your razor starts to pull or tug at your beard, it's time to break out the hone. If you have a slurry stone, you can get away with 50 lapps. It's a good hone, just a little slow. As you technique improves, you'll be able to fly through 100 lapps as if it were nothing. You may actually find it enjoyable....Feel free to PM me if you have any questions....

Rich

Thanks all for your help. I was supposed to get to it this weekend but I went for a shave on Friday and it was brutal! He used Personna blades in his shavette and my skin does not do well with over-sharp blades - Feathers just about gave me a rash. So I'll be holding off until I have time again.

I'll keep you posted.

Alright. So Monday I decide to give it a go. I did a wtg pass over my whole face, neck and jaw. Then switched to my DE. This has been a rough week on my skin and I only ended up doing 2 passes this morning because my face was feeling a bit used. I think I need to work on my stropping/barber stone work to get it sharp. It was definitely sharp enough to take hair off but it did leave me feeling very raw.

Any thoughts about raw feeling skin?