Thread: Lurking around for a while. Just took the leap.

I've been lurking around here for awhile. I'm kind of going gradually into this. First I bought a silver tip bore brush and used regular disposables. Then I bought an old Gillette DE razor with the adjustable cutting angle. Now I'm making good lather and getting great results with Feather blades, Proraso shaving cream, (I tried others including Truefitt & Hill but keep coming back to Proraso.) But I still wanted to go more pure into the shaving thing.

I just bought from the classified a Geneva Straight Razor 5/8" for $31 dollars. I don't think it's shave ready so I'll be having it professionally honed.

I don't know if this is the right place to ask or if I should go to strops. But here goes, How's a razor back strop? I'm told it's pig skin?

Thanks to everyone here for such great information and a community spirit.

Dave

Welcome to SRP Dave. Having some of the shaving prep and lathering techniques learned will help a lot when you start with straight razor shaving. Strops are usually either cow or horsehide. Some are known as Latigo (cow) or Shell (horse). Each has it's own characteristics and some like one better than the other. Both are good. Your best bet is probably a beginner's strop until you learn that as they can get nicked up while you're learning.

Here is the beginner's guide in the SRP Wiki and here is SRP founder Lynn Abrams suggestions for your first straight razor shaves. Keep asking questions as you go and you'll have it down in no time.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Your best bet is probably a beginner's strop until you learn that as they can get nicked up while you're learning.

in my limited experience, they WILL get nicked up as you're learning. I tried everything to be patient and learn right before moving onto an actual strop and I still got a couple nicks in mine.

Ok I'll remember that. Thanks,
Dave

+1 on strops getting nicked up. The way I see it, there's two options available for this. You can buy a newbie strop to learn on. I'd recommend a Fromm strop off Amazon (~30-35USD), but the RupRazor Filly (20USD) is also a decent strop for learning on, and cheap with it too. Alternatively, you can buy one of Tony Miller's beautiful Artisan strops (Latigo or Horsehide) for about double this cost (~65-70USD), and he'll sell you a practice strop, suitable for learning on, for a mere additional $7.50.

If you've got the money to spend, I'd personally recommend going with option two - that way, once you've learnt to strop properly, you don't have to shell out more money to upgrade from your nicked-to-all-buggery learner strop to a premium strop, as it's all there, ready and waiting for you to be able to use it properly.

Hope that I've helped you somehow, and welcome to the community.