Thread: Buying advice

Hey all,

I've always been fascinated by straight razors (not sure why (: )
Now I'm planning on finally buying some equipment for christmas.
I'll tell you what I plan on buying, so you guys can comment or give advice, any input whatsoever is appreciated.

Razor: (I've mailed the vendor to make sure the blade is shave ready, which it is)
DOVO Genuine Ebony & "Silver Steel" 5/8

Shaving brush:
TI Super Badger Horn Shaving Brush 23mm

Strop:
DOVO Russian Leather Strop

Also planning on buying a Belgian Coticule Stone

I'm probably also gonna buy some yellow and white paste for the strop.

Obviously I'm also going to get some shaving cream and some after shave.
(I already own an alum block and actually also a brush, not sure if the brush is any good in quality, it feels pretty 'harsh' and 'rough' not sure if this is the way it should feel, haven't wet it tho)

Question(s):
I'm new to all this, did quite some research but I'm not yet quite sure about some stuff.
While the blade is shave ready, after a while I'd have to hone it.
So I'm planning on a buying a belgian coticule.
The strop I plan on buying has two sides, a canvas and leather side. So I was wondering if this would work: honing the razor on the coticule stone, than strop it on the canvas side and finish it off by using the leather side of the strop.
Not sure if this makes sense.
Also when is it a good time to apply the paste (regular yellow and white)?

Anyway,
if something isn't clear feel free to ask
thanks a lot in advance!

Welcome to SRD.
After the stone , you do a few laps on the linen then the leather strop.
The coticule is finishing stone and will not hone your razor when it gets dull.
Che ck out the wiki about honing razors, and the stones needed to do that successfully. You might want to consider a pasted strop .

Hm ok thanks for the reply,

I found another hone, a coticule with a 4000 and 8000 grit side
I might add this to the list
so if I understand correctly after honing with that stone on the 4K and 8K side I could finish it off with the belgian coticule or with some strop pastes, followed by some strops on the linen side and the leather side of the strop?

or could I skip the belgian coticule and pastes and just strop on the linen side of the strop since as I read that works as a light honing

If your razor is truly shave ready, not just factory honed you dont need any stones other than a barbers hone. A barbers hone will keep it sharp indefinately. The coticles and other stones are for making a dull razor sharp or edge restoration. A good razor, strop and brush/soap is all you truly need to get started.

Welcome to SRP. A shave ready Dovo is a good choice and the rest of the stuff you mention but if it was me I would dip my foot in the water rather than diving in. I would just get the razor and the strop to begin with until I learned to shave well enough to know for sure I was going to stick with it. On my daily strop I don't use any paste at all.

Before you go to the expense of buying a hone do some reading in the SRP Wiki here on the different choices you have and their characteristics. Before you begin to strop take a look at the 1961 barber manual excerpt here. The last couple of pages have some very good suggestions on learning to strop properly. The other pages are equally good on honing.

Finally take a look at the SRP Wiki beginner's guide where you'll find more info to point you in the right direction here.

Thanks alot everybody , this cleared up quite a bit
I did mail to make clear that the razor is shave ready, they claim that it is
So the razor, strop, (brush) and soap is what I will buy to start out.

The only question left is after how long of use would u need to hone your razor on the barbers hone? Otherwise I'm in no hurry to buy one, but I eventually could.

Thanks alot for the helpful advice,
appreciate it

Hi, and welcome. If you don't mind me saying, your getting a little ahead of yourself. Many guys come back after the first shave and say, There's something wrong with my razor. No offense, but there's nothing more dangerous, than a newbie and a hone.
You'll be tempted to take that nice new dovo to the rock after your first shave doesn't work out. I've seen it a million times. Please don't. there's a huge learning curve here. Coticules, which I know something about, are one of the most versatile stones out there. The same stone for finishing can also be used to create a bevel. You can do some serious damage with that stone. The 4k/8k you speak of is Coticule combo, possibly a natural. We need pics to determine. Anyway, listen to Kelly up there, aka
Nun2sharp. A good Barber's hone will keep your razor shave ready and keep the damage down to a minimum. First learn to master the shave, then worry about honing. What if you don't like it? Anyway, just some things to think about...Let us know if we can help...
Rich

P.S. Jimmy beat me to the punch.....

Depending on your beard and prep routine the edge on your razor should last 2-3 months on average, after that the razor will start to pull/tug and stropping wont fix it, then its time for the barbers hone, 3-6 round trips back and forth should bring it back up to par, strop and shave.

Ok guys,
thanks alot for all the advice,
guess I was pretty psyched and getting ahead of myself.
so I will start out with the very basics, I surely don't wanna ruin the razor,
I will start out with the razor, strop and brush/soap.
We'll see from there on, I know practice makes perfect and I'm pretty eager to master shaving with a straight razor, being very aware of the learning curve. If I like it I will buy a barber's hone after a couple of months and continue what I'm doing.

Thanks for all the replies,
greatly appreciated!

Sounds like a better plan. Let us know if you need any help at all...

Rich