Thread: new to straight shaving

Originally Posted by agaborszabo

Thanks again for all the info. I decided to go with the gold dollar and strop combo from RupRazor until I can get some experience and a feel for the shaving. I was wondering, do I have to strop before my first shave even if the razor is shave ready and its the first use? Also I live in a fairly humid environment and I heard the words "mineral oil" being thrown around as far as keeping the blade from not rusting. Can anyone give me some info as to what to do with the mineral oil i.e. how often to coat, how to remove before a shave, etc... Thanks again in advance for all your great and helpful comments and happy Thanksgiving.

I don't think that it's essential to strop one of Ken's razors before the first shave, but I don't think it would hurt anything if you did.

I live in south Louisiana, and you can't get much more humid than where I live. I do not oil my razors except when I'm putting them away for an extended period. I rotate between two razors that I shave with daily for two or three weeks, then I move those two out of rotation and start with another two. I oil the ones I move out of rotation with a light machine oil -- sewing machine oil works well. I do not oil the two that I'm using regularly, and I've never had a problem. However, after I use each of these, I rinse it thoroughly in very hot water, tap the handle against the bone of my hand to knock out as much water as possible, then towel dry the razor very, very well. Then, I place it in my razor rack tang up with most of the blade hanging out of the handle. Again, I've never had a problem.