Thread: beginner with maintenance questions

first i would just like to thank whoever answers my questions as you have no doubt heard similar questions from the other newbies....

on stropping...
i know you should strop before shaving, but do you strop after as well? and what's the paste for?

on honing...
i have a 4000/8000 water stone but how often should you hone your razor?

that's it for now and thanks again guys....

Originally Posted by joshnd1978

first i would just like to thank whoever answers my questions as you have no doubt heard similar questions from the other newbies....

on stropping...
i know you should strop before shaving, but do you strop after as well? and what's the paste for?

Welcome! Yes, you should definitely strop before every shave. There seem to be different opinions on stropping after shaving, however, it seems like most do. Stropping after shaving is more to dry the blade and clean the edge prior to storing your razor. Personally, I strop 10 linen and 10 leather prior to storing my razor.

I will let some of the more experienced members address your honing question as other than a barber hone, I have yet to put steel to stone.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by joshnd1978

first i would just like to thank whoever answers my questions as you have no doubt heard similar questions from the other newbies....

on stropping...
i know you should strop before shaving, but do you strop after as well? and what's the paste for?

on honing...
i have a 4000/8000 water stone but how often should you hone your razor?

that's it for now and thanks again guys....

Welcome to the forum and the world of straight razors.

Some members strop after shaving, the theory being that this will remove any residual moisture from the edge.

Paste is used as an additional very fine abrasive to finish polishing an edge after honing, or to restore an edge that is not too far gone.

Frequency of honing any particular razor is highly variable. Assuming it was shave ready in the beginning, a razor can be maintained with just stropping and a pasted paddle or a few passes on a barber's hone for a very long time.

Originally Posted by joshnd1978

first i would just like to thank whoever answers my questions as you have no doubt heard similar questions from the other newbies....

on stropping...
i know you should strop before shaving, but do you strop after as well? and what's the paste for?

on honing...
i have a 4000/8000 water stone but how often should you hone your razor?

that's it for now and thanks again guys....

I strop both before and after the shave. Before to restore keeness to the edge and after to remove bioburden that may damage the edge.

How often should you hone? The easy answer is 'as often as it needs it' and the more complicated answer is about every three months or so assuming you're using a pasted strop every couple weeks to keep your edge ready to go.

Before I shave I strop 25 on canvass followed by 60 on leather. I don't currently strop after I shave. I rinse the blade with hot water, dry it with a tissue and oil it with mineral oil. Then it sits open on a folded towel for a while before closing it and putting it away.

The edge of your razor will need touching up when it starts pulling and tugging (with proper shaving technique) and proper stropping no longer will recover the edge. Some members will use a pasted strop for that touch up, others will hone their razor.

For now, focus on learning good stropping and shaving technique. Your face will let you know when your razor needs a tuneup.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

Originally Posted by joshnd1978

... snip....
on honing...
i have a 4000/8000 water stone but how often should you hone your razor?
t....snip....

The obvious answer is to hone when it needs it --
but that is not a helpful answer.

In an ideal world you hone just before it needs it.
You will feel changes in a blade after stropping.
It will start out wonderful and sharp then it will
mellow and just shave fine and dandy. Eventually
you will strop the razor and it will not be ideal yet
it will give you a clean shave.

When it is not ideal it is time to give it a lick
or two on the hone. You can use the 8K side
of your combo stone a little like touch up barber hone.

About once a month (give or take) soak your hone
with water in a pan perhaps with half a drop of dish soap.
In a couple of moments it will be wet and then
rub the surface clean with your hand and then give the razor
five to ten laps on the 8K side.

Rinse, dry, strop and shave test the razor.

About twice a year you will want to give the razor
a short modified pyramid honing using both the 4K and 8K
sides. You can read about pyramid honing on
the wiki.
Pyramid honing guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki