Quote Originally Posted by dfopp View Post
Just started shaving with a straight razor. When I purchased my Dovo Best Quality I noticed that there was a razor right next to it that said "shave ready" but was quite a bit more expensive. When asked if the razor I purchased was "shave ready" the proptrietor looked at it and said it should do just fine. Being a new razor should I have it honed or not? It shaves pretty well and I have had pretty good luck not bleeding to death. Actually there have been several times I felt like I should have cut myself wide open but did not. A friend that shaves with staright razors looked at it and told me to just strop the F*** out of it. Sometimes it feels like it drags over the stiffer whiskers on my chin. I do strop it before each shave. Don't know of it should be cutting easier or if this is how it;s supposed to feel. Thanks for any help.
If you have the angle correct and the razor sharp it should shave
a lot like or better than a Yellow Handle BiC tossable razor. Both
are sharp steel.... Double edge razors are another option if you
have one in the house.

A well honed open razor has the potential of being sharper
and smoother than the BiC and since the angle can be adjusted
to be optimum for your face the shave can be better too.

So strop the fleas out of it and shave what you can finishing
the difficult places with a tossable. Holding the razor safely,
stropping and shaving the full face takes some practice.

Your stropping will improve and with it the shave. Eventually
stropping will no longer refresh the edge at which time it
will need a touch up on a hone set (8000 grit or finer to finish).
Sending the razor to an expert is recommended because you
will get to experience "sharp" and need not invest in a full
set of hones. One option is to take ShavedZombie up on his offer....

All this time you will garner experience "lathering".
Skin and whisker prep are important. It pays to worry away
half a puck of inexpensive shave soap "Latherin". Building
a good shaving lather is easy but takes practice.

Does your friend use an open razor and if so how does he
(or she) hone his?