Thread: Practice?

Hi everybody, I am a new member/poster here.

I have been shaving with an old (older than I am) butterfly action Gillette DE razor for years. Recently I bought a job lot of razor blades on ebay. They came with a cheap and nasty "shavette" which got me wondering about shaving with a real straight razor.

So, I have a razor from whippeddog.com on its way and I have got myself a cheap starter strop (I was already using shaving soap and a brush).

Anyway, I have also picked up an old Frank Revitt straight razor on ebay for under a fiver which is in really good condition other than being as blunt as a butter knife. I am going to send it to someone to get it sharpened sometime but meanwhile would it be worth practising stropping with it or would it be different than stropping properly with a sharp blade?

Mark

Welcome SRP.
you definietly could practice the stropping . it will help you and speed up your learning process.
About the blade i am not sure it is a good blade or bad. post pictures if you can .
Basically if razor made in pakistan ,china usually wont be a good choose.(there is some exceptions- GD example)
Most important is read Wiki and get more idea about straight razor shaving.
it will get easier every day you use it.
gl and enjoy.

Originally Posted by flannelmeister

Hi everybody, I am a new member/poster here.

I have been shaving with an old (older than I am) butterfly action Gillette DE razor for years. Recently I bought a job lot of razor blades on ebay. They came with a cheap and nasty "shavette" which got me wondering about shaving with a real straight razor.

So, I have a razor from whippeddog.com on its way and I have got myself a cheap starter strop (I was already using shaving soap and a brush).

Anyway, I have also picked up an old Frank Revitt straight razor on ebay for under a fiver which is in really good condition other than being as blunt as a butter knife. I am going to send it to someone to get it sharpened sometime but meanwhile would it be worth practising stropping with it or would it be different than stropping properly with a sharp blade?

Mark

The ebay razor has been nowhere near Pakistan or China, it was made in Sheffield as near as I can make out somewhere between 1868 and 1919 by a cutler called Frank Revitt who branded his razors as "Virgil"

I will get some pictures taken and put them on here, plus some of the Ontario branded one that is coming from whippeddog.com when it arrives.

Meanwhile I guess it will be stropping practice until I have a shave-ready razor.

Welcome!

As Sham says, you can definately use that razor to practice stropping with. Thats a good way to start to get the feel of the blade on the leather.

Have fun and keep us posted!

you can practice to get used to the motion, but the feel is going to be different. (some shavers refer to this as the "draw" of the strop) it's good to practice keeping the spine flat on the strop, though, as that is the most common mistake when starting out.

welcome to the forum.

Originally Posted by flannelmeister

The ebay razor has been nowhere near Pakistan or China, it was made in Sheffield as near as I can make out somewhere between 1868 and 1919 by a cutler called Frank Revitt who branded his razors as "Virgil"


Meanwhile I guess it will be stropping practice until I have a shave-ready razor.

This is really a good news.
Now you have quality blade and yes please get it sharpen to shave ready condition.
I am sure 1 of srp member in UK will be able to help you out to start going.
Remember PRESSURE IS ENEMY OF STRAIGHT RAZOR SHAVING.
IF YOU will need pressure to make your blade cut hairs or make more passes in same location then there is some problem just stop and come back to form ask questions.
gl

Ok, as requested here are a couple of pictures, I hope I get this right, 1st time I've tried putting pictures on here:

Not bad for £4.20 plus postage I think, came in an old box too!

that is just beauty. have fun