Thread: Newbie needs advice before use!

Can some one experienced please check the items I’ve bought and tell me if I’ve got it right?
Taylor of Old Bond St. Badger Hair Shaving Brush & Sandalwood Soap Cake.
Cyril R. Salter Shaving Mug
Tony Miller’s Heirloom Hanging Strop
Geo. F. Trumper’s Coral Skin Food.
Dovo 5/8 Classic “Special” Straight Razor
Norton Waterstone 4k/8k 3”
Dovo white & yellow paste.

Also:
How do I shave under my nose?
Do I rinse the blade in water after each stroke like you do with a safety razor?
How do you wipe the blade clean without touching its edge?
Are diamond pastes (with a second strop) really necessary or just a gimmick?
If you use the canvass side of your strop, why do you use it?
Do razors need to be stored out of the bathroom and away from moisture?
How is it safety razor blades blunt quickly, yet a straight razor’s edge last a long time?
Any thing else?

Thank you so much.

Hi Antony and welcome aboard. Most of the gear you got is dead on, minus the pastes (I'll get to that later). First read all of the help files on this forum and download Lynn's shaving video. Your blade should cut a hanging hair (as described in the text files and shown on videos) before it's shave-ready. If it's a brand new Dovo, it won't take much (if any) honing before you can shave with it.

1) Shaving under the nose.. You start with the blade almost perpendicular to your face and decrease the angle as you move it toward the lip. Going against the grain is a matter of developing the right touch with a sharp blade. Not too difficult but be careful.

2) Not necessary after each stroke, but you should do it after each section of the face (left cheek, right cheek, left neck, right neck, left moustache+chin, right moustache+chin). Again, Lynn's video is a great tool for this stuff.

3) The best bet is to do a stropping motion on a stretched towel. If it's a really hollow grind, you may even want to support the towel with the palm of your hand. One in each direction should do it. Then you use a cotton ball soaked in alcohol, diagonally from the spine to the edge, with practically no pressure. The alcohol disolves soap residue.

4) You are wrong on both counts. They're a useful tool to refresh the edge after 10-15 shaves, but you can also do that with a finishing hone like the Belgian coticule or Shapton 15k pro series. Since you're already starting with a hone, I'd continue doing it if I were you.

5) You can use the canvas to dry your blade (basic stropping motion) and some people use it to prep the blade for stropping. I've been moving away from that lately, but it does no harm.

6) Yes, especially if they're not stainless. Even if they are, the moisture can damage your scales. I don't even keep my brush in the bathroom.

7) Higher quality steel and a longer working area make them last twice as long.

Anything else:
1) If your blade is close to being shave ready or just being touched up, use the lightest possible pressure, just enough to keep it flat on the hone.
2) Don't strop it before you hone the edge properly. It's a waste of your time.
3) Relax and enjoy yourself

Originally Posted by antony

Can some one experienced please check the items I’ve bought and tell me if I’ve got it right?
Taylor of Old Bond St. Badger Hair Shaving Brush & Sandalwood Soap Cake.
Cyril R. Salter Shaving Mug
Tony Miller’s Heirloom Hanging Strop
Geo. F. Trumper’s Coral Skin Food.
Dovo 5/8 Classic “Special” Straight Razor
Norton Waterstone 4k/8k 3”
Dovo white & yellow paste.

Also:
How do I shave under my nose?
Do I rinse the blade in water after each stroke like you do with a safety razor?
How do you wipe the blade clean without touching its edge?
Are diamond pastes (with a second strop) really necessary or just a gimmick?
If you use the canvass side of your strop, why do you use it?
Do razors need to be stored out of the bathroom and away from moisture?
How is it safety razor blades blunt quickly, yet a straight razor’s edge last a long time?
Any thing else?

Thank you so much.

Whew! I'll take a stab at that. The stuff you've bought is fine. You won't need the Dovo pastes, IMO since Tony's strops are ready to go when you get them. The big issue is whether or not the razor is shave-ready. If you bought the razor new and it wasn't from Heirloom, chances are it needs honing before use. There are plenty of members that can hone it for you if necessary. The waterstone is good if you know how to use it, but if you get the razor honed by someone experienced, you won't need it anytime soon.
To shave under your nose, try this:
Press your lips together to stretch the skin under your nose (the closest thing I can compare it too is the face a woman makes after she applies lipstick!). Hold the razor with the edge facing downward and place the edge at the base of your nostrils with the spine resting against your nose. Shave downwards while simultaneously "rolling" the edge away from you. Basically, you move the edge downwards while keeping the spine in contact with your nose. This takes practice and I do it in sections (left, middle, right).
After the razor is loaded with stubble and lather, I carefully run it under the faucet. Never swish it around in a container. Just run the length of the blade pointed upwards back and forth under the running water.
You should avoid touching the edge when drying it. It will air dry rather quickly or you can restrop after your done if you like. For the rest of the blade I just take a square of TP and carefully wipe the spine and sides. If any water gets between the scales I just pull the paper between them.
Diamond pastes are great. They refresh the edge without having to hone it. Plus, they use the same movements that you've already learned from stropping. Look up some of the reviews on Tony's pasted strops.
From what I understand (I could be wrong) the canvas side heats up the edge and prepares it for alignment on the leather side.
In most cases, razors are made of natural materials and carbon steel which are vulnerable to moisture. I keep my razors in a mug in my bedroom and grab one on my way to bathroom in the morning. Cheap insurance.
IMO, safety razor blades dull because there is no maintenance involved. You don't strop them, polish them or hone them. They are made to be used only a few times so, while they are sharp, very little effort is expended in the manufacturing process to make them last. The fewer shaves you can get from a disposable, the more replacement blades you have to buy. This makes the blade manufacturers happy.
By the way, there is a ton more info out there but I hope I covered all the main points for you.

I disagree with the 'common knowledge' concerning bathroom storage of razors...I know, everyone's surprised. It is a function of humidity/moisture. If your bathroom is properly ventilated there is no reason not to store your shaving equipment there. I have always stored my razors in the bathroom (a ten-day rotation), I do not oil them, and I've never had the slightest speck of discoloration or rust. For background, I also live in Alabama and it is unusual for the humidity at any time of the year to be below 50%...80-90% is typical during the summer.

If you're having corrosion problems, install a properly vented exhaust fan.

Just another data point,
Ed

First of all, let me join others in making you feel welcome. It's good to have another n00b around to refresh the beginner's mind in myself. Thank-you for your questions. I think you're being given good advice so far so I'll just add to what is already present.

Your gear seems top notch and I agree that you proabbly don't need the pastes now. Please go to the User Gallery and start reading the Permanent Archives. Read and use the Pyramid if your razor doesn't arrive shave sharp.

Originally Posted by antony

How do I shave under my nose?

I use sideways or cross grain passes angling downward on the first pass and upward on the second. Away from your nose in every case.

Originally Posted by antony

Do I rinse the blade in water after each stroke like you do with a safety razor?

I do after each few strokes. Just a force of habbit from disposable days, but I also follow that with a light stropping once per side on a cotton towel. Some just use a towel.

Originally Posted by antony

How do you wipe the blade clean without touching its edge?

At the end of the shave I wrap the towel around the blade from the spine and wipe the whole blade except the edge clean. I then use some TP with rubbing alchohol to clean the blade including the edge in a stropiing motion and sometimes follow that with a few ultra light stropping passes on a soft leather strop.

Originally Posted by antony

Are diamond pastes (with a second strop) really necessary or just a gimmick?

As mentioned most will use these on a paddle strop after several shaves or as a finishing step in the honing process.

Originally Posted by antony

If you use the canvass side of your strop, why do you use it?

To heat the metal edge so it will respond to the action of the strop better. Some say it smooths rough spots on the edge. I believe them. Some even say it helps sharpen the edge. If they're using paste or chalk on it then I also believe them.

Originally Posted by antony

Do razors need to be stored out of the bathroom and away from moisture?

Proper cleaning and air drying shouldn't cause you problems in any room unless, like Ed says, it's unventilated. The main reason I still choose to keep my razors out of the bathroom is so that visitors, especially the younger variety, don't get at them and f*** up either my razors or themselves.

Originally Posted by antony

How is it safety razor blades blunt quickly, yet a straight razor’s edge last a long time?

I'm with those who believe that proper maintenance goes a long way to extending the life of your edge.

Originally Posted by antony

Any thing else?

Oh, so much, but where to start? Just keep piping in when a new question or concern comes to mind.

Originally Posted by antony

Thank you so much.

YW

X

Thanks to all who responded.
I wasn't expecting so much help.
That's great... thanks!