Razors and Beer

Just got my first straight razor from my wonderful wife, for Christmas. I hope this the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship. With the razor i mean, as I already have a beautiful relationship with my wife. Its a new Dovo. Anyway, I'm wondering what I need to complete my setup. Yes I have read though some forum posts and some guides here. Many times in fact. But I am finding some confusing info. I make my own beer. When i began brewing, i ran into the same problem. Everyone you ask, has their opinion on the best methods, techiques, recipes, and equipment. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but its really confusing for a person starting out and just wants to know where to begin. So I ask you, as 100% noob, where do i start? I have the razor, but it needs honed. Do I learn to do it myself, which is ultimately my goal anyway, or send it off this first time? I need a strop. What brand, what material (one or two sided), how wide, paste or no paste, what kind of paste? I want to learn to hone. How do i best learn? What brand of hone is best without breaking the bank? 4k/8k seems to be the common type mentioned around here, but there also lots of talk about finer grits and diamond pastes. Are these 100% necessary for an edge that passes the standing hair test? Long time lurker, but first time poster. Go easy on me. Also, Merry Christmas.

First, welcome to SRP! Sounds like you're off to a good start if you've got a new Dovo. Now you need a strop. Depending upon your experience with wet shaving using other hardware, you may also want to get a good brush and some nice cream.

All of this information can be more fully found in the Wiki. I highly recommend you start there!

As for the honing, do NOT try to do it yourself initially. Send it out for a professional honing. That way you can focus on learning to shave with a properly prepared instrument. I don't recommend even thinking about honing until you've been shaving successfully for several months. Until then, your attention should be kept on technique, technique and technique!

Good luck, ask lots of questions, and keep us all informed. We all love to see others starting down the same road we've travelled!

BTW, Merry Christmas!

Welcom to SRP mranderson! Basically a +1 to what LegalBeagle said.
As for a strop get yourself a decent "starter strop"...you're going to nick it, we all have :) I believe ruprazor and a few other reputable vendors have decently priced starter ones so you wont feel as bad if something happens to it. Best of luck, take your time and enjoy it. Merry Christmas!

Makes sense. I do want to focus on learning technique first and want to know what a properly honed razor feels like. So I'll send it off. The "beginner strop" also sounds like some wise advice, so I'll be going that route as well. I'm also in the process of reading through the wikies. So thank you much.

Welcome aboard! A strop is a very necessary piece of equipment. You can't SR shave w/o it. Because straights have such a fine edge, they're prone to forming imperfections through use. A strop will get rid of these. As for pasting, that's not something noobs such as you and I (I've only been here a month) need to worry about. I got a great two sided (Linen/Leather) strop from classicshaving.com for about $35. About 30 passes on the linen side and 60 on the leather and you're good to go. So all you really need besides a SR (obviously) and strop is a good quality cream/soap, good brush, and maybe some nice aftershave.

Welcome to your new obsession!

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Originally Posted by mranderson

Just got my first straight razor from my wonderful wife, for Christmas. I hope this the beginning of a long and beautiful relationship. With the razor i mean, as I already have a beautiful relationship with my wife. Its a new Dovo. Anyway, I'm wondering what I need to complete my setup. Yes I have read though some forum posts and some guides here. Many times in fact. But I am finding some confusing info. I make my own beer. When i began brewing, i ran into the same problem. Everyone you ask, has their opinion on the best methods, techiques, recipes, and equipment. Everyone is entitled to their opinion of course, but its really confusing for a person starting out and just wants to know where to begin. So I ask you, as 100% noob, where do i start?

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Differences of opinion are to be had, I think much of comes from how a new shaver should approach straight shaving in general, whether it be a gentle entry, or jumping into the deep end. I'm of the gentle entry variety, so all my answers come from there.

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I have the razor, but it needs honed. Do I learn to do it myself, which is ultimately my goal anyway, or send it off this first time?

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I say send it off the first time, if not the first few times. Here's why: Getting a good shave with a straight is not just reliant on a sharp razor, but also heavily reliant on technique. A beginner, even if they have memorized the wiki, will still lack technique because they haven't developed the muscle memory and proper coordination. This means the first few shaves are guaranteed to be sub par, even with the sharpest of razors. Give that beginner a dull razor, and you are asking for a world of trouble.

Honing a straight is also an art (and different than sharpening knifes), and takes practice to get a nice edge on a straight razor. So if a beginner tries to learn to hone and shave at the same time, they aren't going to be getting good shaves and won't be able to tell if its technique or the razor. Starting with a shave ready razor means you don't have to worry about whether or not the razor is properly sharpened, you only have to worry about your technique.

By the time your razor will need it's first honing (assuming you haven't damaged the razor) you will know if you want to stick with straight shaving or not (it isnt' for everyone). At that point, investing in a set of hones is a good idea.

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I need a strop. What brand, what material (one or two sided), how wide, paste or no paste, what kind of paste?

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This really depends on your budget, but I would advise against an expensive strop since some beginners knick the hell out of their first strop. I think ruprazor strops are great starting strops. Good quality for relatively inexpensive price. I think a plain leather strop will suit you just fine, but having a canvas + leather can be nice too. If you want a pasted strop, get a different one to paste than your normal one. Pasted strops aren't really necessary, but they can be a nice middleground for refreshing an edge when a razor isn't quite ready for a honing, but isn't as sharp as it used to be.

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I want to learn to hone. How do i best learn? What brand of hone is best without breaking the bank? 4k/8k seems to be the common type mentioned around here, but there also lots of talk about finer grits and diamond pastes.

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I'm just learning to hone myself, and went for the norton 4k/8k, and I'm glad I did. Someone who is really into honing will get more stones to hone with, and some incorporate pasted strops into the process, but its not really necessary.

I also got some cheep ebay razors to practice honing on, and I'm glad I did. I can focus on my developing technique without fretting over damaging a razor I actually shave with.

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Are these 100% necessary for an edge that passes the standing hair test? Long time lurker, but first time poster. Go easy on me. Also, Merry Christmas.

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The only true test is the shave test. Good luck, and merry christmas!

LAsoxfan. Yeah I want to assemble the necessities asap because I feel like giddy kid on Christmas. I do have a brush though and I make my own soap and aftershave, so I'm good to go there. Sounds like i just need to get my razor honed and a strop. Well, that and study the shaving method and watch some how-to vids.

Yes, send it out and feel what a good edge is like first. Don't worry about any test other than the shave at the moment. A strop is obligatory and you're spoilt for choice, you sound like you've made a good one. Sooner or later you will want a hone, start with a finisher and learn to maintain the edge that someone who knows what they're doing already has put on your razor. Takes out the 'is my razor really sharp?' variable, and gives you a benchmark. Stick around and you'll pick the rest up. Believe it or not, this new hobby is as interesting as brewing. As Lynn says, 'have fun'.