As I mentioned in my introduction, I've been straight razor shaving for about two years now. But I must admit, I've kinda cheated. I've been using a replaceable blade razor with very straight-cornered edges. It has worked for quite some time, but those corners require a very steady hand (I've nicked myself SEVERAL times in the last two years) and if I can give any advice from my experience, this was not the type of blade to learn with lol.

At any rate, using a replaceable blade never required me to use a hone or strop. From what I've read thus far, a hone is likely the last thing I need to be concerned with, as is a brand new razor. So I think I'd be comfortable with a 6/8, and the thickness and rounded edges of a good starter blade would be most welcome in my arsenal. So here's where I need the advice of experienced straight razor users.

With a new strop, what do I need to do to break it in? I'm reading the name of the new strop I have. My wife overheard me saying I needed to get one, and she ran off and bought the dreaded "selective professional" tools strop. It came with two straight razors made in Pakistan. Obviously, I won't even try to do anything with the razors, because I've read that it's simply not worth the time. Firstly I know this brand is advised against. However, the strop is new, and it appears to be 2 inches wide, and not including the handles and metal mounting, 14 inches in length. It has two straps on it, one appears to be two-sided leather (the rougher being on the inside). The other strap appears to be a dyed black leather material (probably synthetic) with a cloth finish on the inside. I have NO idea what these different sides are for or the cloth (if they are for anything), how to break it in, or if I should even use the thing. If someone could give me some advice here, I'd be grateful.

Finally, for a used straight razor. Obviously the top three brands offer different strengths and weaknesses. If just by a brief description of those who reply to this post, of their experience with their first used razors, it would be very helpful. Obviously I'm looking for something that is truly shave-ready, as I don't plan to try my hand at honing for quite some time, and I'd prefer to push stropping off for as long as I can (but when the time comes to stropping, I want to make sure I have the right strop, technique, and I pretty sure I will need a blade that will be forgiving of my rookie mistakes).

Thanks in advance to those who take the time to reply with some info for me, as I know most probably aren't getting paid to do this. Again, it is really awesome of you folks to have a website like this!

~Big Kajun~