Stropping Advice Discrepancies

Just bought a new straight for myself (of course, why else would I be posting?). As I've been shaving face and head over the past year I wanted to get out from under constantly buying disposables.

The razor is a Thiers-Issard full hollow ground. In reading the documentation/manual/insert that came with the razor, it all says very specifically to 'not strop the razor' the first few times you use it. I find this a little strange, especially when I've seen most advice here about stropping before a shave, even with a new razor (including the Lynn Abrams welcome/first time SR shave thread).

So why the discrepancy? Why would the manufacturer recommend not stropping for the first few shaves? Maybe I'm just misreading?

Although the general consensus is that T.I. edges are rather good right out of the box, the real question is whether this particular razor is even shave ready?

Where did you buy it from? If you purchased it from a vendor that provides honing services for their razors, then it is most likely shave ready. If that is the case, I would say that the first shave, you would not need to strop, but subsequent shaves you would.

If the razor was purchased from another source that does not sell their razors shave ready, the first step is to get this razor honed.

Lot of personal preference out there.

I ship razors with an oil coating, so I normally recommend rinsing off the oil, stropping and shaving. Others recommend just wiping off the oil and shaving.

Why don't you just try to shave with the razor and see how it is. If it shaves great, then you're fine. If it doesn't, try stropping and shaving. If it shaves great, then you're fine. If it doesn't shave great, then you might want to have it honed.

I personally, have not had much luck with either TI or Dovo straight razors being shave ready right out of the box.

Have fun,

Lynn

Most of the vendors of 'shave-ready' razors usually advise not to strop before the first use, in order that you know what 'shave-ready' really feels like. It appears that new TI razors might be better 'out of the box' than Dovos.
Cue an experieced TI owner or vendor to give you the answer.

Lynn's advice is better than mine.

Well the TI also says their razors are good to go out of the box, and for years the consensus was that they need honing, not just stropping. Recently (few months) TI has said that they have improved the edges compared to what they were shipping and at least one person claimed that to be true. I have no personal experience with this since I haven't bought a new TI for probably over a year. Then there's the question how long has your razor stayed in the retail chain. The fresh steel on the bevel starts oxidizing the moment it leaves the hones.

Do as Lynn says and see how it goes. If everything is great then you're golden. The problem you'll have, if it doesn't go too well, is that you won't know for sure whether it's mostly the razor, or your shaving. That's why it's always best to start with a razor that has been tested to be shave-ready by somebody you trust, and that shouldn't be a retail store clerk who repeats what they're told, but a person who shaves with straight razors.

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Originally Posted by welshwizard

Most of the vendors of 'shave-ready' razors usually advise not to strop before the first use, in order that you know what 'shave-ready' really feels like. It appears that new TI razors might be better 'out of the box' than Dovos.
Cue an experieced TI owner or vendor to give you the answer.

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Well........

Knowing where the advice originally came from regarding stropping a freshly honed razor, I can tell you that it started because new guys many years ago were dulling newly honed razors from stropping and they normally could get a decent first shave if they didn't strop so long as they had a decent shaving angle and preparation. Since then, with oiling the blades, we have seen a lot of different stuff out of the new folks including thinking the blade was not sharp from trying to cut a hair from an oiled blade or one where the oil was wiped off, but the razor not rinsed or stropped. This pre-disposed people to thinking the razor was not sharp. The biggest problem still for new folks is to get the shaving angle correct as the wrist wants to bend back with the razor in it creating too great an angle for comfortable shaving.

I still own around 20 TI's and still sharpen new ones for people and it has been a rare experience for me to find one shave ready out of the box. Same with Dovo. It can happen in my experience, but it has been rare. The grind of some of the new TI's has not been all that great lately either in my opinion seeing a deeper bevel on the front of the razor from them cutting of a burr and the uneven flattening on some of the spines. The flattening on the spines from Dovo seems more consistent to me, but still no hand made razor is going to be absolutely perfect. Each manufacturer has their own technique on the final grinding and there are definitely difference between them.

Personally, I would love for every razor to be shave ready out of the box from the Manufacturers, but I don't think they will be shave testing them all any day soon to be sure. The closer they come though, the better.

It is hard for the new guys these days as their are lots of opinions and a ton of personal preference and favoritism in different products. Such is life and in the end, each of us has to decide what works best from our own experience.

Have fun,

Lynn

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lynn

Lot of personal preference out there.

I ship razors with an oil coating, so I normally recommend rinsing off the oil, stropping and shaving. Others recommend just wiping off the oil and shaving.

Why don't you just try to shave with the razor and see how it is. If it shaves great, then you're fine. If it doesn't, try stropping and shaving. If it shaves great, then you're fine. If it doesn't shave great, then you might want to have it honed.

I personally, have not had much luck with either TI or Dovo straight razors being shave ready right out of the box.

Have fun,

Lynn

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I picked up the razor from a place called the Art of Shaving. I found my way there via a local knife shop that recommended them as a start. It's probably a little over-priced, but it seems like the quality is there.

The razor was boxed oiled and billed as 'shave-ready'. Whether or not that is the case remains to be seen. I intend to try start with the shave right out of the box to see how it is then go from there. I was just a little surprised at the insert about care and sharpening that states "Only strop the razor after several shaves" (direct quote). It was just unexpected after reading so much about the importance of stropping even really shave ready new blades.

Fun I will have, no matter how many pencils I end up using. If I scalp myself, then that'll be that much less real estate I'll have to worry about shaving at least.

o/~ Always look on the briiight side of life... dee do dee do dee do do do do dee do) o/~

Welcome to SRP Lazarus and good luck with the TI. If it turns out to be lacking in the shave readiness you can send it to Lynn or one of the other honemeisters in "member services" in the SRP Classifieds. They will get it up to speed for a nominal fee.

Did my first shave with this razor last night (w/o stropping). That was a fascinating experience. It probably could've used a little bit of a strop, I think. The sides of my face went fine both W and XTG, but the chin posed some problems. Still did alright - little bit of RB here and there, but nothing significant - that was probably more due to user error than anything else. There were times when the blade wanted to catch, but I'm used to that, even with a MachIII.

The chin and some areas of the neck are, in general, the toughest areas for most of us. The mustache can be tough too. Read my sig below to avoid nicks and cuts. If you find your razor is not 'cutting it' (pun intended) think about sending it out to a honemeister. That may make a big difference.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

The chin and some areas of the neck are, in general, the toughest areas for most of us. The mustache can be tough too. Read my sig below to avoid nicks and cuts. If you find your razor is not 'cutting it' (pun intended) think about sending it out to a honemeister. That may make a big difference.

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I actually had your sig in mind as I shaved last night. I've noticed it in much of the reading I've done. And I did expect the chin to be... stubborn. I plan on using some pre-shave oil on the next go round. It'll be interesting to see the difference (if any) with that and some stropping before-hand. Plus, I had to do the hot cloth prep instead of a shower (my wee one was in the bath at the time).