Thread: Greatgoo's Straight Razor Adventure

You have a couple of shaves before needing a strop provided the razor is shave ready. I would suggest a 3" wide strop to start with. It will make your life much easier . I wish I had one when I first started. I would do as others have suggested and read up on stropping. There are some good videos about stropping also. One thing to remember about stropping is to keep the spine flat and not lift it. Doing so will dull the edge. I would also say use very light pressure on the strop. I hope this info helps. Good luck and welcome to SRP.

Originally Posted by razorman

You have a couple of shaves before needing a strop provided the razor is shave ready. I would suggest a 3" wide strop to start with. It will make your life much easier . I wish I had one when I first started. I would do as others have suggested and read up on stropping. There are some good videos about stropping also. One thing to remember about stropping is to keep the spine flat and not lift it. Doing so will dull the edge. I would also say use very light pressure on the strop. I hope this info helps. Good luck and welcome to SRP.

Any recommendations on where I would get a 3" beginner strop? Thanks!

This strop might work fine, without breaking the bank (a new comment was recently posted, which is how I stumbled on it)(and of course, it should be "Big Daddy"):

Bid Daddy 3" Leather/Felt Strop - Straight Razor Place Forums

Larry (at Whipped Dog) sells a decent "Poor Man's Strop Kit", but the leather strop is 2" wide -- you'll need an "X-stroke" to get the whole edge stropped.

Charles

Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

This strop might work fine, without breaking the bank (a new comment was recently posted, which is how I stumbled on it)(and of course, it should be "Big Daddy"):

Bid Daddy 3" Leather/Felt Strop - Straight Razor Place Forums

Larry (at Whipped Dog) sells a decent "Poor Man's Strop Kit", but the leather strop is 2" wide -- you'll need an "X-stroke" to get the whole edge stropped.

Charles

Thanks! Purchased from Star Shaving.

Well today I got my first razor from Larry at WhippedDog. I can't wait to get started tomorrow morning. I played a little with the razor to get myself familiar with it. I think it is going to be difficult maintaining a 30 degree angle. It is much easier to lose sight of the angle than with a DE razor. I also think that the 11/16 blade is going to be too big for me. I have smaller hands (insert joke) and think I would do better with a smaller 5/8.

I was reading the wiki section and came across something that seemed odd to me. Does everyone change angles depending on if it is WTG, XTG, & ATG? I just assumed with was 30 degrees all the time like DE shaving.

Shaving passes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Thanks!

Completed my first shave this morning doing just WTG. Wow this is going to be a tough challenge! I read that first time shavers experience a dragging or pulling when using the straight razor. I experience the same thing. Why is this? Poor angle? I also struggled with blade pressure and hand positioning. I was pretty much all over the place. I need to regroup and try again tomorrow.

Any advice?

Keep the face wet and well lathered. Take it nice and slow. No pressure and the 30 degree angle is just a recommendation, if a smaller angle works better for you go for it.
Get your hands on a strop. In the mean time practice with a butter knife on you leather belt. I have even used my belt for stropping until mine came in the mail.
What are you doing for a pre-shave to Soften up those bristles?

Congrats on your first try! Try not to get discouraged at first. The learning curve is somewhat steep in the early stages. If a different angle (less than 30 degrees) seems to work better, I would give it a try. The 30 degree angle is only a rough guide. In terms of pulling, it sounds like the razor may not be shave ready.As soon as the strop comes, I would strop it according to the instructions that will come with it. It may need more strokes on the leather, but try 40 on the felt side, then 50 on the leather. Good luck.

I am glad you found the Big Daddy strop. I was going to send you the link but had other issues to tend to. I think that strop from starshaving will make stropping much easier for you.