Thread: Just getting started, the first shave was tonight.

Alright, I haven't cut myself... yet. My first razor, and strop showed up today! Despite being "ready to shave" it wasn't. I used the shaving cream I had sitting around (the good stuff is on the way w/the brush), and I didn't strop enough. I did take the suggestion to only do one cheek, and I have to say it turned out as well as shaving with the disposable (maybe a little better).

I suspect that my razor (a F.W. Engels Leader) needs to be stropped by someone who knows what they are doing, or just stropped more. It fails the hair test, but has no burr (or wire) edge, shows no blunting, and will shave my arm hair. I suppose it could be fine, and the soap could be the issue. So what do you think? More stropping?

If your anything like me more stropping just means a quicker trip to getting it honed again.

Did the razor come "Shave Ready" from someone here or a vendor? I know when MAXI honed my two his instructions were to not strop them before I shaved because he wanted me to feel what it was supposed to feel like before I buggered it up.

You can watch all the videos and read the wiki till your blue in the face but nothing compares to sitting down with someone and having them show you the pressure, stroke, roll, defelction in person. Made a huge difference and I thought I was doing well aside from carving up my strop a little

mckee,

I think that very nearly everybody goes through this when they start straight shaving; so many things have to come together just so.

When I re-took up straight shaving a few years back, my poor Wapi went back to be re-honed three (3) times. I knackered the edge by bad stropping twice (badly nicked the edge of the strop which was bad for the strop and the blade), and then when it came back for the second time, I dinged it on the tap (faucet) !!

I got myself a 'beater' razor, and practiced stropping with that on the back of the strop until all was well.

It is all part of the rite-of-passgage for straight razor shavers

Good luck and good shaving !

Best regards

Russ

Originally Posted by mckee

I suspect that my razor (a F.W. Engels Leader) needs to be stropped by someone who knows what they are doing, or just stropped more. It fails the hair test, but has no burr (or wire) edge, shows no blunting, and will shave my arm hair. I suppose it could be fine, and the soap could be the issue. So what do you think? More stropping?

How many laps did you do on the strop?

If you mean it shaves arm hair when you hold it against the skin, that's a poor test of "shave readiness". If you hold it 1/8" _above_ the skin, and it catches and/or cuts arm hair, that's a better test. The only _real_ test is to shave with it -- but you can only judge the results after you have some experience.

If you're stropping correctly:

. . . holding the razor flat against the strop, and
. . . holding the strop tight, and
. . . using very little pressure on the edge (so the strop doesn't bend around the edge, and curl it),

"more stropping" might help. It has helped on some of my razors. You need to keep the spine tight against the strop, with much lighter pressure on the edge. See here:

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

"More stropping" is the cheapest thing you can do. If you're stropping correctly, 100 laps might help the edge. If you're stropping incorrectly, you'll make things worse.

Charles

If you have a strop with a linen side, I'd recommend as many as 50 laps on that side then as many as 100 on the leather side. As Phatman pointed out, the problem at first with straight shaving is that so many skills intersect right at the shave point, and they all have to be fairly good to get a good shave. Those include the blade sharpness, technique, preparation, and stropping capability. If one is off just a bit, problems ensue. Take heart in the fact that your first shave is likely to be your least effective, then it gets better.

I figure I'll try the ~100 strop s on the leather side (after I get a hook in the right place), before I give up and look for help.