Thread: Getting a bit overwhelmed...

Hello,

Im the kind of person that tries to learn everything I can when I take on a new hobby or activity. I've bought 4 str8 razors and I have all the tools and material I need to make new handle scales and clean/polish the rust/pits off the blade. Shooter74743 has kindly offered to properly sharpen one of my razors so all I really need to learn now is how to shave and maintain my shaving edge. I've read a lot of info on this site but there's so much to take in Im getting overwhelmed. I haven't bought a strop yet or a stone. It seems like so many people do things differently then one another. I cant believe how many stone and strops are available. Learning to shave seems to be less of a problem, if I shave wrong all I get is a cut or a bad shave. But if I strop wrong or I use my stone wrong Ill probably destroy the edge Shooter74743 spent his own personal time doing and thats the last thing I want to do. I have no idea what to get. The razor part is covered, I have a sampler pack from Mama bears shave soap, a cheap brush and a large coffee mug for my lather. I have no idea what strop to get or what grit stone and maker I should go with. I dont want to spend a lot of money but dont want to buy crap. Do I go with a pasted strop or a hone to maintain my edge? What strops should I look into? Any other info would be great.

P.S. I may just be over thinking all of this.

Thanks,

Chris

I think for first time you can maintain just with two sided strop. I had just recently on my birthday received this strop.
Jemico DOVO German Razor Strop Leather on Adjustable Stretcher |

It's really not such expensive as on this site (my was 80$). It's really nice strop - one side clean for everyday use, second with paste for maintain dull edge.

If you want to restore vintage razors you will also need hones (for example Norton 4/8 grit). But I think that first of all you need to buy good strop.

Hi Socalkid,

Take a deep breath and slow down. Take some of the pressure off yourself. The first goal is to learn to shave with the straight razor. It will help to have one of the following:

1. A Barber's stone and a leather strop,
2. A leather strop that has a smooth side and a side for pastes, or
3. A two-sided leather paddle strop that has a finished side and a side for pastes.

I have 44 razors and have kept them sharp with just choice #1. If you take your time and watch the stropping videos, you won't ruin the edge on your razor. Remember to:

• Keep the entire razor on the strop as you make a lap,
• Use just enough pressure to keep the razor on the strop,
• Keep your emphasis on the spine of the razor,
• Learn to properly flip your razor at the end of each lap (avoiding letting the edge hit the strop,
• Start with light, even strokes, emphasizing keeping the razor evenly on the strop.

Look at the strops on WhippedDogRazors. Buy an inexpensive strop to start. After you have learned to strop, then buy the strop of your dreams. As a Newbie, I found it easier to control and strop my razor on a paddle strop. YMMV.

At this point, don't worry about buying hones and polishing stones. Wait until you have developed and somewhat mastered shaving with a straight razor. Plan on a 100 shaves before you can really control the outcome of the shave.

If you slow down and take it one step at a time, it won't seem so overwhelming.

Good Luck and Happy Shaving!

I agree almost completely with the advice given by DLB. The only thing we may disagree on is the strop. My vote would be to purchase a nice strop first....not a Kanayama mind you, but you can't go wrong with something from SRD. Many of the members here use the Premium I or the Premium IV (with the webbed fabric as the second material).

The reason I recommend buying a good strop from SRD to begin with, is that their materials are replaceable. If you nick your leather all to bits, you can purchase the replacement leather, or a differnt leather, for approximately the same price as a "beginners" strop would have cost in the first place.

Now...everything else I agree with. Stop...breath...slllloooowwww down. There is plenty of time to learn all there is to know about honing and restoring. Learn how to shave and learn how to strop. Control the outcome of your shave...not once, but 30 or 40 times. I recommend that once you have a month of consistently nice and comfortable shaves that leave you smiling and rubbing your cheeks.....THEN you can think about your next step.

Doing it all at once will prove entirely frustrating, and may leave you constantly wanting more without having mastered the fundamentals. Just my two cents man.

There are plenty of people on this site who have said "man if I had to do it over again, I think maybe I'd just shave my cheeks first...." or something to that effect.

You'll do fine socalkid...just relax and enjoy the process.

+1 to Maxi's suggestion if had was starting over I would have gone with the SRD modular paddle strop and a bottle of the Chromium Oxide spray. There are allot of advantages I have found with this setup. I feel it is easier to learn to strop on a paddle, less tendency to ruin your edge. The paddle can be used to strop daily, as well as maintain your edge for quite some time with spray on the felt pads every X number of shaves i personally use the felt ever 6 shaves, and if you cut up any of the panels you can simply purchase a new panel with out breaking the bank. not the least expensive strop, but the most versatile for sure, Just my two cents.

Hi Socalkid,

Yeah, you're probably overthinking this but that just means you've got the right personality type. You'll fit in just fine here. Like others have said, just sloooww down. Breathe. Are you breathing? OK...

I've got a couple of hanging strops and an SRD modular paddle, and I think I agree with aircoder that it would be a good starter strop. The default order comes with one smooth and one rough leather pad, two felt pads, and a bottle of 0.5u diamond spray. I also agree with aircoder that you should get the CrOx spray as well--it leaves a gentler edge than the diamond, in my experience so far. An occasional refresh on the felt pads (one treated with diamond, the other with CrOx) should keep you going a good while before you need real honing again. For the number of options it'll give you, the modular is the best bang for the buck. It's a generous size for a paddle strop, too... often the paddle strops are designed for travel, and are pretty small.

I actually prefer stropping on a hanging strop, partly because it's what I learned on but also because I've figured out the perfect ergonomics for my own use. All the stropping instructions I've read have been for typical hanging strops, which are 2 to 3" wide and ~18-22" long. So when you see an instruction for 20 passes, that's 20 passes on a strop that big. It'd take way more to get the same action off a little travel paddle strop. The SRD modular is big enough you don't really have to worry about that factor.

Watch the videos, and whatever you get, practice on it with a butter knife to lay in some muscle memory before putting the real blade to it.

Good luck and best wishes.

You got some great advice here so just to reinforce some things. First, remember this whole Straight "thing" requires a pretty big skill set to master and that's just the basics. If you get more advanced the knowledge base increases exponentially. Just take things a few steps at a time. Think about it like learning a foreign language. You don't go into a basic class and expect to be fluent in a semester. One thing builds upon another so just slow down and take the proper steps.

As far as strops go I agree you should get a quality strop but don't overspend on top of the line. I think many times rookies are told to buy the cheapest things available because you may ruin them while learning. That may be true however if you buy real cheap items it will only make the learning curve steeper and hinder your success and may cause you to just give up.

As far as maint. goes a pasted strop is great to keep an edge in already great shape just needing touchup shaving sharp for a long time. Eventually you will need hones and in any case will probably want to buy them.

Just read our reviews and the wiki and do a search for topics you are interested in. Look before you leap and just enjoy the learning process and the shaves.

You will not ruin the edge of your razor no matter what you do to it. You will only temporarily damage it, it can be easily fixed. I just honed a 1/4" chip out of a blade using 320 grit sandpaper for fun and got it shave ready again. Don't be afraid of your equipment, it will get damaged, you are a beginner! The good news is it can all be fixed, including razors and nicked strops.

If I were you I would buy an inexpensive but quality leather strop and a fabric strop. You will nick this strop to pieces while you learn, you do not need a Kanayama to start! But you should also learn to repair it using contact cement and sandpaper. Fromm sells one called the Illinois 127. Buy some spray Chromium Oxide from Straight Razor Designs and spray this green stuff on the fabric material that comes with that Illinois strop. Every 4th or 5th shave strop on the green fabric 10 laps and then the leather 50 laps. That will keep your edge sharp for about 30-40 shaves. Then get a barber hone or a Naniwa 12k (my choice) to touch up once it gets too dull to strop sharp. Once you get used to honing get a Norton 4/8k combo stone and you will be set forever.

All great advice. But if your anything like me, when you get into something you go all in. Get strop from SRD. If your going to pick up some hones I would suggest the Naniwa Super Stones.

Originally Posted by Maxi

I agree almost completely with the advice given by DLB. The only thing we may disagree on is the strop. My vote would be to purchase a nice strop first....not a Kanayama mind you, but you can't go wrong with something from SRD. Many of the members here use the Premium I or the Premium IV (with the webbed fabric as the second material).

The reason I recommend buying a good strop from SRD to begin with, is that their materials are replaceable. If you nick your leather all to bits, you can purchase the replacement leather, or a differnt leather, for approximately the same price as a "beginners" strop would have cost in the first place.

O. K., Maxi, I admit it. I bought a high quality 3" SRD Premium I hanging strop for my first strop and shortly thereafter bought a NIB SRD paddle strop from a B&B member. If you can afford it, go ahead with a real quality strop. I do think there are some good arguments here for going with a modular strop.

AND YES, I nicked the heck out of that first SRD hanging strop.


Happy Shaving!