Thread: What else I may need?

Hey Benj,

To answer your questions:

1. You are right, there are not as many places that cater for straight razor shaving in the UK as there are in the states. The 2 links I provided above are two very reputable vendors and you can't go wrong with either one.

2. As for used razors, as mentioned above you should have a look at Straight Razors - Straight Razor Place Classifieds although I have to warn you, anything from outside the EU might be subject to tax and it isn't cheap!! I think the cutoff for VAT on non-EU merchandise is anything above £20 but I stand corrected. Those 2 websites do have second hand razors for sale and most importantly they will come shave-ready. It might be worth contacting the owners for advice, both Steve Dempster at Invisible Edge and Neil Miller at Strop Shop are good guys and will point you to a decent razor for your price range. Moreover, Neil is a member here on SRP.

3. Hanging or paddle is up to personal preference really. The cheapest paddle strop is usually more expensive than the cheapest hanging strop though due to more raw materials needed. My personal view is to go with a paddle strop as a novice - less variables to control.

4. Slicing a strop is almost inevitable when you're starting off. If you do nick the strop, that does not mean you can't use it anymore. It all depends how deep or where you sliced it. If it's only superficial, you can still strop over it with no ill effects, you can also sand the nicks down. You can also super glue larger nicks and then sand it down. The only extreme where you've totally ruined a strop is if you actually slice it in half, but even then some people find uses for the 2 pieces!!

Hope that helps,

Ash