Thread: What am I missing? Basic maintenance/assortment of facts

My purpose in posting this is to see if the information I have gained from this website is accurate. Very basic, please let me know if I have the wrong idea about something

New razor from Dovo, shave ready
Should strop it ~30 times before the first use, though not critical

Planning to shave everyday
Planning to strop ~20-30 times before each shave

I don't plan to use any oil on the strop or the blade as I will be using it on a regular basis.

Beard/face prep is a key part to a good shave

After each shave, proper care of the blade is needed
Dry, clean, protected etc.

In 4-6 months I will need to hone my razor
Honing needs to be done approximately two times per year


This is more or less the plan I have created for using my razor, any feedback would be appreciated!

Thanks guys,
Michael

I usually strop after I shave as well as before.
You might need to get it honed a bit more often than two times a year, especially since you're just starting out.

Light pressure is important in all aspects of use and maintenance, short confident strokes when you shave and here comes a very important part, relax, take the time you need and avoid shaving in a hurry.

If your Dovo is truly shave ready I would not strop it before your first shave as that will give you a benchmark as to what a sharp razor feels like. If you strop first you just may degrade the edge first go. Strop first on each following shave and if the razor's performance goes down hill you will know that it more than likely is poor stropping technique that is the cause. I might also be inclined to up the strop count a little too.

You may be a little optimistic, at least initially while learning to shave and strop, on the interval between the need to hone the razor. You might find you will need to hone more frequently at the start and as you improve the time interval will widen.

Sounds like a good plan to me otherwise. Take it slow and easy. The best of luck to you.

Bob

Sounds like a good plan but I'll second what's been said: if it's shave ready, don't strop before your first shave. I would also strop after shaving. I usually do about 40 laps on linen and 50-60 on leather after shaving. About half that before.

Be very careful about stropping. Follow the videos and go SLOW. You can mess the blade up with bad stropping. As for re-honing the razor, you can maintain the blade by using polishing hones like Naniwa 12k or a barber's hone. With good stropping and honing technique, the need for re-honing can be put off a lot longer.