Thread: New to straight razor

OK i'm new to the site and straight razor..My wife bought me brush/cream and prep items from AOS for xmas. As was happy witht the gift and remmebered that 30 years ago i bought myself a SE and strop from Hoffritz and it just didnt work out. Tried it once and that was it. So i figured that i might try it out again. Tried the razor and all it did was tug and pull.(reminded me why i didnt use it again the first time) So i did some research. I bought a 250/1k stone and tried to sharpen it...It got a little better but not that great, but it did make me want to really give this a shot. I ended up buying a razor from SRD...I got a Dovo 5/8 Tortoise. I got it today and tried it out. Well let me tell you (as im sure you already know) WHAT A DIFFERENCE. I am now hooked. I went slow and took my time and got a real nice shave. Some spots were not the best(jaw line) but that will come with time and better technique. I just have a few questions.

With this new razor should i strop it before my next shave?
How long should the edge last?
I also notice that because i was taking my time my shave cream dried up a little. Should i apply more or is to much shave cream bad.?


also bouhgt a 4/8k stone and going to try and get the old razor shave ready..
Hone question...
When honeing the razor you put tape on the spine..should the spine be making contact with the stone for the right angle?


Any help would be greatly appreciated...Thanks

Welcome to the forum and glad you decided to give it another whirl with a straight. Now you know the difference between a factory edge and a shave ready edge that your new Dovo has. I always wondered how many people, like yourself, get turned off the straight razor experience by trying to use a factory edge initially.

Stropping a razor for a beginner is a double headed sword in that because of a possible lack of good stropping technique you could dull the razor from that alone. I know that from experience. You have to start somewhere though and it is normal to strop before every shave.

In the beginning I don't think edges as long as they do with an experienced shaver. Again poor shaving and stropping techniques at the beginning almost guarantee that. The better you get the longer the edge will last.

I still shave slow enough that I have to reapply lather as it has dried out. It is better to reapply lather as the dried up stuff will not allow the razor to slide along and it can skip. That can contribute to cuts and razor burn.

Taping a spine for honing is a personal choice. I do it because I do not like to see hone wear especially on a new razor. Once you do tape the spine you should do so every time you hone that razor. Yea, the spine and the edge should be in contact with the stone when honing. That sets the proper angle for the edge. Be sure and watch some of the videos about honing on the net. Have fun.

Bob

Thanks Bob...I watched some videos on honing and could not tell if the spine was touchign and did see it writtten anywhere.
Th strop is 30 years old also...had some nicks which i sanded out...was a little dry added some oil to remoisturize....do you think its ok or am i answering my own question with what i did already

I have a strop that I bought new and put nicks into when I started to learn how to strop. I sanded the nicks down and glued some cuts, it still is my main strop. Old drier leather can be brought back by rubbing small amounts of something like Neats Foot Oil into it. So the short of it is you just might be good to go with your old strop not having seen the strop first hand.

Bob

thanks...its not that bad mostly nicks on the side from in proper stroping. Not as bad as some of the photos ive seen on the web.......

I won't show you photos of mine, you would laugh. Have fun and let us know how you make out.

Bob