I'm kidding of course! except for the blood...

As you can tell it has been ~2 months since i started with my cut throat. It has not been an every day affair, but it has been a love affair and i hope my story will help out anyone just starting out.

So here is what I'm working with,

Dovo "Best Quality" 5/8" Carbon Steel (from Vintage Blades Professionally honed)
2.5" Latigo and Canvas Hanging Strop (From Straight Razor Designs)
Rooney Style 3, Size 2(medium) "super" silvertip (from Vintage Blades)
Colonel Conk - Bay Rum glycerin soap
Mountain Mike strop conditioner

I put this together over time. The Basic necessities were the Razor & Strop.

So my first shave was awesome! three passes and i was BBS without a burn or a nick. That being said I stopped at my chin and left it for the next day. To be honest it freaking took forever, but in a calming meditative way. Which was a good for a first experience because the following sessions were where i would find myself being frustrated.

My damn chin! It's a learning experience that is all i have to say.

Good stropping changes everything, Great stropping probably changes lives, but I'm not there yet

When my strop first came in it seemed pliable enough to me, but my blade suffered and consequently so did my face. Kneading the leather with the palm of my hand helped smooth things up. I highly recommend a conditioner or oil or something from the start, its tempting to just rip open the package and go but you may notice that the surface is not exactly flat when the strop is pulled taut. Imagine what that would do to your blades edge! It hurts!

As my stropping improved my shaving improved.

I wish I had a pet badger. I started off with an alcohol based spray can shave foam...which disintegrated within 3 minutes. Switching to a brush/puck setup increased my shave comfort 1000% The lather is priceless.

I'm going to get off topic so ill finish up. The two things i am always trying to improve upon are,

Stropping
Blade angle
Stroke angle

Did i say two? Stroke angle has been my biggest challenge, it is also something i believe to be specific to each person. While you may find your chin a "swipe and move on" area, my facial structure and hair growth pattern makes it hell for me. Over time you may find yourself drawing a mental map of your shave pattern. Each time you shave you will refine and adjust this map to further improve your results. So be patient don't rush and enjoy the luxury and nostalgia of the experience.

Best of luck,

Anthony