Thread: Poking at the world of straight razors

Welcome to SRP!

I can tell you this as far as making a strop is concerned- if it works for you, then yes! As far as any old leather working, it should be fine. There are varying degrees of leather, and the general consensus is that they typically work okay. The differences between them are usually the draw, or resistance felt, when stropping. Some like less and some more (me personally, I LOVE more draw... makes it feel like I'm accomplishing something), but ultimately the strop brings the blade to shave readiness.

It doesn't have to be a strip of leather, either. People have stropped on leather belts, the back of a wallet, the palm of their hand (your skin is simply leather that hasn't been tanned yet... it would take a while, but in a pinch...) and also on newspaper and gotten the desired result.

Be aware that you will most likely nick, slice and blemish your first strop as a beginner while you're learning. Even the old timers still do so on occasion. With that said, you don't have to pay a small fortune to get a quality strop, and if you do ruin it, you're not out a lot of money. Like cosperryan suggested above, the strops from Straight Razor Designs are regarded as high quality with low component replacement cost. I actually have one on the way, as my two current strops aren't in good working order.

As for the razor, keep checking the classifieds here and checking out the vendor sites. Make sure you get a shave ready razor, and furthermore, if a vendor advertises the razor as shave ready, a quick search or post here should tell you if they truly are coming shave ready from that vendor. ABOVE ALL ELSE, DON'T RUSH THE DECISION!! Doing so could put you in a bind and leave a hole in your wallet. We have to learn to slow down a bit when shaving with a straight razor, and that starts with the purchase of your first one. One of the Moderators/Senior Members here has a saying he uses to describe honing, but is applicable across all aspects of shaving with a straight razor: "Slow is smooth, smooth is fast". Patience is your number one friend if your just starting off or if you've been doing this for 70 years. It makes for better equipment, a better shave and a better overall experience.

Any further help or advice you require, simply ask... we love to help out around here! I can truly say this is one of the best internet communities I have ever been a part of.

Funny how patience tends to make a whole lots of things better.
One thing that I've had a hard time pegging down is honing wear. Is this when the toe and/or heel curve upwards (I don't mean like on a curved blade) or does it have to do with the honing marks that are left on the spine...or both?

See post #3 here for a visual representation. (link)

Hone wear can be a flattened spine (instead of round), a smile in a blade which shouldn't have one, a frowning blade, a rounded toe (not to be confused with a rounded point... think more about the shape of a butter knife) or flattened shoulder.

If you're asking in regards to picking out a razor, it's good to know what you're looking for, but just make sure it's a reputable source you're looking at.

The patience aspect is probably the biggest key to getting good results with straight razor shaving. Be patient and realize your not going to have excellent shaves right off the bat or for quite some time. It just takes time and practice to get that muscle memory down. There will be certain parts of your face that your going to be scared to shave especially when you use your weak hand and yeah you'll probably cut yourself, but one day after struggling with that part for so many previous days it will click and you'll conquer that part of your face and you'll think to yourself "why didn't I figure that out earlier, of course it makes sense to hold the razor that way" . For me it was going against the grain on my jawline and neck and across the grain on my upper lip. I have some nice scares too from it but then one day I figured it out and I felt like a genius but also kinda stupid for not figuring it out earlier when it was so obvious.

Yes, I was thinking of hone wear in terms of selecting a razor. I like the idea of getting a vintage razor, more for the interest of it than anything else. If I'm going to keep my eye out for one of those I need to be able to at least have a small idea of what is and isn't an okay blade. I don't count on being more accurate than that.

Once I get a razor then I can start practicing patience on my face.

There's nothing wrong with that, but like I said before, just be sure that it's from a reputable source... That's part of why everyone recommends the classifieds here. You can get good vintage blades, shave ready and in good cosmetic shape to boot. You will probably pay more than on eBay, but you eliminate all risk of a bad razor coming your way.

Originally Posted by Kjg

Yes, I was thinking of hone wear in terms of selecting a razor. I like the idea of getting a vintage razor, more for the interest of it than anything else. If I'm going to keep my eye out for one of those I need to be able to at least have a small idea of what is and isn't an okay blade. I don't count on being more accurate than that.

Once I get a razor then I can start practicing patience on my face.

If you can get a mentor to do it for you, it is worth getting them to have a look at your potential purchase, especially if its from eBay, I wish I had done that the first time I bought a razor.