Thread: I have no experience with straight razors. Need help.

I know me so I might as well bring it up now. I don't have a "belt strop". All of mine are mounted on wood or something hard. So if (when ) I get one should it be bare leather or have high grit compound on it? I've bought leather and made my own strops with cow hide and horse hide. Horse is much harder than cow. Recommendations?

Here are my thoughts on a strop. Maybe two? I can buy a piece of horse hide 4" wide and 36" long. I'm thinking horse instead of cow because it is harder and will have less tendency to "wrap" around the edge. I know this isn't an issue if the technique is good but still I'd prefer the better choice. So I'm asking if the harder horse hide is a better choice than cow which is a softer leather? I would LOVE to get a piece of kangaroo this big but I don't even want to think about how much that might be. Those kangaroo's can be pretty greedy when comes to their skin. I'm thinking two strops because if the flexible ones are a better choice for straight razors I may want one bare and one with a .5 or .25 micron diamond spray or something on it.

I looked on the classifieds here and didn't see any strops. I'll keep looking else where. I've seen tons of them on knife web sites but I don't like them for knives. But for straight razors if I get one I want it to be a good choice for razors. Any suggestion is appreciated.

Jack

I looked on whipped dog and think I'll get the poor man's strop kit. Looks perfect for me. If there is a reason to choose something else let me know please.

Jack

Your bench strops will be fine for touch ups. Mine are all pasted/sprayed paddles. I like the idea of a hard surface as more like a hone and less chance of edge damage. Good idea for a cheap hanging strop to begin with as you'll nick it so whipped dog perfectly acceptable.

This is the introduction place so maybe my future issues shoule be placed in other threads. I think this will be my last question in this thread. My future questions can probably be placed in a more specific thread.

Anyway, I sharpened my Boker razor best as I could and am very happy with my results. I don't know if it is "shave ready" though. Actually, I think I know it IS NOT shave ready. I was waiting to try my first shave until I had a shave ready razor and the proper soap. Then impatience kicked in. I used regular shaving cream and shaved both cheeks a couple of nights ago. I was very happy with the results but still feel I need to KNOW I have a properly honed razor as well as use the proper soap. I believe this because of all the experienced folks here who have repeatedly said so. Plus it just makes sense. So I applied the shaving cream and shaved my cheeks. Then I washed off what was left of the shaving cream. I was happy to find not even one red spot on the towel. Now though my cheeks feel like I rubbed them lightly with some fine grit sandpaper. 220 to 400 grit or similar. No cuts or gashes, just a sort of raw feeling. My wife said my skin looked a little irritated. So why is this??? I have figured improper soap, razor not honed properly, technique when stroking my face and/or not doing any post shave things. Maybe all of the above. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

I'm at a financial stand still at the moment as far as this hobby goes. I want Lynn's DVD, to get my razor honed, buy a strop, etc. but this past week my wife had a toothach that just about finished her. I can tell when she is whining and when she is really hurting from things. This time she has really been hurting. In addition to a tooth problem it had gotten infected and it spread all over. Anyway we had to get some emergency dental work done for her. I tried to explain to her that if we spent the money to get her mouth fixed I would have to postpone spending money on my new hobby. Of course she said "no, I'd much rather suffer and not be able to eat or sleep. You need to get some shaving soap and a strop and all that stuff. ISN'T SHE SWEET! But since I'm so unselfish I said "well, maybe I could wait a little while. Let's take care of getting you out of pain and getting your tooth fixed". See what a great guy I am? Seriously, after two trips to the ER and a dental visit she's getting better. A shot of antibiotics and LOTS of pills and she's feeling better and on her way back to a normal life. I can't think of anything worse than teeth problems.

Even with the financial tradgedy I did order an 8k Shapton glass bench stone. I won't get it for about a month if you can believe the estimated delivery dates. It's coming from Japan. I've seen shipping fast or terribly slow in these situations.

About posting from now on in different threads concerning my learning curve I am also thinking a single-thread diary (so to speak) might be helpful to other new people in the future. It would show the history of a newbie needing and getting advise on subjects that are probably common for just about every new guy. What do you guys think?

Jack

Your face was irritated due to one , all, or a combination of the things you mentioned. The hard part is to figure out which and we all go through that. Sorry, really can't be more specific.

Bob

Regarding your first shave with your Boker, I think you nailed the causes for the skin irritation. A properly honed blade, proper angle and proper pressure are all critical factors. This forum is known for the warmth of its members and I'd venture to guess you will receive offers for honing services, free of charge (except for shipping costs of course). Heck, I am willing to help you with that if necessary.

Originally Posted by jackknifeh

Then impatience kicked in.

It would show the history of a newbie needing and getting advise on subjects that are probably common for just about every new guy. What do you guys think?

This is where your problem is. and you are very correct that it is a common problem, we try and try to explain it to every new guy,,, but

Originally Posted by gssixgun

This is where your problem is. and you are very correct that it is a common problem, we try and try to explain it to every new guy,,, but

What are you saying? Are you suggesting I don't listen to good advise even when I know it's good advise? You may be on to something. I'm going to tell myself I intended to get bad results. This way I would appreciate the good shave even more. Or maybe I was just in a hurry as usual.

Jack