Thread: Hello from a 'new shaver'!

I concur with Eddy and would add that a hanging pasted strop will convex the edge (exceptions apply to pros), so stop stropping the way you do unless you want to get the edge honed up again!

If you would like to use a pasted strop for touch-ups, make sure it is level, hard, non-flexible and use no more pressure than the weight of the blade. It is possible to go by with only a pasted strop, but I would hazard that as a beginner, you'll make some small mistakes and will have to hone your razor beyond the capabilities of your chromium oxide strop.

I have no personal experience with a Dragon's Tongue, but I'll give you some basic advice. Natural stones vary, whereas synthetic stones are consistent. That means that you will have to get used to a natural stone, use it for a long time, experiment with it and be prepared to get a sub-par result in the beginning, as well as hearing the phrase "You could try this and that, but as it's a natural stone, what works on mine, may not work on yours". Synthetics are more expensive, have less character, are not as pretty, but do their job faster, more consistently and allow for others to give a very precise advice on how to use them.

Personally, I would encourage you to find a barber's hone on eBay and ask here - either in a thread or in a PM to a mentor - if it will suit your needs, or buy a synthetic 8000 grit stone of Naniwa, Shapton, Norton or King. There are more brands out there, these are just the most popular, as far as I know.

By the way, I love natural stones and own a coticule, Belgian blue whetstone, undefined Japanese natural, Chinese natural and my favourite: a (very cheap) Roszutec. I just cannot get them to work as well as my Shapton Glass 1K/4K/8K/16K.


There's a lot to learn, so don't be afraid to ask and take a look at the beginner's section in the Wiki/Library. Good luck!

some good advice above but i suggest you learn how to shave properly before contemplating honing

welcome to srp,
Pete

Originally Posted by Laurens

I concur with Eddy and would add that a hanging pasted strop will convex the edge (exceptions apply to pros), so stop stropping the way you do unless you want to get the edge honed up again!

If you would like to use a pasted strop for touch-ups, make sure it is level, hard, non-flexible and use no more pressure than the weight of the blade. It is possible to go by with only a pasted strop, but I would hazard that as a beginner, you'll make some small mistakes and will have to hone your razor beyond the capabilities of your chromium oxide strop.

I have no personal experience with a Dragon's Tongue, but I'll give you some basic advice. Natural stones vary, whereas synthetic stones are consistent. That means that you will have to get used to a natural stone, use it for a long time, experiment with it and be prepared to get a sub-par result in the beginning, as well as hearing the phrase "You could try this and that, but as it's a natural stone, what works on mine, may not work on yours". Synthetics are more expensive, have less character, are not as pretty, but do their job faster, more consistently and allow for others to give a very precise advice on how to use them.

Personally, I would encourage you to find a barber's hone on eBay and ask here - either in a thread or in a PM to a mentor - if it will suit your needs, or buy a synthetic 8000 grit stone of Naniwa, Shapton, Norton or King. There are more brands out there, these are just the most popular, as far as I know.

By the way, I love natural stones and own a coticule, Belgian blue whetstone, undefined Japanese natural, Chinese natural and my favourite: a (very cheap) Roszutec. I just cannot get them to work as well as my Shapton Glass 1K/4K/8K/16K.


There's a lot to learn, so don't be afraid to ask and take a look at the beginner's section in the Wiki/Library. Good luck!

Thank you both so much. There is only the tiniest drop of Chromium Oxide on the leather of my strop so I will aim to get that off.

It looks like I may have to save up for a really good stone. Difficult though - I bought another straight last night!

Second straight shave today and the goatee and sideburns just had to come off. That was hard and I confess that despite trimming first, I had to resort to the DE to get things really smooth. I guess that I had the angle wrong - so practice, practice, practice. Still n o nicks or scratches though so must be doing something right.