Thread: Howdy

New to straight edge, old to DE (Merkurs mainly). Forum seems very helpful. Question can a straight be maintained with a barber one and strop, or will it still need the occasional "refresh"?

Welcome

Spend some time in the Library. Tons of info available.

Straight Razor Place Library - Straight Razor Place Library

Welcome to SRP!

If the blade is properly honed to begin with, then you can refresh the blade with a barber hone.
Strop the blade before every shave to make sure the edge is aligned. Strop the blade after every shave to dry out any water in the microscopic teeth of the blade.

The most important part is to make sure you start with a properly honed blade. If you are unsure about the blade then there are several people listed in the classified section of this forum site that will hone your blade for a reasonable price.

As mentioned above, check out the Beginner's section in the Library. It will answer a lot of your questions.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. We will gladly give you a thousand different viewpoints.

If you need it honed, there are people here that can do that. Once that's done, just a strop alone should be good for quite a while.

Originally Posted by MajorEthanolic

If you need it honed, there are people here that can do that. Once that's done, just a strop alone should be good for quite a while.

...eventually. In the early stages, while your stropping is developing, most people find an edge refresh is necessary a little more frequently. Once you crack good stropping you can keep an edge working very nicely for a surprising amount of time.

A barber hone is one way to go for an edge refresh. Another is the pasted strop (paddle seems the best, though you can paste a hanging strop too), or pasted balsa or similar. There are places that sell spray-on abrasive pastes of a suitable grit.

Welcome, and good luck!

James.

Thanks guys...

Hi and welcome. as said can be done no worries as long as the bevel remains intact and not damaged. Any questions feel free to ask