Thread: New member from SC, questions about recent Red Imp purchase.

He'll everyone,

Im new to straight shaving and just picked up my first straight. At first I was going to buy a half hollow Dovo Best quality, but I fell in love with this Red Imp 132 Wedge while browsing ebay. It's made by Case and looks to be in great shape. Owner said its shave ready and mint. Paid over $100 for it so I'm hoping it was a good purchase.


I heard rounded edges and half hollow are better for beginners, but this one just called to me. Was wondering what you guys think of using wedges vs half and full hollows.

I also picked up a Red Imp strop to go with it. It's in need of some care but I'm hoping it's still usable. It's hard to tell from the photos and I'm still waiting for it too arrive. Any tips on restoring a vintage strop? Thanks for the help, looking forward to having my first straight shave in the next few days.

Welcome to SRP RyanZombi: Your Red Imp is a fine shaving razor when honed to a "true shave ready edge". If your razor hasn't been sharpened in a while, it may take more than just a good leather strop to get it "shave ready". Using a wash cloth and saddle soap clean your strop. Allow it to air dry completely. Apply just a few drops of neats foot oil to both sides of your strop. Rub the oil into the leather. This should re-condition the strop and give you many more years of useful service.

The SRP library has a wealth of information to help you get started. Also search for the Lynn Abrams Introduction to Straight Razor Shaving On Youtube. A good visual guide to help you learn the proper technique for straight razor shaving.

Welcome aboard,,,
Very nice looking razor & strop,,,
Soon some strop guys will find your post & give you some advice on how to restore it.
Thank you for taking the time to share your equipment,,,

I purchased a barbers hone because it was pretty cheap compared to a new whetstone. still planing on getting a Norton 4K/8K.

Give it a test shave , but more than likely you will need to send it out to be honed properly so that you can learn how to shave with it , and have the best chance for success , read a bunch from the library and really learn how to strop. It is one of the most important aspect of keeping your razor shaving. Get a decent brush and soap then learn to build your lather, go slow and in time then when you can shave start tackling the honing part. Tc

Welcome to SRP

welcome to SRP
if you do a quick search there are a bunch of threads on reconditioning your strop .
the Red Imp is a wonderful razor , I owned the 132 & 133 , the wedge was my fav of the 2 ..

Hi and welcome. Good quality razor you have picked up and hopefully from someone who actually means shave ready. You will definitely want to clean the linen but the leather doesn't look too bad. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Welcome to SRP!
Nice razor and strop.
Make sure you check out the beginner's section in the Library and start practicing stropping on your leg with a butter knife before taking the imp to the strop.

Had a look at the razor today, it's in great shape and sharp enough to cut arm hair but it doesn't pass the FHT test. I got the strop today and plan on cleaning it up after work tomorrow.

How hard is it to hone a straight razor? I plan on getting some more honing stones besides my barber hone. I'd like to find someone locally who could show me the ropes and give my razor a good firt hone.