Thread: Good evening gentlemen

Welcome to SRP!
Practice stropping with a butter knife or a plastic knife, that way you won't damage your strop right off the bat. Try doing 100 laps a day for a week. Don't be surprised if you have to stop after 20 or 30 laps because your arm is tired or your fingers cramp. Once your build up the muscle memory and get comfortable stropping you can do it all day long without any problems.
You can practice shaving with the plastic knife as well, it is great for testing a hard to get at area without bleeding.

Rest assured though, at some point you are going to cut your strop, cut your face, and roll the blade. Just accept that it is going to happen and don't worry about it - strops can be repaired/replaced, cuts heal, and blades can be honed. On bad days, all three happen at once.

Thanks guys! Definitely some good advice there, I never thought about practicing with a butter knife or the like. Now I just have to give the wife a good explanation for taking a butter knife to the bathroom. I'll move forward with the mantra...do or do not, there is no try!

Welcome to the fold. I have gotten my worst shaving cuts from DE's not straights.

Hi and welcome. laying the strop flat on a bench is also a good way to start if worried. Just 1 less variable and can help you have more control.

Welcome to SRP

Hi Rhoadsie & welcome to SRP. There's a lot to learn here with plenty of information so click on anything you can & you will find a wealth of info. Don't be afraid, chances are, you might nick yourself buy it's normal. Some people do a lot better on their first shave than they think. You can use a butter knife on your strop to practice. If you accidentally cut your strop, you can sand it out or glue it back down with some CA (superglue) or some rubber cement. Most everyone here I know of has cut their strop(s). Here are all of Lynn's youtube video's:

https://www.youtube.com/user/LynnSAbrams/videos

If you have any questions just ask on the forum or feel free to pm me.
Good luck!

Thanks engine! I'll give those videos a close look. I received his video when I ordered a razor from his shop which was very helpful. Speaking of helpful, you guys have been that and friendly to boot!

Originally Posted by Rhoadsie

Thanks engine! I'll give those videos a close look. I received his video when I ordered a razor from his shop which was very helpful. Speaking of helpful, you guys have been that and friendly to boot!

If you're referring to Lynn's dvd, it is excellent. It has a lot of good info on it! I have it.