Thread: UK Newbie

Hi All. Wow, what a fascinating world straight razor shaving is! Easy to see how addictive this practice/hobby/lifestyle choice can be....and how becoming a RAD can potentially give you a real pain in the right hip .

Started with a (fairly good?) shavette about 5 months ago just to see if I liked the idea. I did, then made the fatal mistake of buying a pair (yes, a pair!) of "shave ready" (ho ho) straight blades off E-Swindle. Plus a 'hone stone', thinking I was being oh so sophisticated and brave. Well, I've handled sharper hammers. Luckily sent them back for a full refund (not a lot of money, but better off in my pocket than the chancer who sold these letter-openers.)

Became aware of this site, read a bit here and elsewhere, then my lovely wife bought me a Dovo Astrale for Xmas. Pretty good entry level, I am led to believe? I had already bought a strop (from my first, abortive foray into straight razor purchases), and had a really good brush and soaps (Taylors, etc) from wet shaving with disposables before. Went into it head first, ie not doing small parts of my face to 'get the feel of things' as your experts recommend, but went straight for full face, WTG, ATG, (XTG?).Also, I have worn a goatee beard for the best part of 20 years, and latterly a more 'elaborate' moustache after 'Movember' (yes, still like the look), so my shave can be a bit elaborate ie cutting around shapes.

So far have not killed myself. Or scarred myself beyond what is acceptable, touch wood.

I am not convinced, however, that I am doing the best in terms of preserving what would be considered an optimum edge. Sill shaves pretty well, but I don't think the strop is brilliant, having spent no more than about 15 quid on it (23 dollars?). I am careful with my technique, I think, not going hell for leather at it or trying to do it like the movies. Is a better quality strop (whatever that constitutes?) worth the investment? Can anyone advise whether it is actually possible to 'strop' a razor on the heel of your hand? (Don't all laugh at once). I am just a bit shy of carrying on with the strop that I am not so sure about, thinkng that I may be dulling the bloody thing rather than improving it. Its also quite therapeutic to sit and 'strop' on my hand after having had a shave in the evening after a shower, knowing at least that I can't be doing any actual harm.

I look forward to reading through many of the posts on here with great interest, and will likely be purchasing a second blade from one of the august members on this forum - that would seem to be the righteous thing to do.

But I would like to know about the hand-stropping (and quality of strop) question. Any takers amongst the welcome party?

Thanks in anticipation.

Welcome to SRP!

The DOVO Astrale is a great razor and will serve you well! And its a good looking razor as well...!

It is possible to strop on the heel of your hand (search Mastro Livi on youtube, he does it in one of his videos), but dont do it! You'll slash yourself to ribbons!

Most newbies nick their strops when learning, so I dread to think what you'd do to your hand..! Just please, dont do it.

What strop do you have at the moment? They can take some time to break in, and you can speed this process up by rubbing it with the palm of your hand.

The speed should be a steady comfortable pace. Dont do this "whapwhapwhap" that you see in the movies, you'll just nick your strop and dull the razor.

Make sure the razor is making good contact with the strop, roll it over on the spine not the edge and keep the pressure fairly light. Some pressure is ok, lots isnt..!

IMHO, the strop is probably the next most important bit of kit after the razor, and having a good strop will go a long way to keeping your edges in good trim. So definately worth the investment in my opinion!

If you're not sure about the strop you have, let us know what make it is and we will try to help! Pictures are very helpful as well. Also, watch the stropping videos in the videos forum for good methods.

Good luck!

Hi Stu,

thanks for all the great feedback. Watched the Mastro Livi vids (wow, what an artisan!), my German and Italian are not that hot but the visuals were a treat! I studied materials and metallurgy so I'm a bit of a nerd for things like that. Saw the hand stropping - the man is clearly confident with those things in his hand -(also a barber who gave him a shave) I certainly don't do it that fast, I use the heel of my thumb/palm and go a lot steadier. Haven't come anywhere near close to nicking myself, but I am concentrating .

Funnily enough, there was quite a bit of whapwhapwhapping going on - but again after a lifetime of handling these blades he ought to have his technique down!

Appended is a pic of the strop I bought, from 'Eurobeauty' on E-bay. The black 'leather' side feels a bit synthetic, it has a kind of felt/webbing back to it, and the light tan strip does feel a bit more like belt leather but is very stiff. I kind of get the feeling that it looks the part without actually being right. Maybe I am being over-critical, I'm just shying away from being sucked into spending huge amounts for the sake of it. Maybe this one is okay, I'm sure plenty of people must have bought one?

I've never seen that make of strop before. Does it have a makers mark? What brand is it?

For now, I wouldnt go and sink loads into a bells and whistles strop because most people nick their first one up a bit..!

A great starter strop that lots of people here have used is this one:

RupRazor - The Filly

The filly is a great quality strop, and the back comes pasted with chromium oxide for the odd touch up, plus its only $20!

If you're not sure about the strop you have now, dont use it. Its not worth wrecking the edge just to find out whether its any good or not. I'd get a filly and practice on that, and once you're happy with what you're doing invest a little more in one of the more expensive strops from RupRazor, SRD or Tony Miller.

One thing you could try is laying the strop flat on a table and rubbing it with a wine bottle (avoid the seam on the glass though) to break it in and see if that helps. If it works, give it a try but if not it may be worth pulling the trigger on a filly.

Hopefully some other members will chip in about the strop you have at the moment!

Hello, Crouchy4:

Welcome to SRP. Stuart is indeed a learned straight razor shaver and I concur with his comments.

Good luck to you. Whatever you do, don't rush the pace as you hone your skills with the straight razor and the colorful wet shaving ritual that completes the art.

Regards,

Obie

Thanks for more sage advice. Maker's mark? It says 'Eurobeauty' on the front of the handle on the black leather strap. The Ebay shop its from sells a wide variety of other hairdressing products, scissors etc, so I'm sure there must be many of them around. Recall I paid about a tenner for it.

Actually, I 've just looked at the shop again ( eBay UK Shop - eurobeauty400: HAIRDRESSING SCISSORS, 5.5 Scissors, THINNING SCISSORS) and it sells scissors, tweezers......and Speculums!!!! Would you really want to see that hanging on the wall at your local hairdressers, or worse still, barbers?

I think I like the idea of giving it a work over with a wine bottle (I assume you mean like a rolling pin effect?) I guess the main performance criterion for a strop is that it is flat, soft and compliant (and relatively blemish-free). I am fairly sure that, after all the reading, my technique is fairly sound (smooth, not too much pressure, roll the blade over on it spine, etc) but the slight rasping noise I get when stropping is what is making me uneasy. It is hung up on a coat hook behind the bathroom door, so when held relatively taut I am stropping up and down with fairly consistent pressure.

PS pardon my newbie ignorance, but I really don't get the idea of the second, coarser strip hanging behind it. I have seen some where this is fabric/webbing, but on this one it too is leather, albeit coarser. Any comment?

PPS Posting on here sure beats working

I've not heard the name before, I must admit. That doesnt mean its a bad strop though..! Give it a try and see whether you like it.

Apologies, when you're breaking the strop in, dont lay it on the table. Have it on the hook as is you were about to use it, put it out like you were stropping and rub it vigourously for a few minutes with the bottle. Pull the strop up and round the side of the bottle slightly. Its not a rolling pin effect, more like trying to polish the side of the bottle on the strop (!), and avoid the seam in the glass as you could scratch the strop.

Sorry for the confusion, got my wires crossed a bit! I double checked in the Wiki though, and heres the article on breaking a strop in.

Strop treatment and repair - Straight Razor Place Wiki

In terms of the noise you are hearing, you will get some noise when you strop. Check this link in the Wiki:

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Read that whole article though, its very useful!

The material side is often used as a pre-strop before the leather. I do 25 material and 50-60 leather before each shave, and then 10 material and 15-20 leather after. The stropping afterwards cleans all the microgunk off the edge, makes sure the edge is totally dry and really helps extend the time between honings.

How coarse is the leather on the coarser side? The material on my strop feels like the straps on a back pack, kinda like a coarser car seat belt, but its smooth and doesnt snag on the razor. If you feel like this side may damage your edge, dont use it would be my advice.

You could also try breaking this leather in with the wine bottle, same as the main strop. Once its softened up a bit, give it a try and hopefully it will work..!

Good luck!

PS: Tell me about it..!

Again Stuart, thanks for your time and indulgence with this. Will take a bottle to my strop and get busy!

James

Not a problem!

If you have any other questions please feel free to PM me, I'm always willing to help, or to point you in the direction of someone who can..!

Good luck and keep us posted!

I haven't seen that specific strop in real life, but I've (unfortunately) handled one cheap, nameless strop which looked pretty much like yours: the black strap was vinyl-like with fabric backing. Leather was stiff as a board, very dry with quite coarse pattern of cells (maybe 1mm in diameter). It also few quite gritty to the touch. I did not qualify that for my razors. Far from it, I'm afraid...

I'd suggest to you that you get yourself a known good strop (filly, Neil Miller's practice strop, Dovo, SRD, any of the other bespoke strops) and compare it to the one you have. If you think the one you have is close enough, you can continue using that. YMMV.

You could purchase either inexpensive strop to start with or more advance version to use after you are through with mangling your first one. Your call.

And stop stropping on your hands if you are (still) attached to your fingers and would remain that way =)