Thread: Hi from England

Hi ! , been DE shaving for a year but always wanted to give this a go ! I have bought a new Edwin Jagger Dovo, Jemico leather / canvas strop and readying up for first shave Sunday. Hoping it goes ok because the wife is less than keen on the idea. So trying to avoid facial injuries is really going to matter on this one !

A quick question i forgot to ask.I have some of the yellow tube leather paste. Do i apply it to the strop prior to first use of it and just use it occasionally ? thanks.

Hello, Brummel:

Welcome to Straight Razor Place. Most of your answers can be found in the vast network of information provided at SRP. Start in the Wiki. You also will find information for beginners on razors, strops, wet shaving products, and so on. We're glad to have you with us.

Regards,
Obie

Welcome to SRP. As Obie suggested check out the SRP Wiki. Particularly the article on the first straight razor shave by SRP founder Lynn Abrams here. Was the razor sold as 'shave ready' ? IOW, honed by an pro. If not Steve Dempster of the Invisible Edge is in the UK and an expert honer. You can find him here. To avoid nicks or cuts read my sig line below and follow the old barber's advice. Still works for me.

Brummel,

Welcome

Have fun with your straights !

Best regards

Russ

Hi Brummel. You'd do well to get that blade sharpened as others have said. Jimmy's recommendation of Steve at the Invisible Edge is a good one. The yellow Dovo paste is leather conditioner, you probably don't need it at the moment, just rubbing with your hand should be good, though others with experience of that particular strop may chip in. This is what the Wiki has to say about the matter and it's a great resource in general. Good luck.

Brummel,

Welcome to SRP...

++1 on the advice in the previous posts. Read the SRP wiki and make certain that your razor has been honed before shaving. That will insure that you have a truly "shave ready" blade. Once your str8 razor is honed, you don't need to strop it for your first shave. Go slow and don't exert too much pressure against your face with the razor. I repeat, go slow and avoid resting a stationary balde against your face. Keep it moving at all times. Only shave one side of your face the first time. Next Sunday shave both sides of your face. The Sunday after that, shave both sides of your face and your neck; and the fourth Sunday finally shave all of your face, plus those more difficult "problem" areas of your face (ie. chin, upper lip, etc.).

You may also want to try the Robeson bay rum beard preparation method to prepare your face and beard for your shave. I am including a description of the Robeson method with this post.

BTW...My wife and daughter weren't too keen about me shaving with a str8 razor at first either. If you follow the advice in these posts and keep the blood letting to a minimum, though, you will eventually win her over.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

Thanks for the advice the friendly welcome and taking the time to reply . It is very much appreciated !

Welcome to SRP Brummel! As mentioned above, be sure your razor is shave ready before you try shaving with it. Best test for a newbie is to try and shave arm hair. It it cuts that (testing can be done dry, no lather) than you can start on your face. As you will find in the WIKI articles, start straight shaving slow and don't feel like you have to shave your whole face with a straight razor until you get comfortable. Suggest starting point is just your side burns and cheeks, finish with what you are currently using. Once you get the feel of the straight you can progress further. Be observant of the razor angle, roughly twice the thickness of the razor from your face (~30 degrees) and avoid using pressure on the blade to your face. Both of these will reduce razor burn.

As for the paste, if the razor is cutting arm hairs do not put the paste on your strop. A shave ready blade should last several months before needing to be refresh. Once you put the paste on your strop you will never get it all out. A lot of us do not paste our strops an of the bunch that do, it is usually a different strop or the 'linen' strop that gets pasted. A leather strop w/o paste would be used more than a pasted strop for most of us.

You may want to practice stropping with a butter knife to get the hang of it and so you don't damage the edge on your straight razor. Be sure to keep the spine of the razor on the strop at all times so you don't roll the edge, which is a common newbie error. Practice making shave lather also. Getting all of this down on the first shave can be a lot to focus on.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

I use lather rubbed in with a glass bottle to condition my strop, it makes it have great draw. Never used that paste though.