AHOY MATEYS

Greetings CHAPS, ENTHUSIASTS and ADVOCATES of the MIGHTY STRAIGHT RAZOR!
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Well, I ran out of Mach 3 cartridges the other day, so decided instead of getting more of the multiple blade overpriced disposable BLADE ARRAYS,
I'd do things properly this time, and just get one, single blade of AWESOMENESS; a straight razor, and shave the proper, traditional, MANLY way!

I have got myself a DOVO S/R, a (middle of the range) badger brush, a strop and some soap and a cuticle stone, so am REASONABLY kitted up! ( I have purchased from "thesuperiorshave.com" in the US and they were very helpful in recommending a suitable strop and hone to COMPLETE THE ENSEMBLE and so am happy to recommend them for their FRIENDLY, QUICK and EFFICIENT SERVICE!

I've had a couple of shaves with it so far.. and WHOA!!! What an EXPERIENCE! It's absolutely FANTASTIC, my only regret is not converting SOONER!

I've been doing a bit of browsing on this BRILLIANT forum and other other sites and am starting to get the HANG of THINGS.

One thing I'm not sure of though with regard to stropping....>> I have the strop which has the Smooth leather on one side, and a bit coarser/rougher on the other side... and then attached to it theres another black/linen/synthetic type material as well...
WHICH side of the leather do i use to strop on ... Im assuming its the smooth side... also do I use the black linen thing as well?? (I'd assume so that's why its there??)

Finally I received some pastes with my strop but haven't applied any yet....>> not quite sure what to do with those.. one is in a white tube with a yellow band on it, the other is just ALL WHITE MAN!

Well Anyways, Thanks for reading my HELLO and in advance for your information and help!
All the best and enjoy that Close Shave,

Rick.

Welcome Rick!

We're glad to have you with us! It sounds like you are well on the way, and have got yourself some good kit. Just keep practicing and it will keep getting better and better!

To answer your questions, you use the smooth side of the leather to strop on, and use the fabric as a sort of pre-strop. I do 30 fabric and 60 leather before each shave, and then 15 material and 30 leather afterwards to make sure the edge is free from any micro gunk. This works very well for me, and keeps my edges in good trim for a good while.

From your description, the pastes sound like DOVO pastes. The yellow one is a leather conditioner for use on the leather section of your strop, but I wouldnt use it unless absolutely necessary.

A new strop can be broken in by rubbing it with your palm before and after each use, and the natural oils in your skin will condition the leather. The rubbing also helps soften the leather as well, and make it more supple. I'd start by rubbing it with your hand, and maybe use a tiny dab of the conditioner if the strop isnt performing up to standard after a few weeks of regular use.

The white paste is chalk paste, and is a very mild abrasive, so dont apply that to your daily strop. You'd use this paste to touch the razors edge up once the shave deteriorates through use. You should apply this paste to a second pasted strop.

You can make a homemade strop pretty easily and cheaply, out of either leather or denim. I made a strop from denim for use with diamond spray and it is very effective!

Dont be tempted to try to hone your razor at this point! If you want to get into honing, have a look on the forums for good razor makes, and pick one up from eBay to learn on. That way you will have your DOVO to use as a benchmark to judge your honing against.

Be aware that there can be probelms with eBay razors, such as chips, cracked blades or scales, warped blades and other things, so do some research here so you know what to look for before you bid. If you want to, you can post in the Auction talk forum and members will chime in and let you know if there are any problems with the razor or make recommendations.

Other than that, make yourself at home and good luck!

WHOA!
Thank you very much Stu for that COMPREHENSIVE Reply! It's very much appreciated that you took the time to clear up all of my questions and There's some great tips in there which I never would have thought of too!!!
I have considered acquiring an old razor to practice my honing on, I guess I'll see whats round the traps on the net or at the occasional FLEA markets!



Thanks again,
Rick