Thread: i am new to the art of straight razor shaving.

I have a few questions. I have been using a safety straight razor for about a month. Its alright, but i really wanted to get a nice straight razor. My lady bought me a Dovo and i used it today. It works very well. It is stainless steel(frozen tempered.) I am wondering how many times i am able to shave wth it before i need to start stroping it. Also how long should i wait to get start honing it? I appreciate any feed back. Thanks.

You should strop before and after every use. And once the razor starts pulling and stops cutting the hair easily you need to hone.

Originally Posted by 1fast450

You should strop before and after every use. And once the razor starts pulling and stops cutting the hair easily you need to hone.

+1 on that. You have to strop on linen 50 times and then leather 75-100 laps.With good stropping,the razor should perform for a couple months anyway. Providing it was honed by a pro to start with.And you could always pick up a barbers razor hone in the classifieds and do 3 to 5 light strokes on the hone and then stropping to get you back to sharp again.

when i strop my razor what should i use besides the strop?(should I strop it dry or put some kind of cream on it?) I was also wondering if i will end up wearing the grain(design) off of the blade itself? Thank you for the advise.

Hi there Rockabilly. What's shakin' ?
Nothing on the strop other than the razor but rubbing it (the strop) with the palm of your hand will condition it.
As you will be using a featherlight touch & the spine & edge are the only things to contact the strop nothing else can possibly be worn off.
The lap count is not so important but doing it carefully is. A properly sharp razor should not require many laps at all between shaves. Everyone has their own ritual but I rarely do more than 20-30 laps on any medium unless I'm coming off the hones.

I really appreciate that you are willing to share your knowledgee with me. I am fairly new to this.