Thread: Just getting started.

I was introduced to shaving with a straight by LinacMan and it has made shaving enjoyable. I am looking for advice on stropping and how to maintain the sharpness of a razor if anyone has any pointers.

What kind of strop do you have?

Leather, bought it from Straight razor design.

There a couple great videos on how to strop. Check out this site's resources (Wiki).

I watched it however it is easier to critique other people than your self

Hello, SandmanTap, and welcome to Straight Razor Place. LinacMan informed me of your new enthusiasm for the straight razor world. It will take you a little time to hone your skill, but you will not regret the time spent. The important thing is to embrace the whole ritual of wet shaving with the straight razor.

Make sure the first razor you buy is shave-ready. Don't attempt to tackle hones now. That's in the future. If your razor is not shave ready, send it out to a professional to hone. For now, concentrate on honing your skill with the straight razor, and on stropping your razor. You must strop before every shave. I usually do 25 strokes on the linen side and 50 on the leather. After the shave, after I have cleaned and dried the razor, I strop 10 strokes on canvas and 15 on leather to remove the gunk from the blade. In time you might decided on your own ratio.

The best video for a hanging strop, in my view, is the one by our member Sham:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...d-me-alot.html

In the meantime, please study the information in the Wiki, and ask questions.

Welcome SandmanTapp, I also enjoy shaving now that I've moved onto a straight razor while before it was a tedious chore that I would perform as seldom as I could get away with! Thanks for asking a question that I was going to raise myself.

From reading Obie's helpful reply, I'm wondering if people consider a canvas strop to be an essential piece of kit? I've only got a leather strop at the minute and have been using this with the two shave-ready razors that I bought - would a canvas strop be a wise investment?

Originally Posted by barrieduncan

Welcome SandmanTapp, I also enjoy shaving now that I've moved onto a straight razor while before it was a tedious chore that I would perform as seldom as I could get away with! Thanks for asking a question that I was going to raise myself.

From reading Obie's helpful reply, I'm wondering if people consider a canvas strop to be an essential piece of kit? I've only got a leather strop at the minute and have been using this with the two shave-ready razors that I bought - would a canvas strop be a wise investment?

Hello, barrieduncan: I believe the strop with one strip of canvas (or fabric) and one leather to be ideal. Others may disagree. Get a good one. Remember, if you take care of it, the strop will last a long time. Besides, somehow the colorful ritual of straight razor shaving seems complete with both canvas and leather.

Thanks Obie. I don't want to hi-jack this thread but will look into canvas strops in more detail - thanks again.

Great advice... The first razor I bought was from SRD so you can imagine the how good the initial shave was... After talking to some of the professionals in this field I have decided that there are a few problems that I need to address. 1. Technique which will come with time, 2. More stropping.. It seems that the razor is getting a little tug to it because I am under stropping however the great feedback I have gotten will help to correct this problem. When in school I once asked a teacher how long a report needed to be and she replied "as long as a piece of string" and I guess this same philosophy applies to pressure and stropping, any thoughts?