Thread: Hello from Northern Alberta Canada

I live in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. It's an oil and logging town. I, personally am working as a cabinet maker. I enjoy bow hunting and have a Blue Heeler that is our fourth child. We have a lot of fun with him.
I have been considering straight razor shaving for some time and have now taken the steps toward doing it. Right now I am awaiting the delivery of a 2/8 razor from Thiers Issard in England. I decided to get this because I have a partial beard and I am a glutten for punishment and challenges. My family plan to get me a 6/8 Thiers Issard shaving set for my birthday.
Being new to this aspect of grooming I have many questions and much to learn. Being an avid advocate of having sharp knives, I was wondering how many strops one needs in the pursuit of a good edge? And what is the purpose of the linen/fabric webbing of the strop? Do or can you apply diamond paste to it as well as the leather?
Well that's a start. I look forward to hearing from the many members of this elite group that I have joined and value all advice given.

Welcome to SRP.
I only have two leather strops, and two fabric, but I'm fairly sure it's considered a low count.
The fabric strop is generally more for cleaning the blade, getting last bits of soap and skin off, before taking it to the leather at least as far as I understand it.
If I'm wrong, maybe we'll both learn something.

Welcome aboard! How's the situation for refer mechanics up there?

1) 2/8, probably not a great idea.. 4/8 is about as small as I'd go with. 5/8 is also good for detailed work as long as it's a spike point
2) 1 strop to keep the edge aligned, 1 pasted PADDLE strop (or bench hone) with diamond or chromium oxide to maintain the edge and give it an extra polish every 5-15 shaves (depending on your stubble), you can substitute it for a finer hone (15,000+ grit)
3) Linen supposedly warms up the edge so it's more receptive to leather honing - you will hear many opinions on this topic. I do it anyway since mine came with nice linen. Do not paste it and do not paste the hanging leather strop unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing with it (and have an unpasted one too)
4) Pastes are good for touchups and to make the edge even sharper after you've already made'em shave-ready with 4000/8000. Diamond gives you a harsher edge than chromium oxide (which I use in 0.5 micron)

Welcome to the forum. Wow, a lot of Alberta people seem to be taking up the sport lately and that is a good thing. I can only echo what FiReSTaRT has said. I would be very careful using a blade with a spike point as they can bite more easily than a round point if your attention wonders. I have had that happen, lesson learned. I get by easily with one leather 3 inch wide hanging strop with attached felt strop. For refreshing the edges I get by with a 3000/8000 Naniwa combo stone and a balsa stop pasted with chromium oxide as a finisher. I will add a coarser and finer hone eventually but the 3000/8000 serves very well, so no hurry there.

Bob

Thanks FiReSTaRT and BobH. Your advice has been noted. Both of the razors have rounded ends, I figured I'd play it safe for now. Any suggestions as to the type of leather one should be using for each task? Does it make a difference? Ie: Cow, calf, horse.

Originally Posted by allthingsnew

Thanks FiReSTaRT and BobH. Your advice has been noted. Both of the razors have rounded ends, I figured I'd play it safe for now. Any suggestions as to the type of leather one should be using for each task? Does it make a difference? Ie: Cow, calf, horse.

What matters is that it's smooth and has the right consistency. Better to get one from a reputable source. The only stropmaker whose product I've tried (and was HIGHLY satisfied with) has a huge backlog, so it would be better for someone else to chime in on another source.

Sorry no suggestions as to what type of leather. Only have one strop and too new to really have an opinion. I just went with 3 inch bridal leather as it sounded good to me. Poor way to do it but it seemed to work out OK.

Bob

Hey, welcome to SRP

The TI blades certainly have allot of fans but if you have a 6/8 razor you'll do fine. A 5 or 6/8 is a good every day shaver other sizes are good to play with once you have some experience (on a side note these are the only two I use so far). I heard you say your getting a 6/8 set from TI... if you love the razor then this isn't a bad way to go I just wouldn't want to see you kick yourself later, many people here prefer the idea of having different kinds of razors to play with but to each their own.

For the strop any leather will do as long as it's smooth, for a beginner (again what I use too) a 3" paddle strop or boarded strop works great, heck you wanna spend a few extra bucks get 2 and get one of those bad boys with some chromium oxide on it to "freshen it up". Most importantly technique is going to be your friend in stropping, some good videos on here. I've been shaving for 7 months and my edge is just starting to get a little dull and I'm thinking of getting a new strop to put some paste on. I can suggest a great vendor, classicedge.ca Phil is a true professional and will help you out, he sells some inexpensive boarded strops that work really well (and some more expensive hanging strops if your so inclined but you don't need em').

Lastly make sure wherever you are getting your razor from it comes shave ready, I also take pride in sharp knives and realize the important, the one I use on my face I certainly take good care of so to start make sure it's properly been sharpened (Phil also offers this service) then being someone who's sharpened knives before think about getting a stone to maintain that edge. Like I said I am at 7 months and I'm just looking at touching mine up with some paste I figure I got a month or 2 before I need to worry about resharpening it a 3000/8000 or Norton 4000 / 8000 are solid choices but you probaly have a while before you need them. I know if I had mine already I would have been tempted to use it prematurely. Patience is the name of the game, lots of great advice on here for sure.

Finally yeh you can apply paste to your linen if you want but generally I hear balsa board is recommended if you want to go diamond paste. Me I will stick with chromium oxide as I think the diamond is too touchy and easy to over sharpen the blade with while CO is pretty idiot proof (which is welcomed by this idiot )

Anyways enjoy your adventure and come on here anytime for advice and you may get some conflicting opinions but always solid advice.

Wow great advise. I can hardly wait to get started. When I get my razors I'll post pics and let y'all know how much of my own skin is left after the first shave.
I'm also waiting to receive my Wicked Edge knife sharpener, which I have watched a video of the owners sharpening and stropping a straight razor. VERY sharp! For sure I'll get some CrOx to tame it down.
I look forward to the adventure and with fellow colleagues like yourselves a guy can't go wrong.

It's definitely a very helpful and friendly bunch here they have helped me along the way quite a bit. Good luck with your upcoming first shave.