Thread: Hello from France

Hello guys,


Being a big fan of blades, a straight razor was something i've been interested for quite some time and after reading quite a lot of things here i took the big step yesterday and finally got myself a straight razor.

I'm always interested in tricks and counsel that could make it easier, so do not hesitate

Cheers !

Hi, and welcome to SRP! Any and all questions are always welcome, as well as pics of your shaving gear. What razor did you acquire for yourself?

Thanks for the welcome.

I haven't yet taken any pictures so it will have to wait

However I got myself a Dovo Forestal at a barber also selling gear and supplies. While not going for something too exotic I still wanted something nice, so I'm quite happy with the dark wood handle and the classic 5/8 blade. Along this i got myself a badger brush and a Dovo strop. One side is covered with their green paste which I've heard is a bit too coarse according to some people, the other is just plain leather... so nothing too fancy at the moment...

Although knowing myself and my taste of nice blades i'll probably eventually end up with some nice and exotic things

That green stuff is most likely CrOx (chromium oxide), and is used to maintain a blade's edge that has already been sufficiently honed. That or it's mold!
A properly honed blade is essential to satisfactory shaves -- I can't stress the importance of this enough! If you have no straight blade honing experience, I strongly urge you to send it to an experienced honemeister. I'm not referring to people who sharpen knives, but rather individuals who have years of experience honing straight blades.
Stropping is the most important skill you need to learn in order to maintain your blade's edge! You're in luck as this happens to be SRP's celebratory month of StropTober! Members have been posting vids of their stropping routines in order to compare and contrast, look and learn, and generally get constructive input on their techniques. Look it up here and have fun with it! http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...st-2012-a.html
It is generally suggested that rookies learn to strop with an old leather belt and a butter knife in order to prevent damaging either their blade or new strop, and to learn proper stropping techniques.
See you in the trenches, buddy!

Welcome to SRP. Good to have you on board.

Welcome to SRP!

Thanks !

Welcome mate.