Thread: Hi

I've been using a Dovo Shavette for a couple of years now, and I'm planning on pulling the trigger on a new razor and strop in the next few days.
I'm not in a place to be able to send off a razor to be honed every 6-8 months and I'm not interested in taking up self honing just yet. So does anyone have suggestions on how I should get myself set up with strop/s, pastes,sprays,etc??
any suggestions on razors and other kit would be appreciated as well.

Welcome to SRP!
for your razor and strop you should make sure you are getting them from a vendor that actually uses straight razors.... look in the vendor area of this forum. your razor needs to be shave ready.
you might even want to try picking up a couple of razor, perhaps a nice new one and a less expensive vintage one.
you will need a plain leather strop and probably a brush and some decent soap or cream. since you have expressed interest in pastes.. you could look for a paddle strop with 1micron or .5 micron diamond or chromium oxide... again choose a vendor carefully because you want uniform grit.

the main thing is the shave. you do not have to spend over $200US to get a starting set (with brand new razor) that could very well outlast your children but is looks are not the top over your list you don't even need to spend $100US (cosmetically flawed vintage razor)

select a vendor or two ask them lots of questions before you buy if they do not have good customer service before the purchase how much better will it be after they have yor money?

enjoy,
jim

Welcome to SRP. With proper stropping technique, your edge should last you awhile. If you're a DIY type, you could get some chromium oxide and balsa wood and make a make-shift hone for touching up the edge and if I recall, there's even a page in the Library/wiki on making one, or you could look into buying barber's hone (these are fairly inexpensive) for the occasional touch-ups. Take Jim's advice regarding contacting a few of the vendors, do your research before pulling the trigger.