Just pulled the trigger on a TI 6/8...

...Sheffield Silver Steel Blond Horn straight razor, Illinois Strop hanging strop, TI paddle strop, Norton 4000/8000 hone, some 0.5 and 1.0 diamond paste, and a whole boatload of soaps, aftershaves, and accessories. I'm a relative newcomer to wetshaving and a complete virgin (well, sorta') to straight razors. Now a question: What should I do with the razor, in a step-by-step fashion, from the moment I take it out of the box to the moment I use it on my face? I understand from lots of reading on wetshaving/straight razor websites that the razor may (likely) need honing then stropped before ever using it on my face. Some say to try it first. My problem is I've been wetshaving for 2 weeks with a Merkur Vision (which I love) and I'm not sure I will be able to tell if my new straight razor needs honed, stropped, or nothing at all, before use.
So, how do I tell if it needs 1. honed, 2. stropped, or 3. nothing. And if it needs honed, typically how many passes at 4000 and then 8000? If stropping is needed, how many passes on leather? Any passes on the linen side? I have the newbie jitters regarding honing a brand new TI since I've never even stropped a razor, let alone honed one. Can anyone give me some instruction and (just as importantly) encouragement? I know this is a lot of questions but I would be very appreciative for answers to, or at least attempts to answer each one and any other suggestions you may have. Thank you massively.

Tom

Tom,

You can send it to me and I will be glad to test it out for a year or two. :D Actually before you try it use the strop for 20-30 round trips. Make sure you have the blade flat on the strop and lead with the spine. Try shaving with it then. You will probably be ok. If it is not write again and we will take you to the next step. Enjoy.

Some TIs come shave ready, but not all. Like Rich said, try it first. If it feels like it's shaving as close or closer then your Merkur, your probably OK. If feels like it's dragging, or not cutting the wiskers then it may need honing. If you need someone to hone it, Lynn and some of the other members offer this service. Hope this helps.

Before stropping as Rich suggests, clean the razor with rubbing alcohol to remove any oils etc.

A reminder to go slow and steady with the razor perfectly flat on the strop, razor perpendicular to the strop and a slight 'x' motion to get it all atropped heel to tip.

Also after stropping try the Hanging Hair Test to see how the razor responds to it (clean strand of hair, root hanging out SLOWLY bring the hair down on the edge to see if it pops away).

Shaving is the ultimate test so you'll have to do that to know.

X

A properly honed razor will shave like a dream, smooth and comfortable. If it doesn't you can be sure it needs work. (assuming of course your shaving skills are well honed)I wouldn't use a 4K on it. If anything a few passes on the 8K is all it should take unless you got a really bad sample and it doesn't shave at all.

Personally if your new at this if stropping alone doesn't improve the situation I would send the razor out to one of the experts here unless your really comfortable with a hone. Don't learn to hone with a good razor and wind up ruining it.

First off, your razor probably needs a little work. But just a little.

In your case strop the razor on the plain leather hanging strop for 30-50 laps, gentley, and test shave with it. Do a good face prep first of course.
This will give you a basis for comparison. Please do not expect the str8 razor to shave the same as the merkur. They are different animals.

Take the abrasive pastes and apply 2-3 drops on the paddle strops and work them in. One grit to each side.

If your razor shaves you poorly then perform 20 laps on each side of the pasted paddle strop, cleaning the razor in between so as to avoid cross contamination of grits. Then perform 30-50 laps on the plain leather hanging strop and test shave again. Repeat this a couple of time's if necessary.

Do not use the hone yet. Let us know how this works out for you and we can go futher if need be.

Hope this helps,