Thread: Dumb question from first timer...

...I bought an Illinois Razor Strop hanging strop and a TI Paddle Strop to use with my new TI Blond Horn Silver Steel straight razor. I also purchased a 4000/8000 Norton hone, but I'll assume I don't need that quite yet (only if more than stropping is needed). Now my ("dumb") question: With the hanging stop and on the leather half, do I strop on the "shiny" or polished side or the rougher unfinished side? My uneducated guess is to use the "shiny", polished side of the strop. Whichever side I use, should I treat it with strop dressing or anything else before the first stropping of my new razor? Thank you in advance. By the way, the people on this forum are awesome.

Tom

Tom,

Use the shinny side. You can use the strop dressing if you want but you don't need to at first with a new strop. Just remember to keep the strop taunt. Enjoy.

Yup, if you're just using a regular strop, use the smooth side. Does your strop have a linen side as well? If so, you won't need to use that on a new blade quite yet.

Also, as far as honing, if the razor isn't shave ready when you bought it, it will need to be honed (or you'll look and feel like you shaved with a chese grater). However, if you're brand new at this, I'd suggest you send it in to one of the experts.

I'd be a shame to ruin that TI, after all.

So, in the finest tradition of forums, I've said way more than is necessary to answer the question. But, really... use the shiny side.

There are no dumb questions. The object is to learn. Most new razors are not really shave ready unless you are lucky. If yours isn't send it out to one of the masters as suggested. If you want to start learning to hone get a decent but less expensive eBay razor the same width and contour as your TI and learn with that. If you still need answers ask again. Read all the help files and devour as much as you can. Once you learn the honing techniques you will appreciate this art/science all the more.
Monte

You'll want to crash a few crappy unshaving razors across that hone before you take your prized TI to it, just to get yourself used to how it works and see where the pitfalls are. I've got a couple of extras and if you like, I'd be happy to send some to you gratis (although covering the mailing cost would be appreciated), just PM me with your address.

Also, you might consider picking up some pastes for the paddle strop (depending on what kind of leathers are on it) to finish off that edge.

X

You probably won't need more than stropping but may need a little honing depending on your luck. My TI came not shave ready and with a tiny nick in the blade so I needed to hone.

You are obviously equiped to hone so I assume that like myself you don't just want to shave with a straight you want to hone your own blade too. So I would not be too scared of the task as long as you are willing to take the time to learn. It is not rocket science but does take patience and practice. You can only get better by honing, reading about it is not enough.

When my TI came I could not wait to get it shave ready so honed it myself. Yes sending it to someone else will give you an idea of what a sharp blade shaves like but honing it yourself will give you a sense of accomplishment and eventually the shaves will improve with your shaving, stropping and honing techniques.

Read the forums on honing, there is a ton of good information there. Then do a hanging hair test on the blade to see how far off it is from shave sharp. If it passes the test then just strop about 30 laps and try shaving with it. Remember to stretch the skin keep the blade at about a 30 degree angle to the skin.

If it fails the hair test or during shaving pulls or does not feel comfortable then you probably need some light honing.

First off you need to lap your norton to make sure it is flat. This is important. I use 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper on glass or plexiglass big enough to fit the hone. Wet the glass/plexi plate and put the wet sandpaper on it. Make sure the glass/plexi is on a flat surface. With circular motion lap the 8k side on the sandpaper until you see that the full surface of the hone is sanded. Do the same for the 4k side. Wash both sides well to remove any grit particles that could have lodged into the hone from the sandpaper.

You should also pass the sand paper on the edges to make sure they are not sharp, otherwise you can damage the edge with them while honing. My 4k/8k Norton came with bevels on the edges but my 220/1000 did not so did require bevelling the edges.

Soak the norton in water for about 10 to 20 minues to saturate it then do a few (3 to 5) 1/3 passes on the Norton. 1/3 means one lap on the 4k side, followed by 3 on the 8k side. Do the hanging hair test, if it still does not pass then do the 5/5, 3/5, 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 passes. Test again. Unless your razor is completely off this should be enough. Most likely your honing will be off and it will take much longer to get the edge sharp.

My first honing session took about 5 hours and did not result in a shave ready blade. I was ruining the edge by not keeping it flat on the hone and nicking it slightly while turning the razor on its spine. I also did not lap the norton.

The next session I paid extra attension and after a few hours of practice got it shave ready. Since then my honing has improved by a long shot. I probably took a few decades off from a 200+ year useful life of the razor but that is the price of learning.

So don't be shy about honing it as long as you go slow and pay attention to keeping the blade flat. If you can't get it sharp enough yourself you can always send it to someone from these forums as a last resort.

e-Bay specials are great for honing practice but they are usually so far off from shave sharp that you need to hone a new bevel first and this is much more work. Also, honing an expensive razor makes you go slower and pay more attention. This is exactly what you need to do to learn faster.

Xman,

I just wanted to thank you for the offer of sending me a used straight razor to practice with. I'm probably not going to need it as I tried my TI out for the first time after paddle stropping it with a .50 paste 20 round trips then 50 round trips on the hanging strop (after cleaning the blade with rubbing alcohol). Got a pretty decent shave for the first time. We'll see how the next few times go though before I confidently but permanently and gratefully turn down your offer. Thanks again. You and the other people on this forum are so helpful and make this so much fun. I'll keep you posted.

Tom

Glad to hear about your progress. Keep at it and you'll be getting terrific shaves for years to come.

X