Thread: Beginner

I'm a newbie! Watched lots of video and read lots of posts & still confused about stropping. I see people post about stropping pre-shave, post-shave, using leather, using felt, using paste, etc.

can someone give me an explanation about all of these differences in stropping and as a new shaver do I need to do more than just strop pre-shave and then send out for a hone from time to time?

Thanks for any help!

No, that's it. Some people try to use a strop to hone their blade, extending the time between shaves, or they use a strop with a very high abrasive in order to improve their honing. It seems complicated, but it's not, it's more about free play and experimentation.

Strop 30 on fabric and 60 on leather before you shave. It's that simple. Later on you may experiment by using an abrasive, such as CrOx, on a fabric component to refresh or touch up your blade.

I agree! I've been shaving with a straight razor for almost 13 years (pretty much when I started shaving!), however it was with disposable blades. Got into using the real thing (non disposable) over a year ago. I realized that there is no need to do more than simply getting your brush, soap, aftershave, strop, oil, and razor. Maybe you can even get pre-shave and polishing cream if you choose to.

I agree with TheLegalRazor's tip on stropping your razor 30 on fabric and 60 on leather. #1 rule, though, be patient. Accuracy trumps speed. Before you know it, you'll be stropping with your eyes closed. However, I don't recommend that, it's kind of dangerous. Anyway, as far as honing, just send the razor off to SRD or classic shaving and you're all set! When it comes to the time you're without the razor, lets be real: eventually you'll have more than one razor! Haha!

You'll probably start off needing to get it sent out more often then us if your current stropping technique is not up to par. But once you get the hang of it, I don't see why you would be sending it in less than every 6 months. I got honing material and stuff like that at first and, honestly, I simply wasted my money. Don't buy the other stuff until you KNOW that you actually want to do it.

Finally, don't feel like less of a straight razor shaver just because you're not doing all of these things. The ultimate experience is the shaving part for most of us. There's nothing wrong with ONLY doing the least you have to do to maintain your blade with no outside help, as a matter of fact, I plan on keeping it that way. If that wasn't the case then we'd all even be making our own blades! :-o

Best of luck and welcome to finally looking forward to shaving. What a sharp way to start the new year!

I agree that accuracy on the strop trumps speed. Same goes with the shave. And, ditto on the advice not to buy a bunch of hones. Send your razor out to a pro for the first couple of times until you figure out what you want to do re sharpening. After a few months, you'll get an idea on how much money and time that you want to spend on hones, if at all. But also know, that once the bevel is set by a pro, that that makes sharpening much easier and if you do buy a hone, you'll be able to get by with just one stone. Cheaper that way!