Bought a real straight. Strop questions.
Bought a real straight. Strop questions.
Hello all. Been gone for a while. I finally took the plunge and bought my first real straight razor. I bought the Dovo tourtoise in 4/8 after months of shaving with the Feather Artist, which I really love. I felt it was time to go for it . I havent used it yet because I am a little confused about stropping. Please bear with me. I am a total noob with this. I was thinking of buying an "extra wide" dovo strop from classic shaving. Should I also buy stropping paste? How often do I need to use the paste? And finally for the total noob question must I strop before each shaving session? Please dont laugh at the question. I figured I should ask you gentlemen because you were very helpful with my feather questions. Also, the blade is obviously covered with a light coat of oil. Can I use pre-shave oil to coat the blade if Im in between shaving days? The reason I ask is because the oil on it now smells of a light machine oil. Thanks again in advance. Again, you fellows are total gentlemen here and very knowledgable.
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notthesharpest
- Assistant Dean SMFU
- Posts: 9449
- Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:32 am
- Location: Vancouver, BC
Re: Bought a real straight. Strop questions.
All questions welcome, the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask. (Just the other day, a guy did ask something that almost qualified as stupid. After he posted it, it made him realize, "Hey, that doesn't make much sense." No harm came to him.)Albo5542 wrote:Hello all. Been gone for a while. I finally took the plunge and bought my first real straight razor. I bought the Dovo tourtoise in 4/8 after months of shaving with the Feather Artist, which I really love. I felt it was time to go for it . I havent used it yet because I am a little confused about stropping. Please bear with me. I am a total noob with this. I was thinking of buying an "extra wide" dovo strop from classic shaving. Should I also buy stropping paste? How often do I need to use the paste? And finally for the total noob question must I strop before each shaving session? Please dont laugh at the question. I figured I should ask you gentlemen because you were very helpful with my feather questions. Also, the blade is obviously covered with a light coat of oil. Can I use pre-shave oil to coat the blade if Im in between shaving days? The reason I ask is because the oil on it now smells of a light machine oil. Thanks again in advance. Again, you fellows are total gentlemen here and very knowledgable.
I can only answer one of your questions: Yes, you must strop before each and every shave, and if your razor doesn't feel right you might even have to pause in the middle of shaving and strop it some more.
And I have part of the answer to another: Be very careful with strop paste. If you paste your strop, you can't put it back to being a regular strop ever again. You may do better just leaving your strop plain and without any paste. But I'll let the experts answer further.
Strop paste is handy IF your strop is drying out / dry and you want to bring it back. However, regular use and proper storage will prevent this. The natural oils found on your hands will keep a strop in tip top shape. Daily (or a couple times a day) gently rub your strop with your bare hands to transfer the oils to the leather.
Yes, get into the habit of stropping before each shave (or if you're like me, at the end of each shave so it's ready for the next one).
Take your time when stropping. Be sure to keep the strop taunt and keep the blade flat on the strop.
cheers,
rick
Yes, get into the habit of stropping before each shave (or if you're like me, at the end of each shave so it's ready for the next one).
Take your time when stropping. Be sure to keep the strop taunt and keep the blade flat on the strop.
cheers,
rick
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kaptain_zero
- Posts: 1031
- Joined: Sun Sep 18, 2005 11:59 am
- Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Just a few remarks to think about.
1. Yes, you should strop your razor on a plain leather strop before each shave.
2. Stropping will not make your brand new Dovo sharp, unless you purchased it with the honing service it will most likely NOT be ready to go. Very rarely are new razors from Dovo or Ti sharp enough to shave.
3. There are abrasive pastes and there are conditioning products for your plain leather strop such as neatsfoot oil and the like. Do NOT put abrasive paste on your hanging leather strop, that should be reserved for a bench or paddle strop and used only when the edge needs to be sharpened a bit. You should not need to treat a new strop with anything other than a bit of hand rubbing with the palm of your hand to warm it up before stropping. If you find the leather is drying out after 6 months of use or more, the applying a bit of neats foot oil or other leather conditioner can be done, but don't over do it. Just a few drops on your palms and spread it around by rubbing the strop with your hand as if you were stropping a razor and leave it overnight before using it to strop.
4. Keep your razor DRY and CLEAN, that 90% of the secret to keeping rust away. Camelia oil is often recommended for coating the blade, it's safe and is non toxic. Several online suppliers have it available for around $10... for the record, it's dry where I live and I don't use oil on mine. Food grade mineral oil from the pharmacy is fine too and easier to get a hold of.
5. If you send your razor out for honing, Classic Shaving and others offer this service (expect to pay around $20). When you get the razor back, you should NOT strop your razor before your first shave as it is entirely possible to dull the edge with improper stropping when you are first starting out. By shaving before you strop the first time, you will know what the razor feels like, if it does not feel the same after stropping, you know it's you and not the honing job.
6. Going from a Feather AC to traditional straights, you'll notice trads are not as sharp but you will find them to be smoother, friendlier shavers when the edge is up to snuff. The slight tugging will also become a non-issue after a while... I know, I went the same way you are going... from the AC to trads and I've never looked back!
7. Pretty much everyone nicks and cuts their first strop... don't buy a really nice one first, get a good, inexpensive one that will work just as well but won't make you cry if it gets nicked. Tony of the Well Shaved Gentleman frequently has starter strops available that are made from excellent but cosmetically seconds leather that would be perfect to start out with. His higher end strops are perfect for later, when you want to upgrade.
Regards
Christian
1. Yes, you should strop your razor on a plain leather strop before each shave.
2. Stropping will not make your brand new Dovo sharp, unless you purchased it with the honing service it will most likely NOT be ready to go. Very rarely are new razors from Dovo or Ti sharp enough to shave.
3. There are abrasive pastes and there are conditioning products for your plain leather strop such as neatsfoot oil and the like. Do NOT put abrasive paste on your hanging leather strop, that should be reserved for a bench or paddle strop and used only when the edge needs to be sharpened a bit. You should not need to treat a new strop with anything other than a bit of hand rubbing with the palm of your hand to warm it up before stropping. If you find the leather is drying out after 6 months of use or more, the applying a bit of neats foot oil or other leather conditioner can be done, but don't over do it. Just a few drops on your palms and spread it around by rubbing the strop with your hand as if you were stropping a razor and leave it overnight before using it to strop.
4. Keep your razor DRY and CLEAN, that 90% of the secret to keeping rust away. Camelia oil is often recommended for coating the blade, it's safe and is non toxic. Several online suppliers have it available for around $10... for the record, it's dry where I live and I don't use oil on mine. Food grade mineral oil from the pharmacy is fine too and easier to get a hold of.
5. If you send your razor out for honing, Classic Shaving and others offer this service (expect to pay around $20). When you get the razor back, you should NOT strop your razor before your first shave as it is entirely possible to dull the edge with improper stropping when you are first starting out. By shaving before you strop the first time, you will know what the razor feels like, if it does not feel the same after stropping, you know it's you and not the honing job.
6. Going from a Feather AC to traditional straights, you'll notice trads are not as sharp but you will find them to be smoother, friendlier shavers when the edge is up to snuff. The slight tugging will also become a non-issue after a while... I know, I went the same way you are going... from the AC to trads and I've never looked back!
7. Pretty much everyone nicks and cuts their first strop... don't buy a really nice one first, get a good, inexpensive one that will work just as well but won't make you cry if it gets nicked. Tony of the Well Shaved Gentleman frequently has starter strops available that are made from excellent but cosmetically seconds leather that would be perfect to start out with. His higher end strops are perfect for later, when you want to upgrade.
Regards
Christian
Previously lost, on the way to the pasture. Now pasteurized.