Hello, and a few questions for the braintrust...

[RodneyOK]

Hello everyone! I have been lurking here for a short while, and thought it time to say hello and ask a few "newbie" questions...

I am an avid fountain pen collector and restorer, but am new to the world of razors and classic shaving methods. This site has been a wonderful resource to gain some introductory knowledge before taking the plunge.

So, my straight razor shaving journey began about a week ago, with a couple of initial purchases, and some mistakes to go along with them. My first shave was with a straight sporting a disposable blade. This turned out to be, well, not so good for me or my face. (I think some lessons just have to be learned the hard way.) I wised up a bit and got a sight unseen from Whipped Dog. This "real" razor worked out much better, and by the end of the week I was getting shaves that I consider to be quite good with minimal blood loss. My enjoyment was also significantly better with this new razor. I am using a bay rum and witch hazel pre/post shave that seems to be doing well for me.

So, that's the story so far, now on to the questions...

I have also purchased a Wade and Butcher Special that is in excellent condition. I sterilized and cleaned it, ran it over my strop, and it seems to be ready to shave with just like that. Is it likely that I don't need to have this honed? (Honing is an area I am not ready to tackle just yet.)

My stropping technique continues to improve, but in a fit of overconfidence and speed, I stropped with the razor facing the wrong way, slicing the leather. (I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that a pint of home brew was a major contributor to this incident.) Is it safe to continue using this same leather, or will it hurt my blades?

Finally, I have a Dovo on order which should arrive today. Will this need honing before use, or should I expect to just strop and go?

See you around!

- Rod

 

[El-a-Menthol]

Hello and welcome!
Even though you are a beginner I would consider asking a MOD to move this for you to the Straight Razor Section.
You would likely get far more and better responses there.
I do not understand why you use aftershave products before your shave by the way.
Probably would't hurt much, but enough effective preshave products exists.
I guess, for now it works, but in the future you may want to buy some preshave-balm/cream.

 

[Sledgehammer39]

Welcome Aboard, Rod!

 

[NickCutlip]

Welcome to B&B !!

 

[Jim]

Welcome to B&B!


I moved this thread to the straight razor section so you will get more pointed help.

You may want to stop by the Nib forum as you may have a lot to add there as a restorer of pens.

 

[RodneyOK]

Thanks Jim! Sorry about posting to the wrong section!

 

[JeffM]

You can probably sand out the cuts/nicks in your strop with ordinary sandpaper-try different grits depending on severity. If there is a small tag or flap of leather left where you nicked the strop, glue it back in place and sand it smooth after it dries. I have used Elmer's but any wood glue or material glue will work, just use minimally and place carefully with a toothpick or pointed object.

 

[SliceOfLife]

I have also purchased a Wade and Butcher Special that is in excellent condition. I sterilized and cleaned it, ran it over my strop, and it seems to be ready to shave with just like that. Is it likely that I don't need to have this honed? (Honing is an area I am not ready to tackle just yet.)

I myself sell a few razors on eBay. Some honed. Some beveled. Some not touched to a stone in a hundred years. I don't bother to make the distinction between them unless I expect the razor to fetch a large amount of money. I'm sure there are a few other honers who treat eBay similarly. It's entirely possible your razor is sharp enough to shave with after a stropping, but I would say it's unlikely. Given that. Worst case you give yourself some razorburn on your neck and have to skip shaving for a few days. If you want to try it out, feel free. When I was learning honing I shaved a number of times of off "mystery hones" (using a shave to test the stone... I wouldn't advise it) that turned out to be bevelers or barely above it... and the results were not fun, but no serious damage was done.

My stropping technique continues to improve, but in a fit of overconfidence and speed, I stropped with the razor facing the wrong way, slicing the leather. (I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that a pint of home brew was a major contributor to this incident.) Is it safe to continue using this same leather, or will it hurt my blades?

Can't really say without seeing it. I suspect it's probably better to just get another strop or if possible use the area of the strop unaffected by the slice... but depending on how bad it is, some damage can be repaired (there are guides for minor nick repair floating around... the efficacy of most of the methods is questionable in my eyes, but some people report success... That said, stropping edge first seems more likely to cut a strop in half rather than simply "nick" it, so I suspect the damage is quite severe... and without seeing a pic, the best advice I can give is to replace the strop.