Just bought a straight.... Now what?

[Fletch]

I just paid for a straight from a member here and it will be my first straight ever. I was told they have shaved with it and it doesn't pull and it was recently stropped. Is there anything else I need? For example do I need to have hones? I have a strop, I make knives as a hobby so I have experience stropping knives at least. The one I have has canvas on one side and is leather on the other. I has a fair amount of buffing compound loaded into the canvas side and probably has some residue of a buffing compound on the leather side. I'm sure it's not exactly the same but any knives I've worked on it were capable of taking hair off my arm or a part of my leg (it gets weird sometimes when people see a bald spot or a few of them on your arms ).

But my question is: Are there any other items I will need to keep it shaving ready for most of it's use?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Legion]

I would get myself a strop that is plain without any compound on it for a start. You generally don't want any compound for your daily stropping.

You might also need something to touch up your edge such as a bench strop with CrO or diamond spray, or a barbers hone. Depending on what the compound is on the strop you have you may even be able to use that.

You don't really need a full set of hones. Many people will send their blade out to a professional when it gets to a point where it needs proper honing.

 

[honed]

If it's shave ready you can just go ahead & shave!
No need for hones now.
A good strop is needed though.
What kind of compund is on the strop yo have?
The straight razors edge is much more delicate then a knifes, so it might just be to rough.
Ken Rups "Filly" is an excellent first choice if you decide to buy a new one.
And Ken is a great guy to deal with.

The sticky pretty much says it all. Read up on it, keep asking question & you'll do fine
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=172786

 

[Luc]

A plain strop and a shave ready straight is all you need. Make sure you are stropping the razor flat on the leather.

 

[BrushJockey]

Agreed with all of the above advice.


If you must have a hone, go with a high grit (10k-15k) for retouching the edge. Anything more coarse than that really won't be necessary for quite a while.

 

[twoods]

Get a clean strop and you should be set. Let us know how your first shave went.

 

[Fletch]

Now here is a silly question. Should I attempt shaving something other than myself first? I've heard people practice on a balloon, peach, apricot, etc. to get a feel for shaving with it before potentially opening up an artery.

As for the compound I have in the strop I forget exactly what one it is, I needed it in a pinch so it's something I got from a home improvement store. Not the pink jewelers compound I would have preferred. I also only loaded it in one spot and when I use it I lay it flat on a table and only slide the blade across the area with the compound. So it's not running the fill length of the strop so I do have clean areas I can work with. Ususally when I do a knife I'll do the area with the compound on the canvas side. Clean the blade, do it again on the canvas where there is no compound. Then finish on the leather side.

 

[superbleu]

Just start out on your cheeks going WTG. If that goes well, then move on to the other parts of your face. Remember pull the skin taught, low blade angle, go slow with no/very little pressure.

For the pasted strop, you should only need to use it occasionally,
I would suggest you just stick to the regular untreated canvas side and leather for now.

 

[ouch]

From my soon to be released straight razor old timer/novice translation book-

Entry: I was told they have shaved with it and it doesn't pull and it was recently stropped.

Translation: It will pull and will require stropping.

 

[Mink]

First, go to YouTube and watch every video you can find that shows straight razor shaving. Your face will thank you.

 

[ouch]

I would start with Chimensch's. Joel has a pretty good one, too.

More than anything else, both of these help to reduce the intimidation factor.

 

[LarryAndro]

Now here is a silly question. Should I attempt shaving something other than myself first? I've heard people practice on a balloon, peach, apricot, etc. to get a feel for shaving with it before potentially opening up an artery. ..

For many of us, the first pass, the WTG pass which reduces the whiskers to skin level was the hardest part of straight razor shaving. That is where the razor burn and cuts typically occur. An alternate approach for your first "shave" is to shave with a safety razor down to skin level, or even to smoothness. Then, "shave" with a straight razor.

Once you skim the lather off your face with the straight razor, not worrying at all about your whiskers - since they are shaved off, you will have learned some important concepts about shave angle and more that will apply for regular shaves thereafter.

 

[Munxcub]

I started off with about 3-4 "down" passes my first time, until I couldn't hear any change in whisker whacking. After a couple times I can had the balls the go "up" on my neck and "Across" on my face.

I say down, up and across because it's not specifically WTG, XTG or ATG. I have done very little ATG aside from testing the waters.

Just remember, no pressure. You will figure out what is appropriate for you but start with next to none and go up slowly. Don't be afraid to stop when you've had enough, don't push it. If you're not comfortable going after the upper lip don't the first time. Confidence will build quickly. But a little confidence can be dangerous! so always be vigilant. lol...

 

[Montecristo #2]

For many of us, the first pass, the WTG pass which reduces the whiskers to skin level was the hardest part of straight razor shaving. That is where the razor burn and cuts typically occur. An alternate approach for your first "shave" is to shave with a safety razor down to skin level, or even to smoothness. Then, "shave" with a straight razor.

Once you skim the lather off your face with the straight razor, not worrying at all about your whiskers - since they are shaved off, you will have learned some important concepts about shave angle and more that will apply for regular shaves thereafter.

This makes sense.

 

[rajagra]

I'm going to disagree with some of the above. Don't strop before the first shave. Or the next one. Or the one after that.

Show a little faith in the person sending you the blade. Assume it is shave ready and work on your shaving technique before you risk ruining the edge by practicing other skills.

You need to learn - and memorise - what that edge is like. There is plenty of time later to try to match or exceed that level of sharpness and smoothness.

Some of your knife making experience will help ... but a straight razor is not a knife ... honing and stropping are done differently (spine always in contact before/with the edge.) You seem to know this already, but your knife sharpening muscle memory will work against you at first. And the quality of your stropping is determined by the worst swipe - one mistake is enough to spoil the edge.

 

[Luc]

I'm going to disagree with some of the above. Don't strop before the first shave. Or the next one. Or the one after that.

Show a little faith in the person sending you the blade. Assume it is shave ready and work on your shaving technique before you risk ruining the edge by practicing other skills.

You need to learn - and memorise - what that edge is like. There is plenty of time later to try to match or exceed that level of sharpness and smoothness.

Some of your knife making experience will help ... but a straight razor is not a knife ... honing and stropping are done differently (spine always in contact before/with the edge.) You seem to know this already, but your knife sharpening muscle memory will work against you at first. And the quality of your stropping is determined by the worst swipe - one mistake is enough to spoil the edge.

I have to disagree with this approach. Not stropping will prevent that person from learning how to strop properly. Also, it won't help keeping the edge smooth. Sure you could skip 1-2 stropping sessions but the shaves won't be as smooth.

Yes, it possible to roll an edge and if that happens it's over, the razor will need re-honing. Going slow, making sure the razor is flat on the strop and applying a light to no pressure (making sure the full blade, not just the edge makes full contact) will maximize the chances of proper stropping.

 

[Munxcub]

I did a little of both, my razor came honed and stropped. For my very first shave I did not strop before, as it had just been stropped a bunch coming off the hones. This way I had a clear idea of what it should feel like.

After that first shave I strop a little after the shave to make sure the edge is dry (as per recommendations read on this forum) and strop more before the next shave as things soak and whatnot.

So far the shave quality hasn't declined to a point where I'm thinking it needs to hit the hones again. For the first few days I think I wasn't pulling the strop tight enough, but luckily it was tight enough to not roll the edge. (still passes HHT and shave test seems ok to me.)

But like everything else, YMMV, but I agree with both approaches heh.

 

[Fletch]

I got it today gave it a quick cleaning and put it on the strops for a bit. Seemed rather Sharp so decided to run with it. I did a pass on my cheek and it wasn't bad (my growth is patchy there). When I got to my chin area where its thicker it pulled pretty good. Guess I'll have to spend some more time on the strop and see if I can get it hair popping before I try again. It'll take a while before I venture on the curves of my face though.

 

[Legion]

Yeah, go slow. Start with your cheeks and practice using two hands. The hardest part to shave are usually the angled parts so really get the hang of the flat bits first.