Thread: newbie questions

hi im odinn i came via a forum called british blades i recently joined, i was really glad to find bruno's post which offered a link to this site. anyway ive been using a straight razor for the past couple of years sometimes succesfully other times very painful and it was more of a scrape than a shave, i use a dovo 5/8 which i bought from selfridges for £60 but i cut corners on the purchase of a strop i got 1 of ebay cheap. so my question is what is the best strop to use as i find my razor is better off a stone than the strop.

First off: Welcome! We are glad you are here! There are many good strops on the market. Folks here seem to prefer the strops made by Tony Miller which you may view HERE

I have used an Illinois strop Co Russian Imperial #827 since I started straight shaving and it has great draw and nice supple leather. It looks like THIS

As for your blade doing better off of a stone than a strop that is question for the honemiesters out there I think. With a good bevel set, and a keen polished edge you should be able to strop before each shave with a nice taught strop and get a comfortable close shave. Of course there are MANY factors (steel condition, edge condition, stropping technique, beard prep, etc, etc, etc...) I hope this helps

-Rob

i havent gotten one from him yet but from what i have heard tony miller makes the best around The Well Shaved Gentleman, Heirloom Razor Strop Company, Straight Razor Shaving Supplier

i have a cheapo strop and plan to get one from tony as soon as i have some extra money layin around

It sounds to me like you could use some stropping lessons and a good strop too. I'm going to carry that motion for Tony's Heirloom strops, but other good leathers can be had. I use an Illinois for my daily use as well and only covet Tony's hanging strops. Lynn (adjustme69) sells a great DVD, well worth the price where you can learn a little about how you might be doing it wrong and ruining your edge. Not saying this is happening, but it might be.

X

+1 on the TM strops. Dovo also makes some really nice strops. As far as the stropping goes it's best to start very slowly.

thaks for the replies, i think my faults are due to not buying a quality strop at the time due to lack of funds and the lack of information when ist started. i put in search after search in google for shaving techniques and stropping but this forum didnt pop up at all. im glad ive found it now and hopefully should be able to learn how to look after my razor and my face correctly

Odinn,

Welcome to the forum. I am a newbie based in Northern Ireland. My observations are that those of us in the UK, aren't as well served with places to buy straight razor shaving gear, however there are a few good UK based on-line retailers. One useful source is a forum member who has his own on-line store www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk (hope nobody minds me posting the link). Even better is the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound at the minute and the fact that some of the US retailers will ship to the UK.

I have a Dovo strop bought from the above website and recently ordered a Tony Miller strop from the US based upon the excellent recommendations on this site. Hopefully to be delivered soon.

My advice, would be to to get your razor honed by one of the UK based honers thereby starting with an excellent edge. You mention that you use a stone. As I'm not sure of the hones you have or your success with them,I think starting with a professionally honed razor is a good idea. Dovo is an excellent razor manufacturer, so you are starting with a good razor.

I would suggest buying a good quality leather strop. If money is an issue, your pound may go further if you buy from the US. Just be aware the HMRC may hit you with some VAT and import taxes (collected by your postman) on any purchase. They don't always do this, so its a bit of the luck of the draw if you get caught with it.

I shall leave strop recommendation to those who have more experince but would say that my Dovo strop is well made and the leather appears to be good quality. Based upon all the reviews on this forum, I expect the TM strop to surpass the Dovo.

Good luck.

I've tried a bunch of vintage strops and I must say as far as functionality goes they all work as good as Tony's. Of course Tony's strops look great too and the leather on them is perfect (until you nick it, or stain it, that is). And with the current exchange rates, you're in a good position if you fancy one of them.

I'm not quite sure what you mean that you like the razor better off a hone than a strop. Do you mean that after you hone your razor the strop makes it worse? That certainly sounds rather unusual. Perhaps if you post pictures of your strop we can notice some issues, but I'd say you are doing something wrong. Lynn has a stropping demo on his DVD, which I gather is available in parts on youtube, and there's at least two other members that strop on camera for youtube. Find Alex's (LX_Emergency) honing video, and perhaps somebody else will point to the other(s).

hope this helps

gugi thanks for your reply, it is most certainly my lack of ability at stropping and honing thats causing the problem. the stone im using is 1 ive had since school for sharpening chisels. now i have a rough idea what im looking for as soon as the funds are available ill be buying something more suitable