Thread: Absolute minimum kit to start

Hey all,

I've used a DE razor for many years but finally decided to bite the bullet and try a straight instead.
I picked up a Cyril R. Salter razor together with a strop from my local barber. The strop is a paddle, combination strop and honing stone.

One of the reasons I decided to use a straight razor is to stop being reliant on replacement blades and all the other consumables that go with shaving.
So the thing I'd like to know is, is the razor and strop / hone that I already have enough? Are the pastes I see advertised really necessary?

Have you shaved with the razor yet?

Im not sure what type of hone it is, but if the razor is shave ready, just the razor and strop should definately get you going. I'd recommend talking to that barber and asking him about stroping and honing.

Unfortunately the razor isn't shave ready.
The barber is a bit of a dead end I'm afraid as he only seems to use the shavette type of razors and couldn't give me any advice on honing or stropping.

I've watched a few of the videos online to see how this is done but most videos I find seem to show people maintaining their razors rather than 'breaking them in'.
I'm not sure what kind of hone I have, it's this one
Razor Hone

If I'm feeling adventurous, I might try honing it tonight.

I'm another noob, so this may be a case of the blind leading the blind, but the way I understand it after reading a lot here is that in addition to your leather strop you need:

1. Either a pasted strop or a very fine finishing stone (at least 12000 grit) for touch-ups every few shaves (or few weeks), though I guess some people do without these, and some people use both;
2. A courser stone or plate (8000 grit) for when the razor gets too dull for just a touch-up (opinions seem to vary about how long this takes, from a couple months to more than a year), unless you're willing to send it in to a pro each time (and be without it for several weeks in the meantime); and
3. An even courser stone or plate (like 4000 grit) if you need to set the bevel on a razor. I imagine this might apply to your brand new one, depending on what shape it comes in, and might also apply if the razor gets dropped or the edge gets damaged some other way. Again, you can pass on this if you are willing to send the razor out.

What I think this means for you is IF the stone on your paddle is a finishing-grade stone, then you won't need anything else, but you WILL need to send the razor to someone to get it honed for the first time, and later on when the razor will no longer keep an edge you will either need to spring for more honing gear or send it out again. There are a number of folks on this site who will do it for a reasonable price.

On the other hand, if the stone is like an 8k that you can actually sharpen on, you might want to get a pasted strop as well for more frequent touch-ups, or make one out of newspaper and chromium oxide powder/paste. You might also not need to send the razor out for sharpening, though I would still recommend that you do so the very first time to get it started on the right foot.

(Items 2 and 3 are both included in one item in the Norton 4k/8k waterstone that is popular here, or in the DMT DiaSharp D8EE diamond plate, which is said to perform both jobs.)

So how do you know which one you have? Hmm... I guess I'll leave that to people who know more about this than I do...

Originally Posted by Blighty

Hey all,

I've used a DE razor for many years but finally decided to bite the bullet and try a straight instead.
I picked up a Cyril R. Salter razor together with a strop from my local barber. The strop is a paddle, combination strop and honing stone.

One of the reasons I decided to use a straight razor is to stop being reliant on replacement blades and all the other consumables that go with shaving.
So the thing I'd like to know is, is the razor and strop / hone that I already have enough? Are the pastes I see advertised really necessary?

I'd say you have all that you need to keep a razor going indefinitely. Though I don't know anything about that hone, if its a similar grit to the majority of finishing or barbers hones out there it will do a fine job of maintaining your razor virtually forever.

The down side is that it must be shaving sharp to begin with. Your hone MIGHT be able to accomplish this but the odds are it can't and its a certainty that at this point you don't have the skill to get the best edge possible out of the razor. I'd send it out to get everything squared away so you are starting in a good place where you just have to maintain what was expertly put there.

On second look you might want to have someone who knows what they are doing take a gander at your Hone.

The CYRIL R SALTER site recommends these as honing stones for razors.

Shaving Accessories from Male Grooming Supplies
Shaving Accessories from Male Grooming Supplies

The first one being Silicon carbide is rougher than I usually use on my kitchen knives, and the second of "400 grade" means what I think it does is an order of magnitude to rough to touch any razor.

First...the razor is almost certainly not ready to shave with. It needs to be sent to someone for honing. The reason is that the factory bevel is slightly "off".

There are a bunch of guys in England that can help you with this.
Post a thread in the "Basic Honing" forum asking for someone in your country to help you.

Second...you would be doing all of us a favor if you sent that hone/strop along with the razor. Then that person can post a review of that hone and if it is suitable for razors.

Third....the abrasive pastes are a real benefit to keeping your blade sharp. They are not to be used before every shave but rather when the edge starts to pull a bit more that you would like. Generally a 1.0 micron and a 0.5 micron paste. 10-20 laps with each should "refresh" the edge. A 4000/8000 grit hone will be useful later and by then you will know if you want to continue with a str8 razor.


Hope this helps,

Welcome to SRP.
I would suggest you get the razor honed.
I know of two people in the UK who offer a honing service. One goes by the name of Poona (?) who is based in Belfast and another guy who can be contacted at www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk
There may be others, might be worth having a look about.

Both are members on the forum and will be able to hone your razor. Once honed, you will be able to keep it sharp with the gear you have.

Quite right SB.