Osbourne & Garrett KROPP 6/8 full hollow

B

Burnsy

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195
Ive just bought an Osbourne and Garrett KROPP straight razor from E bay uk.. I have only ever shaved with either a DE razor or gilette mach 3 razor..Any advice for a complete novice? I currently use Signature soaps shaving soaps.
 
Tom Hanks Soul GIF
 
Excellent! For a moment when I saw the title I thought/hoped it was in the BST haha!
They are very well regarded razors. It all comes down to what sort of an edge has been put on it though. There are some regular sellers on the bay who are known for good edges, such as Billyji1 and if yours is truly shave ready you should have fun with it. When you first get into straights it's hard to know whether the edge or your technique is the problem and the only way is to take the edge out of the equation by starting with a known good one.

Let's see some pics. I am guessing it's a full hollow round point in 6/8 or 7/8? Nice choice and the round point will make it so much easier than the spike or square points to start with. You need to take care with square points to always know where the point is, especially when it's near your earlobe and you're concentrating on your cheek. They say a 5/8 round point is the ideal razor to learn with. Very narrow (3/8-4/8) are a bit twitchy for finding the angle and 7/8+ can be a bit unwieldy at first until you get used to larger razors.

I'm far from the best person to advise anyone as there are others here who have forgotten more than I'll ever know on the subject (especially honing) but the razor must be truly shave ready, you want very very light touch, it's very important to stretch your skin and the angle of the blade to your skin is critical. About 1-2 spine widths is good generally, as a guide.

Tip number 1 is lock the bathroom door unless you live alone, you do NOT want wife or kids barging in when you have an open blade to your neck. Set aside plenty of time, like half an hour, clear your mind, do not rush.

Super important is to be conscious of making sure the blade always moves with a push-cutting action, never slicing. Sounds obvious but it's when the blade first touches down that the likelihood of an unintentionally sideways motion can happen and that's when you cut yourself. Therefore do longer, slower strokes and avoid those buffing strokes that can become a habit with DE as that reduces the number of times the blade touches down.

The other thing with straights is that in my experience, they take off less in the first WTG pass than a DE will, so when you feel your skin after the first pass there will be more stubble left than you're used to, but by the time you've done 3 it'll likely be smoother. With DE I feel like the first pass does 70%, then 20 then 9, whereas straights it's more like 40/40/20? ATG under the nose is known as the Fool's Pass and it's pretty difficult unless your razor has a fantastic edge so don't force it!

Give it a good stropping (50 sets) before and after each shave. If the person who honed it for you before sale said not to strop it before your very first use of the edge, then for that first run, maybe try it as delivered. Billy Graham (Billyji1) always advised to use his edge as is and strop afterwards.

Hope that helps and apologies if I've said anything that's "Captain Obvious"!
 
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hotmetal said:
Excellent! For a moment when I saw the title I thought/hoped it was in the BST haha!
They are very well regarded razors. It all comes down to what sort of an edge has been put on it though. There are some regular sellers on the bay who are known for good edges, such as Billyji1 and if yours is truly shave ready you should have fun with it. When you first get into straights it's hard to know whether the edge or your technique is the problem and the only way is to take the edge out of the equation by starting with a known good one.

Let's see some pics. I am guessing it's a full hollow round point in 6/8 or 7/8? Nice choice and the round point will make it so much easier than the spike or square points to start with. You need to take care with square points to always know where the point is, especially when it's near your earlobe and you're concentrating on your cheek. They say a 5/8 round point is the ideal razor to learn with. Very narrow (3/8-4/8) are a bit twitchy for finding the angle and 7/8+ can be a bit unwieldy at first until you get used to larger razors.

I'm far from the best person to advise anyone as there are others here who have forgotten more than I'll ever know on the subject (especially honing) but the razor must be truly shave ready, you want very very light touch, it's very important to stretch your skin and the angle of the blade to your skin is critical. About 1-2 spine widths is good generally, as a guide.

Tip number 1 is lock the bathroom door unless you live alone, you do NOT want wife or kids barging in when you have an open blade to your neck. Set aside plenty of time, like half an hour, clear your mind, do not rush.

Super important is to be conscious of making sure the blade always moves with a push-cutting action, never slicing. Sounds obvious but it's when the blade first touches down that the likelihood of an unintentionally sideways motion can happen and that's when you cut yourself. Therefore do longer, slower strokes and avoid those buffing strokes that can become a habit with DE as that reduces the number of times the blade touches down.

The other thing with straights is that in my experience, they take off less in the first WTG pass than a DE will, so when you feel your skin after the first pass there will be more stubble left than you're used to, but by the time you've done 3 it'll likely be smoother. With DE I feel like the first pass does 70%, then 20 then 9, whereas straights it's more like 40/40/20? ATG under the nose is known as the Fool's Pass and it's pretty difficult unless your razor has a fantastic edge so don't force it!

Give it a good stropping (50 sets) before and after each shave. If the person who honed it for you before sale said not to strop it before your very first use of the edge, then for that first run, maybe try it as delivered. Billy Graham (Billyji1) always advised to use his edge as is and strop afterwards.

Hope that helps and apologies if I've said anything that's "Captain Obvious"!
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Thanks for this. The locking the door and having 30 minutes may be the biggest problem.
 
Well you might not need half an hour, the point is not to feel time pressure. And if you can't lock the door, explain to them what you're doing. If your family is the type to barge in on you, that's a worry as even a knock on the door could cause you to turn your head and that's fine unless the blade is on your skin, at which point it might be very not fine. Kids of a certain age will grab your arm to see what you're doing etc, some women will freak at the sight of a straight razor etc, all things you want to mitigate against before you start your shave.
 
Hi there @Burnsy , you have a fine razor there.
As for starting out I would not try to complete a full shave with your straight. I found it easier to just complete my cheeks on a WTG pass only, then finish the shave with a normal razor. I did this until I felt comfortable using both hands. Right for right hand side and Left for left hand side. Once I was more comfortable and confident i started to move onto neck and throat.
Over the chin and under nose are the hardest to master as this requires "me" to roll the razor in my fingers to maintain the angle. Skin stretching helps, actually its a must for me, it allows you to clean the jawline. Stretch up on the cheeks and stretch down on the neck.
Try not to rush and try not to use the wrist for your razor strokes, keep the wrist "locked" to maintain the angle and using elbow and shoulder for the stroke. For 2nd pass I only do ATG on the neck and XTG from ear to lip/chin. I then tidy up under nose and chin mainly with WTG strokes.
This is just my way, you will find your way for your most comfortable shave.
It takes a good few shaves to become confident, don't be put off be a few nicks. One thing I learned quickly was to keep an eye on the blade toe when doing sideburns as I nicked my ear lobe quite badly early on during my steep learning curve.
On a sidenote you could always get a cheap shavette and practise your technique with it without fitting a blade and just removing the lather until you are a bit more confident.
Good luck.
 
hotmetal said:
Well you might not need half an hour, the point is not to feel time pressure. And if you can't lock the door, explain to them what you're doing. If your family is the type to barge in on you, that's a worry as even a knock on the door could cause you to turn your head and that's fine unless the blade is on your skin, at which point it might be very not fine. Kids of a certain age will grab your arm to see what you're doing etc, some women will freak at the sight of a straight razor etc, all things you want to mitigate against before you start your shave.
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Ive not discussed or told my wife Ive bought a straight edge razor. I'll just have to wait and see what the reaction willl be.
 
Tony'schin said:
Hi there @Burnsy , you have a fine razor there.
As for starting out I would not try to complete a full shave with your straight. I found it easier to just complete my cheeks on a WTG pass only, then finish the shave with a normal razor. I did this until I felt comfortable using both hands. Right for right hand side and Left for left hand side. Once I was more comfortable and confident i started to move onto neck and throat.
Over the chin and under nose are the hardest to master as this requires "me" to roll the razor in my fingers to maintain the angle. Skin stretching helps, actually its a must for me, it allows you to clean the jawline. Stretch up on the cheeks and stretch down on the neck.
Try not to rush and try not to use the wrist for your razor strokes, keep the wrist "locked" to maintain the angle and using elbow and shoulder for the stroke. For 2nd pass I only do ATG on the neck and XTG from ear to lip/chin. I then tidy up under nose and chin mainly with WTG strokes.
This is just my way, you will find your way for your most comfortable shave.
It takes a good few shaves to become confident, don't be put off be a few nicks. One thing I learned quickly was to keep an eye on the blade toe when doing sideburns as I nicked my ear lobe quite badly early on during my steep learning curve.
On a sidenote you could always get a cheap shavette and practise your technique with it without fitting a blade and just removing the lather until you are a bit more confident.
Good luck.
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The thought of using both hands - Im right handed - with a v sharp straight razor is erm concerning. I bougt the razor hoping it would save me money as the DE blades I use I'll chuck away but a straight razor should last and can be honed to a super sharp edge from time to time.
 
Burnsy said:
The thought of using both hands - Im right handed - with a v sharp straight razor is erm concerning. I bougt the razor hoping it would save me money as the DE blades I use I'll chuck away but a straight razor should last and can be honed to a super sharp edge from time to time.
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I Would Agree with Ya..I Am Right Handed..Ya Can Shave Perfectly Well with One Hand. for the Most Part..Two Hands Might Confuse the Matter...As Far as a Shavette Goes I Probably Wouldn't Bother..They are Not Like for Like..:cool:

Billy
 
Fergiebilly said:
I Would Agree with Ya..I Am Right Handed..Ya Can Shave Perfectly Well with One Hand. for the Most Part..Two Hands Might Confuse the Matter...As Far as a Shavette Goes I Probably Wouldn't Bother..They are Not Like for Like..:cool:

Billy
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Thanks Bill. Your honing of this razor is excellent. Just got to get my head around how to hold the cut throat for different sides of my face. But finding the straight razor gives a far closer shave which lasts longer.
 
Burnsy said:
Thanks Bill. Your honing of this razor is excellent. Just got to get my head around how to hold the cut throat for different sides of my face. But finding the straight razor gives a far closer shave which lasts longer.
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Holding & Adjusting the Scales & Blade Take Can a Moment.to Get the Hang Of...A Wee Note..Might Help..Mind & Adjust the Face by Moving & Tilting the Head..Another Wee Note..Try Using Full Arm Movements..That is to Say...Think of the Hand & the Razor being at the End of the Arm..In Other Words...Use the Full Arm...Maybe think of You're Elbow & Shoulder (Body Mechanics) Movements. as Ya Adjust & Shave.. :rolleyes:

Aye..Ya Can Indeed Get a Close & Long Lasting Close Shave with a Properly Honed SR..:D

Billy
 
Gairdner said:
Billy! How the hell are you mate? Billy will keep you right. Aye, so he will.
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hotmetal said:
@Fergiebilly good to see you are still here, quietly lurking I suppose? You helped me get started with straights which is how I got my Fritz Bracht Tennis from Billyji1 which was a good tip. Thanks for that. Hope you're well and that you'll post more.
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Thanks Guys..Still Kicking & Lurking Around Quietly..Those Fritz Bracht Tennis Razors are Great..:D

Billy
 
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