Try Again

Mr.Draper87

Mr.Draper87

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396
Location
Nottingham
Hi guys, some years ago I tried shaving with a straight razor. I loved it, got an excellent shave from my first try. But I rolled the edge when stropping. And so I gave up instantly, and sold my razor and strop.

I have now for the past year been thinking of trying once again. What would be the ideal setup for a newbie and someone that needs to learn to strop correctly?

Thanks
Callum
 
People with far more experience will be able to offer better advice but personally I found a paddle strop actually helped me initially.

My Mrs picked me up a Strop-It Supex 77, that helped me a lot when 'the fear' of mucking up my edge took over. It didn't take long for me to switch up to a standard strop (Tony Millers heirloom efforts) but I still use it occasionally.

It obviously isn't necessary but if you're worried about a repeat then you could go that route until you're comfortable with the movement.
 
I started with a vintage razor obtained from Billyji1 on the bay, and one of his own made double sided paddle strops. The razor arrived shave ready, which is important as otherwise you'll never know if it's you or the edge that is to blame for any bad shaves, initially. You could pick up something similar for under a ton. His shave ready razors are often around the £60 mark and he concentrates on 5/8 extra hollow round points which are a good place to start IMO. The paddle strops under £40 last time I looked.

Or I suppose you could put a wanted ad in the BST here, you never know what people have lying around. Hopefully people here would be straight up about the edge.
 
Sorry I skipped past the razor itself as you'd picked one up before so thought you might just be talking strops.

Can vouch for Billyji1 as well, I picked up my first shave ready razor from him. 5/8 mawhood bros. round point vintage effort, shaved brilliantly and actually still have it tucked away.
 
I have never used a shavette, I did once get a barbershop shave and the barber used a shavette but 1 pro experience doesn't really qualify me to comment on shavettes as a whole. However they're not cheap, for £200 you could buy a shave ready vintage straight, a strop and some stones, or skip the stones and still have enough left over to send it out 4 times.
 
If you strop with zero pressure, so just the weight of the razor on the canvas and leather, you'll be absolutely fine. Then you can add a little pressure in time, but you barely need any, all you're doing is polishing the edge.
Straight razors and shavettes are two different animals, I've always found straights much easier and more forgiving.
All the advice above is spot on, contact Billyji1 and he'll put you on the right track.
 
Mr.Draper87 said:
Thanks, guys I will check Billyji1 out. If I'm worried about rolling the edge again, would a Feather DX be a better option?
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I've used straight razor's and still have a couple but I've found the Feather DX to be an excellent alternative to a straight razor shave.
I've heard that a shavette is not as forgiving as a straight razor but I have not found that to be the case, once you have used a Feather DX for a while it will feel as natural as using a straight without any of the upkeep.
Well worth thinking about.


Paul.
 
hotmetal said:
I started with a vintage razor obtained from Billyji1 on the bay, and one of his own made double sided paddle strops. The razor arrived shave ready, which is important as otherwise you'll never know if it's you or the edge that is to blame for any bad shaves, initially. You could pick up something similar for under a ton. His shave ready razors are often around the £60 mark and he concentrates on 5/8 extra hollow round points which are a good place to start IMO. The paddle strops under £40 last time I looked.

Or I suppose you could put a wanted ad in the BST here, you never know what people have lying around. Hopefully people here would be straight up about the edge.
Click to expand...
I fully agree here,
When I started using straights I brought one of his paddle strops and have had no reason to use anything else tbh, it's always served me well.
My razors all shave great still, no pressure is key and taking your time.
 
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