I’m contemplating to start shaving with a straight razor again after a long hiatus.
Some 15 years or so ago I had nice Thiers-Issard 5/8 straight razor plus small maintenance kit. All was eventually sold after some time. Reason being that I had other priorities in life back then and a safety razor was just faster.
I am now at a point in life where I have more time at hand and I’ve also become much more patient with things in general. For that reason I am now looking to start shaving with a SR again.
What I do not want is to get overwhelmed. I’m basically looking to start with a ‘simple’ 5/8 carbon steel razor that is of good quality and doesn’t cost too much. Think DOVO ‘Best Quality’ or similar. That plus a strop should basically be it to start out.
Since I know how to sharpen a (pocket) knife by hand on a stone and I also did sharpen the mentioned Thiers-Issard myself, at some point I’m willing to invest in one or two good stones. But not now. For this reason I’ve got a few questions that I hope you can answer.
1. Do new straight razors typically come shave-ready from the factory?
2. Are honing/stropping pastes really needed or just ‘nice to haves’?
3. And at what point does a SR typically need to be sharpened assuming I shave every other day, so 3 to 4 times per week?
Some 15 years or so ago I had nice Thiers-Issard 5/8 straight razor plus small maintenance kit. All was eventually sold after some time. Reason being that I had other priorities in life back then and a safety razor was just faster.
I am now at a point in life where I have more time at hand and I’ve also become much more patient with things in general. For that reason I am now looking to start shaving with a SR again.
What I do not want is to get overwhelmed. I’m basically looking to start with a ‘simple’ 5/8 carbon steel razor that is of good quality and doesn’t cost too much. Think DOVO ‘Best Quality’ or similar. That plus a strop should basically be it to start out.
Since I know how to sharpen a (pocket) knife by hand on a stone and I also did sharpen the mentioned Thiers-Issard myself, at some point I’m willing to invest in one or two good stones. But not now. For this reason I’ve got a few questions that I hope you can answer.
1. Do new straight razors typically come shave-ready from the factory?
2. Are honing/stropping pastes really needed or just ‘nice to haves’?
3. And at what point does a SR typically need to be sharpened assuming I shave every other day, so 3 to 4 times per week?