Paddle strops with straight razors

[andymp]

So I'm thinking of picking up a straight razor, but being a electric user the cost of the accessories for wet shaving is kind of daunting. My question is this: I have a double sided Veritas strop that I use for my knives. One side is still clean and unused/charged. Would it be acceptable for daily stropping of a straight razor? All of the shaving sites I've seen seem to sell the hanging style strops, but I would rather skip the extra 30-50 bucks if possible.

Any other razor, brush, soap choosing advice would be very much appreciated.

-thanks
andy

 

[WadeF]

A paddle strop is fine, and in some ways it's better because you don't risk letting the strop hang like you can with a hanging strop. If you don't keep the hanging strops pulled tight you can mess up the edge of the razor.

If you want to go cheap just pick up a boar hair brush at WalMart, or whevever, some Williams Shave soap, and borrow a coffee mug from the kitchen.

Best time to shave is after a hot shower. I usually suds up my face with a soap that has a good glycerin content. I just read the ingredients at the store to find one that listed it as close to the beginning of the list as possible. Or you could use shave soap, but that's probably a waste. This will help to start soften your beard. Then once I get out of the shower I re-wet my face with more warm/hot water and apply the lather from the shave soap.

To test my razor's sharpness I like it to easily grab and cut my arm hair above skin level.

Some razors aren't always ready to shave when they are new and may require a little work on a razor hone. Also the plain leather may not always do the trick and having a hanging strop with a canvas back is helpful. The canvas helps to straighten the edge and lets you go longer without honing.

You maybe able to use the loaded side of your strop to restore the edge when regular stropping on the leather doesn't get your edge keen anymore. Are you using a 0.5 micron compound? Veritas green or whatever?

If you like it and want to put more money into it check out www.classicshaving.com as they sell a lot of good stuff. Also www.knifecenter.com's shavecenter has some good stuff as well. I like the Col. Conk shave soaps they carry.

 

[andymp]

Yep, Veritas green on the strop. Thanks for the advise, I'm sure I'll be back for more once I try it for the first time.

 

[WadeF]

Yep, Veritas green on the strop. Thanks for the advise, I'm sure I'll be back for more once I try it for the first time.

Just be sure to read up on how to handle the razor properly and be sure you never pull it across your face in a slicing motion or it'll bite you real quick. Respect the razor at all costs. If you have to do a task that doesn't involve shaving, put it down first. I made this mistake and tried to do to many things at once and I put the heel of the razor right through my thumb. It just laughed at me as it passed through my thumb like a hot knife through butter. I watched in horror.