DE to Straight

hokahay said:

I'll toss in a few comments and look to the group for some critique.

First is in reference to the strop conditioner. Tony Miller, for one suggests that beginning straight shavers have a tendency to overdo oiling due to an overzealous compulsion to maintain the equipment. Hand rubbing the strop before use is often enough. whipped dog has 30 mL (two tablespoons) of neatsfoot oil for a dollar. At 20 drops/mL that's a five year supply! I bought a little tub of strop dressing and I use it on everything.. My wallet, my iPhone holster, my manicure kit. But I haven't put any on my strop.

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~~~I've used about 5 different strops. the last new strop I bought was one of Tony's...I think it is his latest model (Steerhide)...the one on the left-

bought it in October 2011 and I have not used anything on it other than my hand for oil. I'm talking about the natural oil in the palm of your hand. What's important is to wipe the leather before using so as to remove any lint or dust that fell on it since last use...any little bit of detritus will muck up your edge

hokahay said:

Second thing is after your shave I think a hot water rinse ( keeping pores open ) then alum. Rinse your brush then with the hot water and then with cold. The brush hair likes a hot followed by cold rinse. Then rinse your face with cold water to close the pores. This is probably nit picking, but I am throwing it out there for your consideration.

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~~~what I've been doing (right or wrong)...when finished with the shave, I wipe the blade with my damp wash cloth then my dry hand towel. The wash cloth is also used to wipe my face to remove any left over shave soap, but only after I use it to clean the blade...and I dunk the wash cloth in the sink water which is warm, then wipe my face and wring out the wash cloth, then I hang up this wash cloth and dry my hands so I can strop my razor on linen and leather before putting up (and not kept in the bathroom so as to avoid any moisture). After all, that is the idea behind stropping after use is to dry the blade. I make sure my hands are dry before this final stropping so I don't get any moisture on the blade or strop. Strop hangs in a closet around the corner from the 1/2 bath.

Now I go back to the damp wash cloth which is now cool and use it to close my skin pores. Just the coolness of the damp wash cloth on my face is enough to close skin pores. Now it's time to apply after shave, with closed skin pores and I wont get any A/S on my strop or razor. FWIW, I like to apply my A/S after the sklin pores close. Others may have better and different ideas


Best,


Jake
Reddick Fla.

Had to take a couple days off from the straight. I got a little cut on the corner of my jaw just below the ear, one on each side. (clearly the zone I need to pay more attention to) I have some Shapton Pros on the way. I have a couple vintage razors to play with. (don't worry, nothing fancy, or worth too much) Thankfully SWMBO is out of town otherwise I would have been sleeping on the couch for sure. Those suckers are spendy! Good investment I'm sure. I'll just have to fast track the plans for a vacation in Hawaii to distract her.

The Whipped Dog’s “Rich Man’s Strop” may be the best deal for someone wanting to start with a nice strop, but worry about nicking and ruining it. According to his website, you can buy a replacement leather portion of your strop for $12 plus shipping. This way you can start out with a nice strop and only be out $14 ($12 plus $2 shipping) to fix it up like new.