I'm going to go straight - help me!

I'm pretty apprehensive: I've decided that I'm going to have a go at straight razor shaving. I've always enjoyed it when someone else has given me a straight shave, but never thought I'd have the courage to try it myself....until now.

I plan to pull the trigger on a vintage reconditioned straight in the next couple of days, and have already read a lot of the brilliant advice here and watched some YouTube videos. Where I could really do with your help is on some basic newbie questions about my set up. I don't want to spend a small fortune in case I don't take to it, so what should be the basic minimum I need to keep my straight shave ready? Specifically, I'm thinking:

Whetstone: I think my razor will be pre-honed, but I'm assuming it will need an occasional re-hone, particularly as my technique is likely to be off at the start. Is that right, or do I only need to think about re-honing as a last resort? If re-honing is part of regular maintenance, what sort of grit on the whetstone should I be looking for in order to keep the razor sharp? And how will I know when the straight needs re-honing as opposed to a strop?

Strop: Leather? Canvas? One of each? And I'm really confused about stropping pastes and whether I need to get anything at this stage and, if so, what? Do you strop before every shave, or just when you feel that the edge is going off?

Is there anything else I should be thinking of equipping myself with at this stage?

In terms of technique, I imagine I'm looking at several months before feeling at home with a straight, particularly as I don't plan on using it every day. I might just start with some WTG passes only and see how that goes. Also, I'm worried about using my non-dominant hand but I guess that's a technique that will come with time.

Sorry about the ramble - I'm a mixture of excited and intimidated about this, but I'm going to give it my best shot!

Straight shaving is honestly not difficult, I have been solely using one for the past couple years and have had no major issues, starting off ensure you get a good properly honed razor so it will make the transition easy and start slowly like doing the flats of your face first and move to different areas as your skill level improves, don't take on honing right away as it's easier to master one thing at a time.

The learning curve s not what I would call steep you just have to be concerned about pressure and angle and never use the slicing bread technique just remember straight down, up or across.

Stropping is necessary so get an inexpensive one to start with as you will most likely nick and or cut one several times, speed is not your friend here so for the first few shaves plan on taking it real slow with no distractions and you will be fine.

A general rule of thumb I have heard and it held true for me is after 100 shaves you will be fairly good and it should only get easier after that, as far as honing goes if you want to thats great but if you only plan on owning say a few straights it's much easier and cheaper just to send them out to a reputable honer as stones are fairly expensive and then you have to learn how to do it, for me honing was necessary as I have almost 20 straights and I figured it would be worth the investment.

If you do not want to spend a lot of money until you are sure you will want to keep using it then keep the gear to a minimum. You must have a leather strop for in between shaves. Get a cheap one. There are lots available, the whipped dog ones are what I am familiar with and they do just fine. After a while you will want to touch up the edge a bit with a pasted balsa strop. But you can cross that bridge when you come to it or order the balsa kit when you order your strop.
I would not worry about honing right away. You should be able to find a member near you itching for the chance to touch up your razor for you. If not many of the members offer a excellent commercial honing service at a reasonable rate.
Best of luck!

Sorry, I just notice you were in the UK. I do not know any vendors there. However you should be able to pick up a cheap travel strop and balsa kit from one local to you. Maybe another member from across the pond will chime in.

Honing- I wouldn't be worried about honing this early. As long as you learn proper stropping, the razor likely won't need to be honed for 6-12 months or longer.

Strop & Pasted Strop - You do need a good (inexpensive) leather or synthetic leather strop, and some pasted balsa. Canvas, linen, or poly webbing strop parts are optional. I strop on poly webbing post shave to help dry the razor, and on leather prior to the shave. I use the pasted balsa at least every 7 shaves.

Polish & Oil - MAAS polish is probably a good thing to have. Some kind of light oil that is safe for metal and that you wouldn't mind on your skin is also a good idea. The area of the blade near the pivot pin is prone to rust, and it is good to oil at that spot. Some people also like to oil the entire blade for storage or just in general. Oiling a strop is a personal preference thing. The general recommendation seems to be nothing or a very tiny amount of neetsfoot oil every once in a long while.

Car wash sponge (optional) - rinsing a SR isn't like rinsing a DE. Lather tends to stick to it, and you could ruin the edge of the blade if you accidentally hit the faucet or side of the sink with it. Many people use a damp car wash or other large sponge to wipe the blade in between passes.

Whipped Dog might be the best option for a starter strop, even with international shipping. Your first strop will end up with battle scars, so you only want to purchase something serviceable to start. You can get a very basic pasted balsa kit from Whipped Dog if you order your strop there. Here is a thread on the ultimate pasted balsa strop if you like to DIY.

As far as technique goes, I felt comfortable enough to have someone watch after around 20 shaves. It is mainly muscle memory. Starting WTG only and only on your cheeks might be the best thing. Larry of Whipped Dog has a manual for beginners. It is jam packed with information. There are tons of Youtube videos of people shaving and stropping. I recommend watching a few.

Also, don't be afraid to spend a little money in the beginning on the razor. If you buy a vintage SR in used condition at market value, it'll likely still be worth market value if you decide you don't like SR shaving. You might be out shipping + honing, but that is a small price to pay. Like many things, if you buy new then you'll a good bit of the value will disappear as soon as you open it.

Do it! I used to get SR shaves in Korea and loved them, so I hear you there.

As as far as the strop goes, if you can't make it work locally or with Whipped Dog, shoot me a PM. I have an extra WD poor man's strop that I'd be glad to ship to you for the low price of "send me something random from where you live."

Thanks for all the tips so far, folks. I've sealed the deal on the razor, which should arrive later this week. It's a reconditioned Kiebitz straight, re-pinned with the original scales. To my untrained eye, she looks rather handsome. I've ordered a strop, but will probably leave it at that for the moment until I've had a few weeks trying with it and see how I feel. Not sure if I'm more nervous than excited, but definitely a bit of both!

Good luck!

G-Dogg said:

Thanks for all the tips so far, folks. I've sealed the deal on the razor, which should arrive later this week. It's a reconditioned Kiebitz straight, re-pinned with the original scales. To my untrained eye, she looks rather handsome. I've ordered a strop, but will probably leave it at that for the moment until I've had a few weeks trying with it and see how I feel. Not sure if I'm more nervous than excited, but definitely a bit of both!

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That looks like a beauty to me!

Very nice.

Minimum needs: 2 razors in good shape with no twists or warps in the blade and a snug pivot pin.
Strops: Clean untreated linen and leather.
Touch up stone: A Shoubudani size 100 or equivalent (a hard Nakayama or Oozuku will be good too). A few nagura stones for different grit slurry.
When to hone? When stropping doesn't work anymore.
Sadly this will be an investment. But without this stuff it's hard to yell if you'll like it or not because going in ill-equipped is a recipe for frustration.

lightfoot said:

Minimum needs: 2 razors in good shape with no twists or warps in the blade and a snug pivot pin.
Strops: Clean untreated linen and leather.
Touch up stone: A Shoubudani size 100 or equivalent (a hard Nakayama or Oozuku will be good too). A few nagura stones for different grit slurry.
When to hone? When stropping doesn't work anymore.
Sadly this will be an investment. But without this stuff it's hard to yell if you'll like it or not because going in ill-equipped is a recipe for frustration.

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I have to respectfully disagree. If the razor comes shave ready he should be able to maintain an edge for enough shaves to see if he is gonna want to keep going. After that a pasted balsa wood strop will stretch the edges for a while.
I do agree 100% that a second cheap shave ready razor is a big plus when learning, but not completely necessary. Lots of men went their whole lives with 1 razor and a strop, with honing done by third party.

Mtn Man said:

I have to respectfully disagree. If the razor comes shave ready he should be able to maintain an edge for enough shaves to see if he is gonna want to keep going. After that a pasted balsa wood strop will stretch the edges for a while.
I do agree 100% that a second cheap shave ready razor is a big plus when learning, but not completely necessary. Lots of men went their whole lives with 1 razor and a strop, with honing done by third party.

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I'm not trying to start a contentious exchange here but I'm a bit confused that you disagreed with the fact that I made some suggestions for hones. Your original post specifically contained an enquiry about whetstones. There are other options and I would say that they're all fair game. Now if you disagree with my suggestions because they put you at an unacceptable starting investment I can understand. Also keep in mind that I have a serious case of HAD which doc47 can attest to!

"Where I could really do with your help is on some basic newbie questions about my set up. I don't want to spend a small fortune in case I don't take to it, so what should be the basic minimum I need to keep my straight shave ready?"

Sorry maybe I misunderstood the OP. I took the main thrust of his question as out of all the gear used what was the minimum he needed to give it a try until he decided if he liked it. My apologies if I misunderstood.

The misunderstanding was mine. I had you confused with the OP! Oops. But its still a fair question. Perhaps pasted balsa is the best candidate from a $ standpoint. Many have used lapping film as well to good ends. But again I was already buying hones before I could even shave with a straight let alone sharpen. Again I have HAD. Having hones available was actually the only reason I didn't abandon straight shaving. Shave ready edges either don't last long or they're not shave ready enough to begin with so you'll need some way to address this unfortunate challenge of being new to straights. I've just never dealt with anything outside of bench style hones whether natural or synthetic.

No worries. I think we were answering different parts of the OP's questions.
Not to hijack too bad but I too ended up getting a full Honing setup before I had really got the hang of the shaving. Now I enjoy both aspects equally. Only problem is needing more razors to hone and try$$$$$$

Thanks again guys. I've confirmed that the razor will be fully shave ready, so from what I've understood, a strop before and after each use should keep the edge good enough for a few months, by which time I'll know whether straights are for me and whether I need to invest in hones or the services of a third party.

At least, that's my understanding of what you're saying, but tell me if I've misunderstood.

Nick starting out with one or two shave ready razors is key. I started shaving with razors that were victims of my own undeveloped honing skills at the time. The one new razor I bought was shave ready but just barely. And the other auction razors were hit and miss in terms of shave readiness. But if you're in good standing with a honemeister you should be able to avoid a lot of straight shaving peril.

Yes its simple to use a straight....yes it takes time to learn but thats half the fun....yes one razor will do but 2 is better as youll probably kill the edge on the first one quick...yes a strop is a good idea but you can get away with news print until your sure your in the game...yes it will be the best shave of your life once you master it to the point of a full shave....yes you should be warned that this will cost you big money because 2 razors, one strop and a set of honing stones are never enough....lol.

You have received lots of good advice here so far. And your new razor looks very nice. The only thing I would add is go slow with your stropping (and shaving) and focus on good prep and technique. Best of luck!