How to Use a Straight Razor
(Page 3 of 4)
March/April 1972
By John D. Meek
Once you have your razor, you'll need two things to keep the tool in shape: a stone to sharpen it and a strop to hone its edge nice and flat.
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The stone is potentially the most expensive part of the deal. Expect to lay out from $2.50 to $10.00 for a good one, and make sure it's intended for razors and nothing else. Knife sharpening stones just don't make it with a straight razor, and I suspect they'll even ruin its blade. They're just too coarse.
A good strop is also mighty important because, if the blade on your razor is wavy, your face will be too. Antique and junk shops often have serviceable strops for a buck or less. Just make sure the face of the one you buy is smooth and not all cut up. A bit of saddle soap or bar soap or neats-foot oil (boot grease) applied sparingly will generally put an old strop into working shape.
For instruction in the art of using the straight razor, I firmly refer you to a barber, preferably an old one. Barbers often use one of these babies on themselves, and are usually delighted to demonstrate both the handling of the razor and its care and feeding. They'll tell you how and how often to use the stone, how to strop the razor without ending up with a frayed temper and a handful of shredded leather, and other little secrets.
For that matter, if you don't want to invest in a stone, you can often find a barber who'll put a new edge on your razor for free, or at least let you borrow his stone for the few moments it takes. I know, I've done it myself. The only problem you may have is in convincing your benefactor that you intend to shave with the thing, not use it on someone.
With a straight razor you can get a close shave with anything that'll put a good, moist foam on your face, but I personally won't touch the aerosol creams. You're being ripped off terrifically when you buy them, they're too thick and you always wind up wasting half of what you shoot out of a can, and the containers (which are still half full of goo when the gas runs out) present a recycling problem.
I use cup soap and a brush. (The best brushes are badger hair, which must give pause. Try the junk shops again. It's better to recycle an old one than to buy new.) Ordinary soap will work quite well, especially when you're going backpacking and don't want to tote along the cup variety as added weight, but do carry that strop. Your boots won't put a flat edge on a straight razor's blade. I know, I tried.
You can plan on cutting yourself about once a month. Better yet, skip that day and 14 others by shaving only every other morning. When you have a real razor that shaves as close as the straight ones do, you can hack off two days' worth of brush as fast and much easier than any other equipment will take off one.
At the risk of incurring some personal injury suits, the general idea of whacking whiskers with a straight razor (if you can't get someone who knows how to show you) is this:
