sharpening your straight razor.

Dovo, the German manufacturer of strops, straight razors and strop paste, recommend that you don't sharpen your straight razor until absolutely necessary, which means around once a year.

Blades can be sharpened at good kitchen stores and at certain cobblers’ shops. Ask the shop/cobbler first to check whether they have previous experience of dealing with straight razors.

What you can do yourself is to maintain the blade; then, the blade will last a lifetime. Your strop should always be smeared with grease, sharpening paste, on the side of the strop where you see the “Dovo” type. The grease is smeared on and worked into the leather using the hand. The straight razor is drawn in the direction of what is called the blade’s “spine”, several times from the top downwards. Then, you turn the blade around and do the same on the other side. You should NEVER draw the blade in the direction of the sharp side. This will ruin your costly straight razor. Don’t wash the blade after stropping, only after shaving.

When honing your straight razor, it is the other way around. There you will have the edge first, and you will do cutting movements. When turning the blade, leave it on the sharpening stone, and turn with the back against it. When honing, you should smear oil on the stone. Any oil will do. Most people have olive oil at home and that will do just fine.

Try the blade on your nail, as shown in the clip below. The blade should grip your nail, not slide. If it grips your nail, you may proceed with the stropping. When the blade is sharp enough for shaving, you should be able to cut a hair with it, like shown in the clip.