By Randall Munden

Let’s look at choosing your shaving peripherals. While these items may sometimes be labeled as “shaving accessories” you will find them to be necessary to complete your shaving kit. You’ll need two things to enjoy your shaving experience: a finely honed edge on your razor and a warm, moist beard.

As I pointed out in the previous article just the act of shaving will cause your razor to become dull. I don’t mean dull like Conan. I mean that when each hair is cut as the edge passes over your face it deflects the edge of your razor just a tiny bit. Introduce enough of these distortions to the edge and you basically end up dragging a microscopic cheese grater across your skin.

To avoid this amazingly unpleasant sensation you will need a razor strop. A razor strop is commonly a piece of leather 2½ inches wide by 15 to 24 inches long. It will have a metal ring or clip on one end (which you will attach to something solid) and a larger ring on the opposite end that you can slip a pair of fingers through. Additionally, try to find a strop that has a strip of linen, canvas or hemp cloth attached on the reverse side.

The quality of the leather is important. Buy a strop that is made specifically for straight razors. Traditionally, razor strops were made only from russian red leather; Yep, it was red and made in Russia. I understand that proper russian red leather (made with tannins derived from black birch bark and oiled with birch bark oil that imparts a distinctive minty odor) hasn’t been produced in the last 75 (or so) years. However, several strops are still marketed as “Russian” or “Russian red leather.” They are usually excellent quality strops even if the description may contain a blatant misnomer.

While Conan never had an issue with wielding sharp steel, many shy away from using a straight razor for fear of cutting one or two fingers off. For those of us suffering from xyrophobia, maintaining a warm, moist beard is something you can do to improve your shaving experience without collapsing into a quivering lump on the bathroom floor.

The procurement of a high quality badger hair brush and proper shaving soap will do wonders for the entire experience. Shaving brushes come in many varieties. Ignore synthetic bristle or blends and go straight to the badger hair brushes. Badger hair has two qualities that make it ideal for a shaving brush: it holds water well and it becomes very elastic and flexible when wet. This translates to a very thick, creamy, hot lather that will hold your beard away from your face and will help the razor glide along your skin.

Badger bristles come in four or five levels of quality (depending on where on the badger the bristles were taken) with “silver tips” or “super badger” brushes being the highest. Any badger bristle brush will perform better than a synthetic but “tapers” or “best badger” brushes are my personal choice. Don’t be afraid of spending a bit of money here (maybe as much as $40). Properly maintained, a shaving brush will last 8 to 10 years.

Finally, you will need a good glycerine shaving soap and a shaving mug to keep it in. There are myriad scents out there but generally, shaving soap is all the same. Find a scent you think you may like, get a shaving mug for and give it a go. Any additional item I haven’t mentioned…those things are shaving accessories.

Previously: Straight Razors, Part 1: Choosing a Blade