Daft newb questions

[Bilbo]

I have read that you should strop before you shave, should this be straight away before the shave? I work shifts and I doubt I would have time to strop in the morning before an early (withou getting up at an even more ungodly hour), would I be able to strop the night before?

Does the blade need coating in oil every time between shaves, I would hate to spend £50ish for it to rust.

How long does it take to get the hang of stopping? (roughly).

 

[asharperrazor]

I have read that you should strop before you shave, should this be straight away before the shave? I work shifts and I doubt I would have time to strop in the morning before an early (withou getting up at an even more ungodly hour), would I be able to strop the night before?

Not necessarily, no. The results aren't terribly different, but the experienced straight razor user can tell. Very minute difference, not worth the extra effort if it doesn't work into your schedule. That said, I manage to strop in the 1:10 minutes it takes for my water to heat up in the microwave. So, it can be done in the morning. I take another minute after shaving to strop on the canvas/cotton, but in your case, you can do that at night. I still recommend 10 laps just to make sure the water is off the edge before you leave in the morning.

Does the blade need to be oiled?
Not unless you live in a very humid place. Don't store it in your bathroom, make sure its dry before you put it away, and strop it on cotton/linen after you shave and you shouldn't have any problems with edge longevity. Hard water can leave spots though.

How long does it take to get the hang of stopping? (roughly).
Sorry, the answer depends. Took me a while to become truly proficient at it. I nicked many a piece of leather learning. I highly recommend not splurging on your first strop.

 

[Jeltz]

Its probably best to strop just before shaving but I've done it the night before with no ill effects, however I do like to do a dozen laps on a linen strop after shaving just to ensure that the razor is dry.

I don't oil my razors unless I'm not going to use the for a while. However, I keep them in a dry draw in the bedroom if I was keeping them in a humid environment I probably would oil after each shave. The trick I've read is a mix of alcohol (surgical spirit or similar) and mineral oil. The alcohol the evaporates and leaves a coating of oil.

Like anything stropping falls into place over time. I don't know when stropping became easy for me but I do know that I'm still improving even a year after starting. However, I guess it was after a few months that I was getting quicker and more consistent. These days I take less than 2 minutes to strop, that's doing 30 linen and 60 leather but I prefer to shave at night as the shave takes about 10-15 minutes.