Maintaining a straight razor essentially means preserving its proverbial razor-sharp edge and protecting it from corrosion. The razor's sharpness is primarily achieved through regular stropping on linen and untreated leather, and after some time, on leather treated with honing compound. This requires a little practice but is easy to learn. While maintaining a constant angle is the real challenge with a pocket knife or kitchen knife, the geometry of a straight razor is very advantageous in this respect. The precisely calibrated ratio of the very thick spine to the ultra-thin edge ensures that the correct angle is automatically achieved when the spine and edge are in contact with the leather.
The best way is to first place the back of the razor against the leather and then carefully fold the edge. Now, with gentle pressure, draw the razor along the entire length of the leather towards the back (away from the edge). Move the razor slightly diagonally across the leather as you do this. This ensures that the leather covers the entire length of the edge. The back and edge must remain in constant contact with the leather. It is crucial that as soon as you reach the end of the leather, you turn the razor over by rotating it over the back. Under no circumstances should the razor be rotated over the edge. This would round off the edge again, dulling it.
The untreated leather doesn't remove any material from the edge; it doesn't actually sharpen the knife. The burr of the edge can be visualized microscopically as a comb whose teeth are bent in all directions after shaving. The leather straightens these teeth back into a uniform burr.
The linen side – if available – should be used before stropping in exactly the same way as the leather strop. The linen fibers are soft, but the weave is coarse. This allows the linen to grip and straighten the burr very effectively. The weave traps dirt or loose steel particles that could damage the delicate edge when pressed against the leather. The subsequent use of the leather then produces a finer finish. Stropping should be done before, not after, shaving. Steel possesses a certain degree of self-healing ability or "memory." The burr slowly and partially straightens itself after use. Forcibly pulling the burr back up with the strop immediately after shaving puts stress on the material. This shortens the lifespan of the burr and, in the long run, the life of the razor. The straight razor should rest for at least 24 hours, ideally 48 hours or longer, after shaving. Those who shave daily should therefore own at least two razors. Our grandfathers often had weekly sets of seven razors for this reason.
If, after some time, the cutting performance of the knife gradually diminishes despite regular stropping, the knife should be stropped on a second leather strop treated with special red honing compound. This process actually removes a minimal amount of steel. The obvious question of how many shaves this should occur after is unfortunately not easy to answer definitively. Every beard is different. Many men only shave partially and wear a defined outline. The wear on the edge varies each time. The user should strop with compound when the knife starts to pull during shaving. After stropping with compound, the blade should be thoroughly cleaned and then stropped again on untreated leather.
To protect against corrosion, the blade should be carefully and thoroughly dried after shaving and then thinly oiled with a viscous, preferably acid-free oil. Camellia oil has proven to be excellent for this purpose.