Thread: Well I did it!

I dove in the deep end today. I am new to the forum and new to wet shaving, but I just ordered a wet shave set from SRD with the Dovo Masterclass 6/8. I also went ahead and picked up a Naniwa 12000 and a Chromium Oxide crayon to hopefully keep it going for a good amount of time as I live abroad and do not have a reliable, local source for sharpening.

In my introduction thread I inquired about mentors in the Shanghai area. If you are out there I would love to hear from you!

When my kit arrives I will give everyone an update!

Cheers,

Brandon

Awesome. Welcome to SRP. Read up on technique and go slow while you're learning. You're gonna love it!

Welcome Picassov7 to SRP. Since you are possibly far from other straight razor shavers let me stress to you the need to carefully read in the Library. I would start off with the FAQ section. It was carefully written as a condensed version of the full Library. There are links in it to the more detailed sections you might need. Also, very smart to realize that you shouldn't jump in on honing at the beginning of your journey. If you go to the upper right of the main page of SRP and type 'Local Help' in the search box and then click on the first post mentioned you will get a list of all current Mentors in the US and any country where there are at least one. I am afraid that you will find none listed, as yet, for China. If I remember, the closest would be in Australia and if onimaru55 is listed I would PM to start an email relationship. He is one with great and good advice and can hone a razor for you or suggest someone closer to you for that service.

Again, welcome to SRP, one of the best rides in the world today.

Hi Brandon
Welcome to the SRP Community. You did very well buying the Dovo Masterclass 6/8. You will like it very much & it should come ready to use. I don't know of many members in your area but get your friends interested & spread the word. We always welcome people from around the world. You also did good by buying the Naniwa 12k & the Chromium Crayon.I hope you ordered you a strop as well. You will need to mainly learn hoe to use the strop because it is suggested that you strop your razor before & after you use it but since you bought it from SRD, you shouldn't really need to strop it if you don't know how yet since Lynn hones & strops every razor they sell. You can use an old wide leather belt & a butter knife to practice so that you don't cut a new strop because it will happen. You might also consider buying you a second straight razor for when you might have to send your razor off to be honed but hopefully you will also watch the honing videos in the Library to learn how to hone. You can also learn to strop in the Library as well. You will need a lapping stone or plate for your new 12k stone as they do not come exactly flat already plus if & when you decide to buy honing stones you will need that to make your stones flat. Just a little extra information you need to know for your hone(s). If you need to know anymore information, please feel free to ask me in a pm or ask on the forum. I along with others will be more than happy to help you out. Also Razorfeld is right in what he told you so please use the library to learn all you can before attempting to hone or strop.
Steve

Thanks razorfeld and engine46! I bought one of the wet shaving kits from SRD so it does come with a Strop, brush, etc. I also bought one of the DMT Diamond Coarse lapping plates to prep my Naniwa in the future. I have been carefully watching Lynn's videos online to get an understanding of the art (shaving, maintaining, and sharpening). I have no intention of touching the Naniwa until necessary. I will begin by working on my technique shaving and stropping. If the razor begins to grab then I will try the chromium oxide. If all else fails (hopefully measured in months or years) then I will begin prepping the Naniwa.

I have already been perusing the library and will continue to do so. I might also reach out to some of you privately. I greatly appreciate the groups help and am enjoying hanging out here so far!

Welcome to SRP. Sounds like you have your head on straight and are the right path. Let us know who it goes

Welcome to SRP Picassov7: you did your homework and made excellent choices for your first razor.

Good choices, but take Razorfeld's advice and stay off the stones for a while. I may be wrong, but I think there is at least one other new member in Shanghai. I'll look around the posts and get back to you on that.


Never mind, it was your introduction I was remembering!

Welcome. It sounds like you have done and are doing your homework. You will go far like that. Keep us posted.

Good luck and enjoy the journey! I'm just starting out as well, and this forum has been a great help. A week in, and I've got a solid first pass routine with the straight! I'm sure it can and will get better, but the help here has been great in helping the learning curve!