Newbie to Straight Razors and this forum

Hi all,

My name is Sean and I've been observing from a distance for about a month now, but finally decided to jump in! I've been shaving all my life with disposable razors and finally was introduced to an alternative (which happened to be a DE) by a friend. I decided to trying jumping straight into (no pun intended), straight razor shaving and am super pumped. Am waiting to receive my razor in a few days and am super pumped. More details to come later, but for now, thanks for having the beginner thread!

Hello, Sean. Welcome to SRP!

Hello Sean, welcome to SRP and enjoy your first shave. Go slow , be careful, you'll get it done.

Welcome Sean.

Since the tools matter, what is the razor that you are waiting to receive?

Welcome aboard...and as Utopian asked....whats in the mail??

Welcome, lots of good folks to help..

Welcome aboard Sean. Pics of your razor when you get the time?

Hi and welcome. A good bit of advice is don't strop before the first shave so that you can know what shave ready feels like. Good luck with your shaves and any questions feel free to ask

Welcome! This site is a fantastic source for info to help you get better. Enjoy your journey...

Welcome and enjoy the journey!

Welcome to SRP! You might want to start practicing stropping now on your leg with a butter knife.

Thank you everyone for the kind welcome.

I'm pretty excited/nervous about the razor that I'm waiting to receive. It is very similar in style to pictures of older Wade and Butcher razors, so I'm hoping it is of equal quality. It is a 7/8 Samuel Lawton from Sheffield. The seller listed some pretty useful/interesting information that I'll copy below. I'll get some pictures up when I receive it as well as let you all know how the first shave goes:) Wish me luck!



"The blade is 7/8 in width and has virtually no pitting. It has a fine shaving edge and will arrive honed, stropped and ready to shave. The black horn scales have just a little "weathering-type" deterioration near the pivot, no cracks or bites. They feature the big bulls-eye brass pins and rivet caps. This would be an excellent Christmas gift for a straight razor enthusiast. NOTE: This razor has been period re-ground hollow from what was surely a wedge profile when manufactured. There was no hollow grinding when this one was made (1840's to early 1850's).

Samuel Lawton was listed in the 1841 Sheffield census as being a 20 year old razor maker. It appears that he was a cousin of the famous chess problem creator, Howard Lawton. They lived in the Netherthorpe section of Sheffield which was famous for its cutlers."


And from my own research:

Not far away lived 20-year-old Samuel Lawton, a journeyman razor maker, who may have been another member of the same family. (Yorkshire Chess History)

Sorry about the delay, had so much fun, I forgot to post:) The first shave was pretty fun. I took it really slow (30-45 min), but still nicked myself in 3 places. Afterwards, my face felt awesome though. Only did WTG this time, will try XTG in the future:) Have lots of questions, but will read some other threads and check if it will be more relevant there.

Also, I did want to post the pictures of the razor!! (Here they are from the ebay seller):

Attachment 190507Attachment 190508

Looks like a good find. Congrats on the razor and on your successful first go at it.