Thread: Hello

Hi,
I'm about to start on the straight razor journey, my birthday present to myself is a good straight razor TI 5/8 + Silvertip brush and soaps, creams and strop. It may seem an extravagent start, but after reading a lot I understand it makes sense to use good tools from the beginning. My theory is that if the tools are top quality then the only unknown is the ability of the user.
Im looking forward to embarking on the quest for a great shave, so wish me luck guys, and any tips will always be appreciated.
D

Welcome aboard the SRP Forum.
There may be a person near to you who may be able to help you along the way. Some razors are not fully shave ready when they leave the seller's premises. Read all you can in the "Library" beginners forum. I still do after years and am reminded of things I forgot.
A lot of help is available here!
Enjoy your journey!
~Richard

welcome and all the best! giving yourself the best possible start for a successful leap into straights is not a bad thing

Welcome! If you have questions please ask, and post some pictures when your new toys arrive

Welcome! Be patient, do lots of research to prepare and you will be rewarded with great shaves. After my own learning curve, I would not shave any other way than using a straight. As long as I have a choice!

Make sure to keep your angle very shallow (blade close to your face), use an EXTREMELY light touch. No bearing down on the razor. Stretch the skin to keep it flat in front of the razor (this is paramount.) You can puff out your cheeks, pull your mouth to one side, whatever works. Just make sure to keep the skin smooth and flat in front of the razor.

Depending on where you purchased your TI, it may or may not be shave ready. If you wish, you can PM me and I can give you my own opinion based on where you bought it as to the odds of it being shave ready.

I like your attitude about making sure your tools are top notch to begin with. I wish I would have started out with that myself! I would have saved a fair bit of money.

Welcome. Two things you will want to be sure of. Most important the you start with a truly shave ready blade. Stropping is very important. You should study up on that before you start.

Hi and welcome. Sounds like you are giving yourself a good start. Good luck with your shaves and any questions feel free to ask.

Welcome! I hope your start is a good one, and encourage you to read as much on here as you can, especially in the Library section and watch some videos on stropping, lathering and shaving. Links can be found throughout the Library and some of the posts in the beginner's section of the Forum. Here is a link to the libraryBeginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Library

Practice stropping. Practice with a newspaper and a butter knife or a belt and butter knife.

Your next expense could be a honing and a new piece of leather if you don't get the hang of stropping.

I have yet to buy a razor that was not shave ready from any seller that offers the first honing free. There are several on the net.

Good luck.

Thanks for the generous welcome guys, and I am taking your comments on board.
I've spent hours researching everything from shaving to stropping and honing.
Fortunately I sharpen all my own Japanese style kitchen knives so I have some experience with using honing stones, and have a leather strop designed for kitchen knives which is unused, so until I get the paddle strop that is winging its way to meal one with other goodies, I thought that I could use that to ensure that the razor is shave ready for my first real shave.