Thread: I'm helping a newbie, where do I start?

I've helped several in my travels. My best tip: start where they want to start. That will bolster their interest. You know the steps. Present in their natural sequence. Answer their questions along the way.

The only person I have mentored is my youngest son.
Handed him my keenest razor and said "Go for it".
Not one nick or bump, nice clean shave.
OTOH, My first shave looked like I'd been in a punch up with a possum...

Originally Posted by Grazor

The only person I have mentored is my youngest son.
Handed him my keenest razor and said "Go for it".
Not one nick or bump, nice clean shave.
OTOH, My first shave looked like I'd been in a punch up with a possum...

In a way it reminds me of teaching my 17 year old son--except that he'd watched me prep and shave many times.

On his Very First Shave the little •••• could use both hands and not a single nick, cut, weeper Anything!

He's left the straight razor fold but I think he's coming back as he's tired of his scraggly 'beard'.

Originally Posted by MisterClean

I have a friend who is chomping at the bit to get started. I gave him a dull razor and an old strop with some basic instructions. I showed him how to hold the razor, x stroke on the strop, blade angle and basic passes. I told him to lather up and practice with the old razor I gave him. How do you guys help someone who is just beginning? I want this to be a good experience for him.

randydance062449 and myself have given a bunch of beginner lessons, for stropping (besides the butter knife practice) we found that if they hold one end of the strop and one of us holds the other end of the strop and strops, they can get a sense of how hard to pull the strop and how much downward pressure to use.

Same with honing, they hold the hone and I carefully hone (don't want to remove anyone's fingers), they see what correct pressure feel like

I may be helping someone today. A fellow that I met in our black smithing group found a Bengal for $3 at a flee market. I told him that I'd hone it for him for free. I may as well do the test shave in front of him if the timing works out. I also plan on lending him a strop if he hasn't got one yet. He seems pretty keen on the whole thing.

Originally Posted by MisterClean

I have a friend who is chomping at the bit to get started. I gave him a dull razor and an old strop with some basic instructions. I showed him how to hold the razor, x stroke on the strop, blade angle and basic passes. I told him to lather up and practice with the old razor I gave him. How do you guys help someone who is just beginning? I want this to be a good experience for him.

You're a veteran (tag above your avatar) so you have PLENTY of experience to share. This might sound funny but "shaving meetings" could be helpful. I remember when I started to wetshave all I could think was "If only I had someone who was able to show me how things should be". I (as far as I know) am the only member of the forums in my region (Honduras) so noone could tell me "This is the lather I use, feel the consistency." or "This is a shave ready razor, once you start stropping and honing, this is how a SR should feel", "Look at how I strop my razors, observe" etc. I have a SR and I THINK it's shave ready but I THINK it is not. (Schrodinger's Razor: it's shave ready and it's not, both at the same time)

Also, if possible, ask him to bring to you the results of his work and point him (if wrong) what's wrong with them. In a way, it's like tutoring him. I do agree that mistakes MUST be made in order to learn, but there's nothing worse than trying to learn something and being unable to compare results.

Your friend needs to make sure that the first shave is with a sharp, shave ready razor.

Originally Posted by RezDog

With my son it was a little easier, because he had seen the process quite a bit. Stropping needed practice but he was very nice and slow and consistent until he started to be better then his speed slowly picked up. He has seen me shave a bit and whenever we are together we often shave together. He loves to dabble in my soaps when he is around. The ability to shave with me I think helped him a lot.

Rez, most times when shaving comes up in convo with my two sons it usually is "How can you put those damn sharp instruments to your throat (accompanied by shudders)? They already think I'm a crazy old coot (a mild term for a stronger expletive ((black humor in the genes)).

Originally Posted by bluesman7

He seems pretty keen on the whole thing.

Nice !

My son wont try a straight yet. He is still in the scraggly bearded rock star phase. I bother him into cleaning up the scraggly patches, and insinuate that his disposable razor is the same thing that his mom would use on her arm pits. I offered him a neat Genco of mine but I think he is wary of it.