Thread: New member

Just joined/got admitted. Live in Stamford CT. US of A

Got interested in straight razor when.....my daughter gave my youngest son a straight razor for xmas a few years ago. He never used it. He moved it out a year ago, wife cleaned up his room and found the razor. When i started investigating whether it was worth a try, i discovered it was a cheap knock-off... best used as a letter opener. (Daughter recently confirmed it was tres cheap.).

However, my googling of straight razoring had me hooked. I recently bought a box of about a dozen vintage razors from a guy on craigslist. Really not much money. Some are pretty clearly not worth saving. Seller said he got 'em at an estate sale around Mass/RI.

Challenge now is to: 1) get some proper stones 2) determine which razor(s) are worth restoring/tuning and 3) choose the blade to use for the initial shave.

Should probably add that i stumbled on this site the other day and figured was worth a try.

That's my story.

Look forward to your collective wisdom.....especially any connections in the Connecticut/NY area.

Steve

Welcome.
Post photos of the razor. Members can tell you what is good and what is not. Don't buy stones. Honing straights takes time to learn. The razors may need a good cleaning or more. If rewritable send to a member that can do it and hone shave ready. There are plenty of us that do that for a reasonable price.

Welcome to the forum

I strongly suggest you get one razor professionally honed so you nave a benchmark.

Do a lot of reading in the beginners section

Good luck

Welcome to the forum.

Bob

Hi Steve,

Another Steve here.

Pleased to meet ya, if you want an inexpensive shave ready razor to get started try the Buy/Sell/Trade area. You can be sure that anyone on here that sells a shave ready razor knows what shave ready is and how to get a blade there.

It's really not worth trying to hone your own razor until you know what shave ready is and what it feels like on yer face.

There is a world of difference between sharp and shave ready.

Being somewhat inflexible and somewhat old school, i would much prefer taking razor to someone rather than mailing. (One of the many problems with today's world is that we do too much by mail...and computer for that matter. I got my brakes repaired the other day without meeting the mechanic! Dropped car off before they opened...confirmed work by phone...paid over phone by card...then picked car up after shop was closed. What's world coming to!)

Anyway, yes i get concept of benchmarking. But which razor to choose? And then who to use? I suppose i could avoid favoritism by sending one or two razors to multiple folks over time.

When wife comes home tonight i will enlist her help on loading pics. I've wasted to much time already on the stupid fotos.

You’ve received good advice already. If you get a razor from one of the members here, you can be sure that it will be shave ready if it’s advertised as such.

check out the beginner’s guide to straight shaving on the home page. It will supply you with some sound startup strategies and suggestions.

By all means, start with a razor honed by someone who knows how. It’s tough enough to learn your beard and how to shave it without having to deal with a poorly prepared tool.

You’ve included your location in your avatar info. I’m pretty sure there’s a member nearby who can help you.

Welcome to SRP.

Hello Steve and welcome to SRP.

Take this step by step.

The first thing you need to do is have a razor restored by someone here or buy a shave ready razor in the b/s/t section.

Next is take the time to learn to shave. You will start to get the hang of it in around 100 shaves.
Slow, deliberate and steady wins this race. Last thing you want to do is rush this.

Watch all the shaving videos you can to get an idea what's going on.
Determine if you can use your non dominant hand while shaving.

Don't worry about honing till you are past these initial steps.
The last thing you want to do is put the cart before the horse.

Post some pictures. Plenty of us here can point you in the direction of the right razor.

Good Luck!!

Pete <:-}

Yep. Show us what ya got. We will be happy to get you on track. And welcome to srp.

Hi and welcome aboard. Is a few there that should clean up ok. Look for those with the least wear and best overall condition. A round toe is usually recommended but you can learn with others just need a little more care. Is harder checking on my phone but 2nd and 3rd in first pic and 1st in second pic look like good choices.