Thread: My First Shave: Why Did I do It?!

BY the way anyone know why the heck youtube is in Chinese these days or is it just me?

Maybe sending one razor in will make sense.

Yeah i will tell you right now they are not shave ready. Get at least 1 honed properly and learn on the rest. I think you should look into returning what you have for hones and get a norton 4/8k combo too and maybe a spyderco ultra fine or a chinese 12k to finish

As for the DVD... Is not cutting the crap out of your face worth $20 to you?

The only razors I've ever bought (new or used) that were shave-ready were the ones I purchased from members here at SRP or at two of the online shops that use Lynn for their honing. Sharp and sharp enough to shave with are two very different things - I found out the hard way as well (although I didn't try to complete the shave)! Take some time to learn what you need to and have at least one honed by Lynn or someone else from SRP. Then you can work on your shave technique AND have a model to judge your honing by. It's worth the time and effort - you'll love the shaves you end up with!

Originally Posted by Why_Did_I_Do_It?!

Thank you,

I do not know if they were professionally honed.

I did not hone anything myself even though I have the right equipment to do it.

I feel like the honing is not going to be cheap...another $100 for the 7 razors? That would hurt. How often should I be sending the razors for honing if I use each once a week?

OK so no your razors aren't shave ready so thats your problem. Honing runs about $20 per blade, you don't need to get all 7 done at once, you can esily send one away then use it til you can afford to get the others done, or until you can do it yourself. It should last at least 3+ months, before rehoning.

Originally Posted by Why_Did_I_Do_It?!

Is the DVD really worth it? I mean can't I just read about all of this? I watched few YouTube videos and those were pretty good.

Yes we all can guarantee that DVD is worth every red cent. The videos on YouBoob are OKish but somewhat amateur, Lynn's is an advancement as he did it professionally.

Originally Posted by Why_Did_I_Do_It?!

I will sell all my razors if I can’t do the honing myself. Period.
This investment was supposed to carry strategic advantages over the long run including never having to pay for shaving again other then the shaving cream.

Don't sell your razors yet mate, you have jumped in the deep end without exploration. Read the posts, get Lynn's DVD and best of all, "TAKE YOUR TIME" reading the posts etc. This is not something you can pick up instantly, even though we recommend getting Lynn's DVD, you can watch that til the cows come home but at the end of the day, your first week or so of straight shaving will be uncomfortable. Cartridge shaving and straight shaving is like apples and oranges yeah, two complete different shaving methods. We have all been where you are now, and some have been worse by buying that Paki rubbish called Zeepk. You have 7 quality straights. Patience is what it requires.

I also have a thread in the shaving column called "my shaving journal' a lot of info was lost in a recent database crash, but it should still contain the bad experiences, before finally getting it right.

New Wapis are sharp as is most new straight razor. Those new Wapis will cut paper and if drawn across your skin (don't do it) with only the pressure of the blade itself WILL cut you............that said, such an edge is NOT shaving sharp. That Wapi in the pic is unhoned with the factory edge only.

It's already been recommended to you that you get the razors honed. I would recommend getting maybe only two of the seven honed and you can practice on the rest yourself. Be careful with Wapi edges, they seem to be more delicate in the sense that the edges rather that just being prone to nicks, can chip/crumble/flake away.

Finally, I want to say two things:
1) I realize you're frustrated. We've all felt that when starting, I'm sure. Your first few shaves with a straight even with the most wondrous edge available would most likely not be enjoyable. There's a learning curve here, sometimes a big one.
2) Frustration is expected. Even so, maybe I'm deviating from the group here as this is my own personal request: I like to view the members of this site as a gentlemenly bunch. Please refrain from profanity in the future.

I do hope you stick with it and stay. I think you'll enjoy shaving this way.

Chris

Wow - hold on - you got 7 razors!!!
You need one, but shaving sharp. Yes they are extremely sharp for a knife, yet you already told us that they don't shave.
I have no idea what the thumbnail test you're referring to is, but I doubt that you can tell that the razor is sharp enough by that test - you already noticed the razor does not shave!

So yes, you need to send ONE razor to somebody to hone for you and then you can shave with it, and learn honing on the other 7 razors that you have, using the honed one as a benchmark.
Once the razor is honed it will stay sharp for many weeks (say 10), then it takes very light touch up to bring it back to that superb state.

You do not need the DVD, you can find everything you need here on this site, but it will demonstrate for you every step visually. You already overspent by at least 7x the cost of the DVD - purchasing the DVD and honing service for ONE of your razor is the easiest and cheapest way to actually get things going.

Is the DVD really worth it? I mean can't I just read about all of this? I watched few YouTube videos and those were pretty good.

Yet you wern't able to shave with your razors... I mean to me it looks like a no brainer - you found a site with 3500 enthusiasts who hone their razors and shave with them and the first 5 responses include 'buy this DVD' ?!?! Yes the information on this site and some videos on you tube can teach you all that you need, as well. But somehow watching the videos on youtube didn't help you the first time - you really want to try again?

I will sell all my razors if I can’t do the honing myself. Period.
This investment was supposed to carry strategic advantages over the long run including never having to pay for shaving again other then the shaving cream.

You may sell them even if you can do it. If saving money is important you really can sell 5 of the razors immediately - you don't need more than 2 of them. I'm pretty sure the arkanzas stone can go as well. And you can probably keep the razor that somebody else hones for you sharp for a year or more by using the pastes on some balsa wood.....

Really, do yourself a favor and spend couple of hours reading the threads in this section.

hi and welcome,

wojtec's razor are NOT shave ready, at least not by my standards.

Originally Posted by Why_Did_I_Do_It?!

The razors are SUPER sharp.

As I mentioned they passed the nail and thumb test with flying colors. Nice smooth deep cut digs in instantly with no roughness.

although that's a good indicator for a knife, it actually dulls your edge... It sounds to me like you have a dull razor.

and yes Lynn's DVD is worth every penny, and then some.


I've sent you a PM, and will sharpen 2 of your razors for you free of charge...
That should get you off to a better start, but you need to start out slow, and do some serious reading on this forum before trying again.