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

Hi,

I pretty much agree with the response Gugi just posted. If money is a factor to you, sell off 4 or 5 of the razors, and use the money to get at least one of them professionally honed. What you really need to get started is one razor that is shave-ready--right now, you have seven razors that aren't!

Here's my take on the DVD; I spent months reading up on straights before I bought my first one. I also consulted with every single vendor I purchased equipement from. After I started shavin,g (successfully, I might add), I got Lynn's DVD, and I STILL learned a whole lot. The moral of the story; Get Lynn's DVD, it will save you MONTHS of effort and frustration.

Now, a few more questions regarding the rest of your equipment:

1) Have you ever used a shaving brush before? Do you know how to make a lather properly? If not, I would hop over the shavemyface.com or badgerandblade.com for some instruction.

2) Who made your strop, and how are you using it?

3) What grit is the Arkansas stone you bought? I might turn out to be too coarse to hone your razors on....

4) The diamond pastes are a goo idea. How were you planning on using them? Do you have a paddle strop, or are you planning to make one?

Best of luck,

Tatsuo

What everyone has said about the
razor not being shave ready is true. It's
not only that razor, but pretty much
any razor you buy brand new, unless you
pay extra to have it honed. As was
mentioned, most people in the Buy/Sell/Trade
section of this site sell shave ready
razors, unless otherwise stated. So basically
the Wapi's you bought, or a $200.00 Dovo
brand new out of the box = not shave ready.

John

PS. Buy the DVD!

Okay, so I am immensely thankful for everyone’s responses and that they came so quickly.

I posted this thread minutes after finishing the shave so I was amazingly off.

Thank you for calming me down.



Here is what I learned so far that I find most important: My razors were NOT shave ready and my first shave was so bad because I did not know this. I did assume I did something wrong - that is why I posted here.

I also picked out my name very carefully - its a double edge sword that signifies: My investment, my frustrations, and ultimately my success.


Here is the solution to my problem: I will get one of the razors honed by the most recommended member of this forum and will hone the rest of them myself.

One other piece of advice given to me early on was to start small. Shave a cheek or both, then finish with the cartridge. next time go a little further if thing are going well, try under the jaw or chin. Finish with the cartridge. eventually you will gain the confidence and be able to do all of your face with the STR8. I used my cartridge in conjunction with the STR8 for at least a month and a half while learning.
You'll get it right once your equipment is right
Kilowattkid

Mike_Ratliff's offer is nothing to sneeze at and you can still send one to Lynn! (sorry Mike) this way you will have two to shave with a "reference" blade and 4 to practice honing on.

oh yeah give us an idea where you are at... there have been several get togethers around the US where you can go and get hands on help.

and register you location on the googlemap as well.

Lynn is the most recommended member here, adjustme69, and if you send him 1 you will have 3 shave ready razors... if you do your due dilligence, and are careful, those razors shouldn't need honing for 3-6 months unless you accidentally roll the edge.
If you plan on honing, you need to make sure you have the proper hones, not all arkansas stones are created equal. My recomendation would be to invest in a Norton 4k/8k a kitayama 12k, a pasted strop 0.5 micron chromium oxide from thewellshavedgentleman.com and a large roll of electrical tape.

oh, and syslight no worries... I'd love to have an unbiased opinion on how my honing compares to Lynn's... once my collection gets up there again, I was thinking about sending my fili to Lynn for his opinion...

I can hone one for you also.

Judging by the pic (its not easy to do) it looks like you need a proper bevel put on that blade.

Originally Posted by poona

Judging by the pic (its not easy to do) it looks like you need a proper bevel put on that blade.

I think that's a stock picture from wojtec...

WOW.

I am humbled.

Money is a bit tough right now and my new year's gift to myself was obviously not ready.

Thank you all for your offers - definitely take you gentlemen up on them.

I will send the razors ASAP!



I live in Cleveland, Ohio and yes, that is a stock photo of his!