First Strait ... Can't wait to put it to use

Well, today it arrived ... my very first straight razor and couldn't be more pleased. I have been a member for just under a month now and would like to thank everyone for being so helpful. This place really is awesome. I bought the razor from hellblond1! on Ebay and would highly recommend the seller. The price was right, it shipped fast, and it even included a strop which was not mentioned. Here is a picture (sorry about the inversion it was taken on my laptops camera)

http://www.imagebam.com/image/ac2e1f2965633
http://www.imagebam.com/image/ac2e1f2965633

After reading about the horror stories of newbies like myself shaving without first having there razor professionally honed, I was wondering if there are any members in the New England area who I could send my razor to. I have no idea what this would cost, but I am a poor college student in the boston area and have unfortunately spent the majority of my funds on the razor itself. My friends all pointed out that I could have bought a lot of beer for 80 dollars :nono: haha. If someone could point me in the right direction that would be wonderful. Lastly, I was wondering, what's the ruling on strait razor shaving with gel (like Gillete). I don't know when I am going to be able to get a brush and soap, but I have plenty of bottles of shaving gel lying around.

Thanks for all the help,
AJ

Congrats on the razor! Looks like most guys will hone for 15-20 plus shipping. Methinks the gel will work just fine. The beer sacrifice will be well worth it ;)

$15 will get you a soft pure badger Tweezerman brush that albeit is not up to the reported quality levels of most best or silver badger brushes, but is still much softer than a pure bristle brush for about $8. http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...21&catid=26032

Then, a small tub of soap from one of the great soap vendors on SRP for around $10 and you my friend, in my opinion are off to the races for cheap; all with a much better setup that the cans of goo. You're missing half the wet shaving experience if you skip the brush/mug/soap or cream steps.

Chris L

yeah, depending on the seller, if the razor isn't honed, your best option is to send it out to one of the honemeisters - if you measure it in the kind of beer I would drink you'll discover it's actually quite cheep :)
And yeah, a good soap even with a cheap brush should make a big difference. But of course it depends on your finances at the moment. You've gotten the two critical items and need to make sure your razor is sharp. A couple of dry weeks should get you a brush and a soap easily :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by adaboy078

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After reading about the horror stories of newbies like myself shaving without first having there razor professionally honed, I was wondering if there are any members in the New England area who I could send my razor to....

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For honing, AFDavis11 (VA) and JoshEarl (PA) are fairly close to you.

Nice razor.