Thread: Poor Newbie Choice?

Hi All,

I've been wanting to jump into the world of the straight razor for a number of years, and finally decided to take the plunge. I absolutely love the ritualistic aspect of the straight/wet shave - something akin to the Japanese (I think?) tea ceremony!

Anyhow, I ordered my first blade from The Invisible Edge based on some recommendations I read online - before I found SRP. The blade I ordered is a NOS (New Old Stock) Wapienica stainless steel razor with stainless steel scales. My only concern is that it's a wedge, and I've read that those aren't exactly ideal blades for newbies. Any insight? It's supposed to come shave ready and other have attested to the supplier actually producing honed shave ready razors, so I'm not overly concerned there.

I also picked up a brush from Crabtree and am looking to pick up either a Dovo strop from a local store, or order something online. I'm also getting a friend of mine who produces and sells her own pottery to look into making me a custom scuttle, but may just end up getting one from GTP. Now all I need is some soap, cream and aftershave and I should be good.

If the Wapi wedge is no good, I'll bite the bullet and order a Dovo, just thought I'd get some feedback from you folk before making another purchase.

Cheers and Happy Holidays!

If you stick to the Wapi and learn to use it, how can you go wrong. The Wapi has an excellent rep around here, although it is a harder razor to learn with, go for it , others have!

I don't know about a wedge being more difficult to learn on, but I had very little luck with my first razor (a full hollow), and only had any real success when I started using a wapi. Might just me me though. I think I prefer the stiffer blades. I'd atleast give the wapi a go first.
Good luck.

Connor

First of all welcome to SRP!

It sounds like you have it all under contol,but I'll try to give you some answers and tips.
The Wapi is said to be a great razor,I'm going to order one from Steve at The Invisible Edge after the hollidays...
On the wedge vs. hollow grind question it is a matter of taste,I personally don't think there is any difference in the learning curve between the two..Maybe someone else has more insight in the matter..??

On you first shave you don't need to strop,if I remember correctly Steve strops before shipping.Mind the angle of the blade and your pressure,light tuch.A good tip is to only shave parts of your face the first time to get the hang of things,don't go for BBS on the first shave..=)

When you get your strop,strop the blade carefully so you don't roll that nice edge.


Check out the wiki,lots of great info.

Merry x-mas
//Victor

Actually, I think its a good choice. Its inexpensive so you don't have to worry about a mishap and it has a good rep as a shaver. I haven't seen one in person but I thought it was a partial hollow. If it was a true wedge I'd be surprised.

As I recall those Dovo strops are a bit expensive. Look into the Tony miller strops for a much much better strop at an equivalent or lower price.

Welcome to SRP. I don't own a Wapi, but from what I've read, you've made a good choice. There is a good thread on the Strop forum, "Flippin the razor", that has some good info on stropping. Flip the razor on its spine, not the edge. Flipping on the edge can damage the edge, the strop, or both. When I first started, I stropped 5 times on the linen and 10 times on the leather. I read about guys that stropped their razors 50 times before a shave. I thought it was obsessive. Now I know it's conservative. I now strop at least 25x on the linen and 50x on the leather.

Take your time when you shave. Just do your cheeks WTG until you get comfortable with the blade. Use short strokes, scritch, scritch, scritch, instead of one long stroke. Finish your shave with your DE or cartridge razor. Oh, and try a hot towel before and after your shave. It's wonderful!

Enjoy your shave and let us know how it goes.

Dave

Welcome to SRP
Definitely more 1/4 hollow than true wedge.
Easy to use and learn with. You should be just fine with it

If your Wapi is like my Wapi, it’s nowhere near enough to a wedge to give you problems. To this day I can’t shave well with a full wedge. The Wapi does have stainless scales, though the blade itself is carbon steel – probably a better choice as a starter anyhow. Learn how to strop and don’t get discouraged with the usual cuts, nicks, and razor rashes – everyone gets them at first and once in a while thereafter. Even if that blade comes truly shave ready, it will need stropping before the second shave, so if you don’t yet possess a strop, don’t blame the razor! Here’s another plus – lots of people around here looking to buy Wapienica razors, so you will have no problem selling it if you think you really made a mistake. But they all want them because they are a very good inexpensive razor, and I would bet that a few shaves down the road you will like yours too.

Great, thanks for all of the helpful replies. I guess I'll just wait for the bugger to arrive and give it a go to see how things work out!