Thread: Let me introduce myself...

Hi everyone.I've been reading this forum for weeks now,I registered last week and I introduce myself to all of you.I'm glad I found a spirit that fits my view of the straightrazor owners,knowledgeable and very open minded people.I went at straightrazor because I thought it was a beautiful object and then because I was told it would be an answer to some of my shaving problem.I'm black and shaving causes me some heat and folliculitis.Nothing terrible but uncomfortable.
SO I bought a chinese straight not aware of the many differences between them.Couldn't do nothing with it except cut myself.Then now I bought my 1st real razor a GEISEN & FORSTHOFF TIMOR,simple one
STRAIGHT RAZOR GEISEN & FORSTHOFF TIMOR MINT.!! en vente sur eBay.fr (fin le 22-févr.-09 21:51:59 Paris)
I have a King Ice bear 4k,a 6k and a chinese natural 12k(planning on buying a black arkansas 8k,I also use this kind for my kitchen knives,I'm an amateur cook),and a double leather strop
Nevertheless I need futher knowledge,I don't know what 4/8 or 5/8 mean for example.I also have problem choosing a brush,I need a hard one because of my skin problems,badger or not?
I'm from France so please pardon my terrible english(any correction will be welcome).
Biggy1 aka Cédric

welcome, biggy. for a stiffer brush, try boar bristles (they're cheaper, so if you hate them you can always upgrade to badger later).

Welcome!

+1 on Jockeys advise. The 4/8, 5/8 are units of measurement, as in the width of the blade; 4/8" (inches). Some like wider/heavier blades than others. It just seems to be personal preference. I am fairly new myself, and still enjoy my 6/8" Dovo special, but to each his own.

Good luck and happy shaving.

Welcome to SPR, you will get a lot of information/help from the members.
Enjoy your journey!!

Welcome aboard Cedric. Don't be afraid to ask questions here. Sounds like you have done lots of reading already. Yeah, sometimes you can get overwhelmed with information when it's really better to jump in. Lot's of what you have read has been experiences by others. In many cases that experience fits them, where your needs might be different. Boar's hair brushes are stiffer, and cheaper. There are some very nice badger brushes that are stiff enough for me, but they also tend to be much more expensive than boar.

As already said the number reflects the blade width. Typically a 5/8 or 6/8 are good razors to start with. I started with a 6/8 and have stayed with that size (round points). It's not that you can't learn on a larger or smaller blade, but it might be a bit more difficult.

Bienvenue Cédric!

Originally Posted by jockeys

welcome, biggy. for a stiffer brush, try boar bristles (they're cheaper, so if you hate them you can always upgrade to badger later).

Waouh your the Jockeys I put the videos on my Straightrazor playlist,shaving and stroping demo...Honored...

Originally Posted by elginrunner

Welcome!

+1 on Jockeys advise. The 4/8, 5/8 are units of measurement, as in the width of the blade; 4/8" (inches). Some like wider/heavier blades than others. It just seems to be personal preference. I am fairly new myself, and still enjoy my 6/8" Dovo special, but to each his own.

Good luck and happy shaving.

Ok so 4/8 is half an inch?for the boar brush is the lather as easy to make.Can I consider a good boar brush is better than a mediocre badger one?What does Vegan mean?

Welcome! If your prone to skin problems make sure you do good skin preparation and use quality soaps, creams, and lotions.

Yep 4/8"=1/2"=0.5" at least math doesn't change
Lather is easier to make with badger brush, but I haven't tried mediocre badger brushes. If going for boar, better get quality one, (I've heard good things about omega, they should be easy to find in france as they're italian).
Vegan means... forget it you're french and won't understand. It's better this way, I don't understand them either
The closest approximation is people who hate good food