That Was Exhausting

It's surprisingly nerve-wracking, buying that first straight razor.

At first you think it's a simple process, just buy an 'affordable' from a 'dependable', and get to learning. But who is dependable and what is affordable in this pursuit? What needs considering that I haven't considered?
After hundreds upon hundreds of threads, each filled with thousands of comments, in-jokes, differing opinions and mysterious acronyms, what the hell did I miss? I know me, good money says I missed something!
What if this vintage restoration with the unfamiliar name and simple form is a small treasure, offered out of complete kindness by a scale-shaping Samaritan from the Land of Lather?
Is it not stupid to buy a new razor, no matter the razors source or reputation, if I'm new?
I'm likely to drop it, nick it, overhone it or dull it while participating in a Quentin Tarrantino film, which could happen, so stop rollin' yer eyes. I happen to have a decent profile, thank you.

I know I'm gonna ruin this thing, or ruin my face and abandon it in animalistic fear, so that I hoot and urinate whenever I see it afterwards.

You can be certain I'll ruin the good strop, no matter how much time I spend on the practice strop.

I'd bet good money I'm gonna forget something valid about shaving prep while trying to remember all this other crap.

It's a sure thing I'm gonna do something stupid, something juvenile, like carry the thing to work one day. No one will know, it will be concealed, but I'll know, and for that day I can convince myself that I'm a madman and a badass, and that's seriously stupid.

There's gonna be a lot of regrets. I see a bad moon rising, but what the hell-
I just bought a Wapi from Ken.

Maybe now I can think about something else for a change... like honing stones. :gaah:

I'm betting you'll do alright. In case you didn't see it amongst the hundreds of threads here is a post by SRP founder Lynn Abrams. This method worked well for me in easing into straight razor shaving. Good post BTW. :tu

Take a deep breath fella, let it all go.

You'd do fine, and it certainly won't be exhausting.

see, you got it wrong. the easy solution is of course to buy several razors, or if you really insist on one, ask some of the mods or honemeisters w/o conflict of interest for suggestion.

you can most certainly learn from the experience and prove it to us with the hones... we'll be watching you :roflmao

I think you'll do fine, you've put time in to it. Hell if it was easy everyone would be doing it and Zeepk would be off the market.. Oh and I have shredded one strop thus far... It happens.

I'm sure you'll do fine. Its not rocket science after all. :D

But now that you've got your first SR purchase under your belt, you can now look forward to your second, and third, and fourth...

Wait'll you start labouring over which brush should be yours.

X

if you bombard yourself with too many questions, in the end there will be no right answer. in most cases the best thing to do is make the decision quickly and relax, it might not be perfect, but nothing will be if you question every aspect of it.

seriously though, next time you go to a restaurant make your decision in 30 seconds or less, and then don't worry about it after that. the food will be great. it sounds weird but its true. less options are better.

when i bought my first razor i look through a lot of websites but i finally just bought the one that felt right and relaxed about it. it turned out great, its not the last razor i bought but it is still great.

research and reading are great but stress and over thinking are counterproductive. relax, if the guys on here say you'll be fine, then you'll be fine, i was.

I remember when I first put the naked blade to my face , I was filled with trepidation . After a few shaves , I had totally lost my fear of the razor . A few shaves later , I cut myself twice in the same shave (not mere nicks , but real cuts that really bled) . Two years later , the shaves are great ! My advice : keep the blade angle low , don't press the razor into your face , keep your skin stretched tight , and don't fear the razor but give it respect .