Thread: Newbie checking in

I got into wet shaving with a DE through Badger and Blade last spring.

I just picked up 2 straights on ebay last week and received one off the SRP classifieds yesterday so I figured I ought to let everyone know I am here.

The razor I bought off the classifieds was advertised as shave-ready, so I too a shot with it last night (I don't have a strop yet). It tugged quite a bit, like a DE when my face is too dry, but I did manage a somewhat passable shave without cutting myself .

This morning I ordered a strop (+ practice stop) from Tony Miller, so hopefully soon I should be able to start working on fine tuning the shaving skills.

SRP is an awesome resource for you. I cruised up the learning curve at warp speed because of the information here and the guidance of SRP members. Tony Miller also hooked me up with a nice 4 sided strop with pastes and he gave me some solid advice as well.

Enjoy!

Pabster

Not everyone who sells a shave ready razor strops it before sending it out. The razor might be just fine and might shave better once you get your strop.

welcome

as Utopian said you should probably check with the person who sold you the razor - see if they stropped it before mailing it.
I always strop shave-ready razors and coat them in oil just before packaging, especially if the person is new. The reason is that I don't consider unstroped edge shave-ready at all.
Everybody does it differently though.

First, get your strop before shaving again. Face prep is just as important as stropping your razor. Search through the stickies and wiki to get ideas. Also, I highly recommend getting a copy of Lynn's CD. It's packed with well over 3 hours of great straight information, including shaving. It's well worth the money.

Take your time. Start with just the area between your sideburn and jaw line, and WTG only. Once you are comfortable with the angles and pressures, you can move on to other areas of your face as well as XG and ATG strokes. I added new areas and techniques on my days off so I could take my time and learn at my won pace. You skills and speed will improve over time. Before your know it you will getting that coveted BBS with little effort.

Welcome to SRP. There is a learning curve to shaving with a straight razor. Stretching the skin is more important than with a DE. Since you've been shaving with a DE since last spring you probably have the preparation well learned and that is also a critical element. SRP founder Lynn Abrams has a valuable post here with recommendatons on starting out.

There are many tutorials and videos in the SRP Wiki here to help you along the way. I got a lot out of this barber manual text on stropping and honing here . The recommendation to practice flipping the razor on the strop before actually moving the arm in the stropping motion is a great idea IMO.