Thread: Just registered

I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks but the gift I received today made me register.

Got a starter set from Straight Razor Designs from the Mrs, officially have 1 whole shave under my belt.

Currently rockin' a Dovo Bismarck, a SRD premium II strop, SRD #4 silvertip brush, generic mug, some soap, then the standard alum and styptic.

Figured this was the best area to kill 2 birds with one stone by getting my introduction out of the way, and also asking if there was any other essential kit I should buy. The only thing on my list is a honing stone of some description, so any tips on which one would be appreciated. From what I've read a Norton 4k/8k is sufficient for keeping a razor operational.

Anyway, this post is already too long winded...guess I'll save the rest of my inane babble for responding to all the posts I'm sure you fine people will make.

at first welcome srp.
I think you get everything what you need to start .Great choose. You may need barber hone keep your blade in shave ready condition or chro2.
good luck and have fun with straight razor .

welcome and congratulations,
plenty of ways to go about maintenance of already good edge. you can take some time to decide.

Thanks for the welcomes.

I guess I do have a while before I need to worry about honing. I see SRD offers several waterstones. Would something like a 10k work to keep the edge keen, or should I just go with a 4k/8k?

I know most suggest a n00b send the razor out for honing, but I have quite a bit of experience sharpening knives over the years. This has it's own subtleties I'm sure, but I have to learn eventually anyway.

your strop should suffice for the time being. from what i've read, beginners are advised to practice stropping technique before getting into honing. it should be a while before that blade needs to be honed again.

Welcome to the club, you got some great stuff to start out with, very nice..

So how did your first shave go ? By the way they will get better.

your razor has already been honed
maintaining it sharp is really easy.

if you want a stone from srd, i think the 12000 grit naniwa there is excellent. not cheap, but it shouldn't be much more expensive than the 10000 grit.

they are quite fast and as long as you don't let your edge deteriorate much it should work really well.

I'll look at the 12k stone. I know I won't be needing one for a while, but it's the outdoorsman in me that likes to be prepared.

As for my first shave....it was terrible. I've gotten shaves twice as comfortable and twice as close from a disposable Bic.

That being said though, it was my fault. I think 90% of the problem was a poor lather (also my fault, not the soap), and the rest was my pigheaded unwillingness to start slowly. I just lathered up and went for the whole face.

I think my angle was ok, but I have a tendency to use too much pressure even with a Mach III, so I'm sure this will take some time.

Despite the irritation and remaining stubble, I stayed nick free. I look forward to mastering this, and I'm sure the wealth of information here will help.

Alright Mud very cool, yeah you dont have to get all cut up. Shave after shower, good lather, take your time, your gonna get some great shaves.

If you received your razor from SRP it came shave ready. Just use your strop prior to each shave (I do 20 laps on the linen followed by 60 laps on the leather). You will eventually need either a pasting strop and/or a finishing hone to refresh your edge. Unless you damage your edge (like banging it into the faucet) then you won't have to put a new bevel on it for a very long time. If you are planning to do your own honing on non-shave ready razors then get a 1000, or coarser, grit stone to set the bevel. Once that is done right you will need a series of progressively finer grit hones. The choice of which ones to get is up to you.