Thread: Brand new to straight blades...should i purchase this?

Originally Posted by shorynot

So if i just have a strop starting off am i going to be ok for a while...and not have to go through the honing procedure for a bit? Im hoping the person who is selling me this blade is honestly selling me a "shave ready" product.

yes, you should be fine for a while. hi_bug_gl has been honing for a while, you shouldn't have to worry about the razor.

Originally Posted by shorynot

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone, lots of good info so far. Johnny, yes i did purchase the blade. Now ive been reading quite a bit about the different things i need. The stop doesnt seem to be too expensive, and i think i could upgrade to a better brush down the line. The thing that i see as being the most expensive is the honing stone (block, or whatever its called...im still figuring out the terms). So if i just have a strop starting off am i going to be ok for a while...and not have to go through the honing procedure for a bit? Im hoping the person who is selling me this blade is honestly selling me a "shave ready" product.

Thanks again for all the help, and keep giving me suggestions if you dont mind. Im trying to absorb as much as possible

I myself never have honed, or prob, ever will. My advice would be to get shaving down, then move on to honing, if that's what you want. I'll never be bothered. Must haves right now are razor, strop, brush, soap/ cream.

I don't have any honing stones and prefer it to be done by a pro the first few times out, which will be a long time with my current set up.

My Best pur badger brush has served me well and cost $45.00. I bought Col. Conk Soap and still use it. I have enough to last me a whole year. $25.00

I didn't want to invest too much in getting started since I didn't know if I would be into straight shaving, so I bought a cheap straight that took disposable blades and enough blades to last me 4 months if I shaved with it every day - $35.00.

Once I said I was committed, then the big money was spent on more new items: Dovo Special straight, 3" Latigo strop, 4 sided pasted strop, and another higher end straight blade - $400.00+

I advocate starting out simple and learning how to shave BBS and becoming efficient with your technique. Use the Mach 3 to clean up rough spots as you are learning. As your technique improves, you will phase out the Mach 3 and use it less and less. Prepare yourself to move up the learning curve over time.

The knowledge base I built up with my initial purchases and initial experience has served me well and put me on top of the learning curve quickly. Although there are different ways to get on top of the learning curve, my experience was quick, simple, and inexpensive.

Using the disposable blades gave me great insight into shaving because I would use the same blade for roughly 5-6 shaves and I would lighthly feel the blade after each shave and get a sense of just how sharp the blade was and its performance. Disposable blades 1st/2nd time - Super sharp/amost too sharp, 3rd/4th time, perfect sharpness, 5th/6th time starting to tug too much, time for a new blade.

Thus when I strop the Dovo Straights, I have a good sense of when they need a few laps on the pasted strops to get to the right level of sharpness/performance that I enjoy.

I hope this helps newbies getting into straight shaving.

Pabster

Wow, thanks for the help so far everyone. I took the advice someone posted last night and managed to get a 3 piece cup/brush/soap set for like 8 bucks at Walmart. I used it out of curiosity today with my normal razor and had a few questions. Is there a certain technique i should be using to get the richest later? I put a bit of hot water on the soap, and some on the tip of the brush. The lather didnt seem to be that thick...is that considered normal?

And also, after im done shaving...should i rinse the whole cup and soap puck off...or should i just leave the foam in there? Thanks for the contiunued help and feedback

Generally, 30 seconds swirling on the soap/cream and 30 seconds on the face will work and build a decent lather. Sometimes a little extra water on the tips of the brush will help improve the lather. If your lather is disappearing quickly, then that is a clue for more water to be added to the tips of the brush. There should be enough water on the brush to generate the lather and it helps you regulate the amount of water to build a decent lather. Water directly on the soap will just eat away your soap faster, so water left in the cup will also eat away your soap as well.

For what you picked up a Walmart, your puck soap may be soft, so be sure to get all the water off it when you are done. Knowing how to get a good lather is very important to straight shaving and it appears you will get some good practice at it. I also have a $7 dollar boars hair brush and those hairs are stiff compared to my best pure badger brush so its not used anymore.

Pabster

The wiki is a good place to check out lather making instructions and videos

I use to use the soap and brush from wally world not anymore there is too many good soaps out there and they don't cost that much more. Try using a seperate mug to make your lather. I put just a little hot water on my soap and let it sit a couple of minutes to soften it up, then I wet my brush and swirl the top of the soap to load it. In a seperate mug I put just a touch of hot water then put the brush to the water and mix. Believe me you will get some lather but not as much as you can with some of the brands of soap you can purchase via the web. The wiki has a section for beginners that answer alot for us newbies Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki The more you practice the better you'll become.

That makes sense, what do you guys think about this strop? Looks cheap to me, but i want something that will do the job.
Amazon.com: Zeepk 20" Professional Barber Straight Razor Strop Strap: Health & Personal Care

NO!!! Zeepk are rubbish, both for strops and razors, and you'd be better off setting fire to your money. Check out the Wiki FAQ about Zeepk.

You'd be better off buying a Fromm strop, if you're going with Amazon - made by the Illinois Strop Co., a reputable firm, and not hugely expensive, so a good starter strop.

Originally Posted by mosley59

NO!!! Zeepk are rubbish, both for strops and razors, and you'd be better off setting fire to your money. Check out the Wiki FAQ about Zeepk.

You'd be better off buying a Fromm strop, if you're going with Amazon - made by the Illinois Strop Co., a reputable firm, and not hugely expensive, so a good starter strop.

Thats what i thought, i just purchased this one because i saw quite a bit of praise about it on here. But now im kinda worried because i read it has no handle, im not quite sure how to use it...
RupRazor - The Filly