Thread: Last resort.

Isn't the Wilkens Sheffield German steel also?

I really like the look of that blade xd

Not ultra sure of what I'm about to say, but I don't think WHERE the steel is from is as much of an issue as where it was forged/ground/tempered.

This I am sure of. Many old Solingen (read elite German) blades were Swedish steels, worked in Germany. So in the Wilkens case... its a Sheffield razor.

And if you really like the look of it, that is far more important than anything else. What does a shave ready ugly razor go for.... I've seen $20 in the classifieds before. So a good shave is $20. All the rest of the price is basically personal. The look and feel of the razor. $50 spent on something you really really really like is better than $25 spent on something others like but you don't. The other factor is, the more you like ti, the more you'll want to shave with it and learn it and fight through the rough beginning. Compare: "Do I want to let that POS cut me up again? No." VS "Today I'll go a bit slower with my beautiful shaver, and work on my angles so that I don't nick myself"
I'd say half and hour before/after my shave is spent looking at my razors, feeling them, feeling my newly bought hones, instead of just lathering sometimes I take a few mins to just massage my face with the lathered brush... it feels so smooth and relaxing... cleaning my blade/blades after the shave, looking at them some more...

We don't do this because it is fast. We do this because it is luxurious and we like it. We CHOOSE straight razors over other options. And so... Choose the one you like best. If its shave ready, it'll shave... the rest is up to what you personally like.

EDIT:
If it isn't shave ready, send it off to a honemeister and they'll fix it up real fast. Both Utopian and Leighton are free honing deals. I would try to get a shave ready one first though.

I don't want to disrespect RazorPete's knowledge or experience, but isn't skin supposed to have *some* oil on it? Doesn't your skin put it out there? Yes, too much is bad, but it seems to me that fighting your body's natural processes never works out well. Help your body heal itself and all that. Dry, cracked skin seems to be no better (and maybe worse) than excessively oily skin.

The Oil Cleansing Method - A simple, cleansing facial massage for clear skin!
This worked really well for clearing up my acne, though I do it no more than once a week.* My wife is allergic to various preservatives in soaps and shampoos and such, so I'm not allowed to use anything she's allergic to. I started using homemade soaps (from her sister-in-law) and Burt's Bees products, which are pretty natural. Two of the top four ingredients in the aftershave I use are oils, to replenish the oils you strip away while washing and shaving.

Your diet and the amount of water you drink have a big effect on your skin condition as well. More water is always good.**

J.

*Your mileage may vary.
** Yes, you can die from overhydration, but it's very difficult. The only cases I've heard of were military people and some lady trying to win a contest to see who could go without peeing for the longest time.

Originally Posted by jfreaksho

I don't want to disrespect RazorPete's knowledge or experience, but isn't skin supposed to have *some* oil on it?

More water is always good.**

J.

*Your mileage may vary.
** Yes, you can die from overhydration, but it's very difficult. The only cases I've heard of were military people and some lady trying to win a contest to see who could go without peeing for the longest time.

First, yes some oil is good, but that doesn't mean use oily products. The thing I look for is "non-comedogenic". This means it doesn't contain pore clogging oils. Many oil based moisturizers will do this, a few won't. My favourite is neutrogena.

Secondly, it is VERY VERY VERY easy to get too much water. It can cause headaches and fatigue, and in rare cases death (due to brain swelling). The way osmosis works means if your blood has more water than the cells do, the cells will begin to absorb it and throw off their normal balance. I believe this is called hypotonic- the blood has more water than the cytosol (cell fluid). As a varsity athlete our coaches actually force us to drink more than just water, as even a liter of sweat replaced with a liter of water can be very bad for you. It's important to monitor your electrolyte/water/glycogen/blood sugar balance. Typically during heavy exercise one part sports drink and one part water is good. For daily use though, if all you drink is water (hypotonic), you WILL feel like ****. If all you drink is sugary (sugar high, followed by crash), you will feel like ****. If all you drink is caffeine (a diuretic, it dehydrates you=hypertonic) , you will feel like ****. This I promise you. Your goal is to keep your blood isotonic.

I personally see this all the time. In sports, someone drinking only water will collapse, vomit, etc. Not pretty. Anyone here heard of one drink alcohol one drink water? Notice how it beats a hangover? Alcohol is a diuretic, it dehydrates you (hypertonic). Notice that pounding headache, dizziness, light sensitivity Anyone who drinks caffeine regularly... how much do you have to drink? Are you always thirsty? Do you NEED more coffee?

My advice is keep hydrated, and vary your fluids.... you DEFINITELY can have too much water...

I know we're getting off topic but I think I can speak from experience here. Overhydration can be deadly but it takes more water than you would think. The average body can actually use about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water per hour and most people probably don't drink that much. In boot camp there were many times the drill instructors had us take down two full 1 qt. canteens. A half gallon in just a few minutes is possible to consume without major malfunctions occuring, but it wouldn't be healthy to do repeatedly. I stick to the idea of trying to intake 1 gallon throughout your day. Thats enough to keep you hydrated and whatnot, without the risk of death.

pm me your addy and I'll send you a pasted balsa to touch up your new blade on
some 1 micron diamond and .5 micron chrome oxide

I just got a PM from the man that my package arrived. It looks like he's got almost a full SRP-sponsored setup with the gratewhitehuntr's balsa, VeeDubb's strop and the soaps & alum I popped over. Nice to see that so many people are happy to help a kid out who's tight on budget. Hooray for all of SRP.

Originally Posted by Hillie

I just got a PM from the man that my package arrived. It looks like he's got almost a full SRP-sponsored setup with the gratewhitehuntr's balsa, VeeDubb's strop and the soaps & alum I popped over. Nice to see that so many people are happy to help a kid out who's tight on budget. Hooray for all of SRP.

AMEN TO THAT!


I just hope I can pay it forward down the road! It's been a great help and thanks so much for your help! I'm pretty much just waiting for the mail now and I'll be good to go this weekend!

My new SRD strop just arrived about 2 hours ago, so your strop should get into the mail this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Have you nailed down a razor yet?

Originally Posted by VeeDubb65

My new SRD strop just arrived about 2 hours ago, so your strop should get into the mail this afternoon or tomorrow morning.

Have you nailed down a razor yet?

I tried to get the geneva swayback, someone got it first. Still trying for the wilkens, if all else fails I'm getting the Clauss or the $40 wedge tonight.

We'll see lol.