Taking the SR Plunge

Greetings,

I'm so glad that y'all exist. I've decided to take the SR plunge, for at least a portion of my shaving. I've been wet shaving with a DE safety razor (merkur heavyweight) for a couple of months now and will never go back to cartridges or electrics. However, I wear a beard or goatee (I change annually) and it is really hard to shape and trim around it with a safety razor, cartridge or electric. Anyway, my barber turned me onto straight razor shaving as a great way of really getting in close to the bearded areas. My plan is to contiinue to use the double edge every other day or at least until I run out of blades--I've got over 100 of them (I change it every shave) and use the the SR on the off days (for shaping and shaving) once I get used to the feel of using one. I'm goateed now so I can practice on my cheeks.

Anyway, I purchased (strictly to practice stropping and honing--I did some research beforehand) a cheapo no-name razor/strop combo from ebay and have on order a german forged razor (used) on the way to use (once it's honed and all) for my purposes.

Anyway, I was wondering on any suggestions for a newb such as myself. In particular, does my plan sound reasonable and what should I look for in a strop? BTW, I've tried a Shavette style razor, and didn't like the weight of it (too light). Also, will a set of medium and fine Arkansas stones work for honing?

welcome to srp.

i guess the best advice i can come up with is - get something that others have used successfully. so the options are
- used strop from a member (and somebody with experience, not a newbie who has no idea whether the strop is still useable)
- new production strop - like illinois 827
- a strop from one of the reputable vendors such as straightrazordesigns

Welcome to the club...

There's a few things that concern me. First, a no-name razor set from ebay smells like Pakistan steel to me and just won't give you the shave you're looking for (if it actually even cuts hair).

Once you get that German piece in, you should be able to send it off for a honing (which i would recommend for your first razor).

The medium and fine AR stones will probably be way to course for use with razors. Check around for a chinese 12k grit if you just want to maintain the edge...if you're wanting to hone ebay specials, you'll need to make a larger monetary commitment.

Thanks for the thoughts on the razor. I've already got the no-name, and it doesn't even cut hair. I'm only using it for getting the stropping and honing technique down so I don't mess up a real blade. I paid 12.00 including the shipping, so I know that it is too good to be true. Thanks for the input on the stone, I'll look for a chinese stone. I sharpen my own knives, so I've got the Arkansas stuff, but I see the point about it being too coarse.

As for the strops, there is an "Art of Shaving" store here in Dallas, but they are mighty proud of their products. I'll keep looking.

There is nothing more demoralizing to a newbie than slicing to bits a new expensive strop or ruining the edge on a properly honed razor. Using a cheap razor and strop will probably be beneficial because it will allow you to learn good stropping technique, so when you do get a finely honed razor and a nice strop, you are less likely to mess something up. I did the same thing when learning to hone. I used a cheap razor just to get the feel for it.

Anyway, it sounds like you are moving in the right direction. Decide on a strop and finishing stone (do some research on SRP) and you should be good to go. Keep us updated.

I can't recommend the ruprazors filly strop enough. It is of good enough quality that it will definitely get the job done, but it is cheap enough that you won't want to cry if you cut it to bits while learning.

I also have a goatee and shaved with a DE for a year before switching to a straight last month. I enjoy it so much that I have sold off most of my DE stuff and I had just purchased a new 100 pack of Shark blades.

Anyway, I actually find it much easier to trim around the goatee region with a straight. I only wear the part on the chin, and I find that the heel of a straight razor can be moved in an arc around the side of the hair that gets that region smoother than my DE ever did.

Drew