Thread: Hi from a newbie...

Welcome and enjoy !

Hello, and welcome to the SRP. You came to the right place for straight razor shaving. Sounds like you have a good start by buying from the classifieds here. Make sure you read the wiki for beginners. You will also need a stropp. Good luck with this art form. Any questions we're all here to help.

Welcome to SRP. I second the motion to throw those two razors in the tackle box or maybe use them to open the many packages you'll find in the mail if you stick with this hobby. I notice you said you were already stropping. If you haven't already bought a really good strop wait until you get proficient at it. Most of us nick our first strop more than once before we get good at it.

Another thing you might do with one of those junk razors is put a piece of tape on the edge and practice the shaving motions so that you get used to handling the razor while you wait for the good ones.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Another thing you might do with one of those junk razors is put a piece of tape on the edge and practice the shaving motions so that you get used to handling the razor while you wait for the good ones.

Also, take it and use it to practice stopping, even on a wide leather belt if nothing else. It's the movement and the muscle memory that took a while to get the hang of. I've only been straight shaving for a week now and still am not proficient at stropping. I practice doing 50 strops twice a day on Millers practice strop AND also strop my shaving razor. Start slow, the speed will build.

My $ .02

What they said....

Save the old razors. Later on, when you get into "Honing" you can use them for practice....

Welcome. My first razor was also an uniformed purchase, a Pakistani razor that wouldn't cut butter. I threw it out when the scale cracked (don't know how). I wish I'd kept it to practice honing as Zib suggested.

I dont know why people suggest learning to hone with these pieces of crap. The only thing to learn from them is that they cant be honed. An inexpensive vintage blade would be best at least you have a chance to learn from it as you make mistakes or progress.