Thread: A few questions from a beginner.

Hello,

To start, I would like to say that I was happy to find such a community, I thought for a moment that only people living in caves were actually still using straight razors :P

I have been through a lot of information lately, maybe too much info . . .
I had the idea of bouncing to a straight razor a year ago, and have had one since, but have not used it. Why? Well cause its not sharpened; I had it as a gift and I thought it was going to come pre-honed (or whatever you call that) but when I tried, it was like pulling my hairs off instead of cutting them. I then had a look at what kind of equipment I may need to sharpen/hone the blade, and saw it was quite expensive.
After a few month of thinking about it, I have got my act together and am ready to buy hone stones. I read that the Naniwa stones were among the best for honing razors. However I do not know what kind I should by: I was thinking of a combo like 1000/8000. Unfortunately I only found seperate stones 1000 and 8000.
I then read that I need to strope the blade before each shave, so I need a "stropper". I saw 4 sided ones, but I think a two sided strope will do for me.
I also read that pastes could be applied on stropes, but I did not understand really why, and if I need to.
Last but not least, do I need some "official cream" to shave with, or can I take the basic gillette or whatever brand it is?
I have found many websites offering different products, but it would be easier for me to order from one same website, so if you know any good one, would be great

Thanks a lot for your help, I am sure many answers could be found in already posted threads on the forum, the wiki and so forth, but my brain is already too over loaded with information right now and I am losing sight of what I really need to know, so I decided to go for the easy way

Cheers.

Ps: here is a picture of my razor, brought in France: Le Dandy.
http://download790.mediafire.com/49y...n/DSC_0332.jpg

What you need is called a strop. It's a long piece of leather and/or cloth (basically) used to keep the edge in good condition for continued shaving. It doesn't actually sharpen it - just re-aligns any microscopic kinks in the blade that result from shaving something as wiry as a beard often is.

Pastes are used as alternative to fine hones, used to refresh a slightly dulling edge.

I would hold off on both pastes and hones for now if I were you. Just learning how to strop correctly takes plenty of time, as does learning to shave, and throwing honing into the mix when you're not even sure what you're aiming for (since you've never had a shave with a shave-ready blade) is just going to make everything more difficult.

I know I've struggled plenty just with stropping (or rather, having a good strop). I wouldn't want to even touch a hone yet!

And you wouldn't want a 1000 stone unless you're entirely resetting the bevel, which you don't always need to. That's just grinding off metal you don't need to and wearing your razor away.

Instead, send your razor to be honed (or buy on shave-ready - the Classifieds are good for that), and just take it from there. Honing services aren't expensive, and it will save you a ton of pain. Your shave-ready blade shouldn't need to be honed for several months of regular use.

Honestly, I'd recommend you try real shaving soap or cream. It is just MILES above that foam-in-a-can stuff. I've only tried one soap so my experience is limited, but they get rave reviews from a lot of people - Mama Bear's soaps are awesome. Left my skin feeling great, and even on my first attempt at lathering, it lathered fast and well.

@MisstressNomad:

Thanks for your answer.
However I think my blade is not sharpened yet, and since the strope doesnt sharpen/hone the blade, I need to either send it to be honed, or buy my equipment. I like doing things my self, like learning, so I would rather buy hone stones, but dont really know which ones . . .

The best option is to send it out

There are a few reasons for this, but one main reason comes to mind: benchmarking

We never try to discourage people who want to learn on their own (reading the wikis isn't something that should be skipped if this is your style, and it will answer your questions), but you need a shave ready blade to compare your efforts to.

do read the wikis though
here you go

http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...uide_to_Honing

I'm a DIY person too, and I know what you mean!

But part of learning to do things is learning to do them in correctly. Trying to hone before you've ever felt a shave-ready blade is... well, a really round-about way of getting from point A to point B. It's a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

Maybe have one honed professionally and one to practice on? That way at least you have some idea what you're going for.

You can do it however you like really. But I think it will be more enjoyable for you if you take your time. There's no rush. Your beard will always be here!

Welcome to SRP!

Here is a link to a very good thread when you are starting out and building your kit http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...beginners.html.

Be sure to read through the Wiki that was linked by Del1r1um there is a lot of good information there on everything to do with Str8 shaving.



Lu

Right. Seems like you got yourself thoroughly confused. Just a few ideas off athe top of my head:

• Scrap what you think you have learnt so far, and start with the beginners guide in my signature. It was compiled to enable beginners to make informed buying decisions.

• In the guide is a shopping guide. Read it carefully.

• Without a benchmark, you will hardly ever achieve good shaving edges. Send you razor out to be professionally honed, or get a cheap shave ready razor from the classifieds.

• There is no simple answer to honing. The article "which hione(s) do I need" is referenced in the FAQ for a good reason. It should get you started. Members of this board have achieved good results with a 4/8k Norton combination stone for years. Buying as set of more expensive hones will not turn you into a honing pro.

• Read the cream reviews, and get something that is good, rather than cheap. Castle Forbes comes with a hefty price tag, but simply cannot be beat in terms of performance.

• A strop will be an extremely important piece of equipment. I suggest spending some money on it, too. Strops like SRD's 2" ones are affordable, and nicked pieces can be replaced easily.

Coming back to the beginning, make sure you have digested the infomation in thw beginners guide first. There is a lot of good information in the forum, but an increasing amount comes from members with limited experience - nice to have, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing in the shaving world.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Regards,
Robin

Originally Posted by zazathedog

Hello,

I thought for a moment that only people living in caves were actually still using straight razors

Some of us have quite nice caves.

Good luck with the shaving.
You've been gven some first class advice.

First, welcome to the forums!

Second, where do you live? The best option is, as stated above, to send your razor out to be professionally honed. There really is a fine art to honing a razor, and you don't want to permanently scar your lovely TI razor by practicing.

Also as said, pick up a good name used razor off ebay, antique shops, or as recently pointed out in another thread, even pick up a Gold Dollar razor off ebay and learn to hone on that.

No special shave cream required. There are many MANY shaving soaps/creams out there, depending on how much you want to spend. CarrieM on the forums here makes her own, and it's excellent as well as affordable. As far as scents go, you would have to give her an idea of the scents you enjoy, and she can give you a list of ones you may like.

There are also other viable options for soap such as The Gentleman's Quarter, and Mama Bear (you can find their websites by doing a search.)

A lot of this "hobby" is personal preference. You may need to try a bunch of different things before you find the ones YOU like the most, but it's a wonderful journey

Good luck!

Thank you all for your detailed replies.
I live in the UK, Scotland; a few month back I tried to find shops for razor equipment and such, I did not find anything in my town(500k plp). I would then have to send my razor by mail to some unknown and hope he does a good job.
Concerning the stropper which one should I get? I would like something that lasts and correct quality, preferably that can be ordered in the uk.
This razor is worth around 100$, so I tihnk its a decent one: any ideas on how much I will get charged for a proper hone?