Hello SRP members,

I want to 1st thank you all for the wealth of information and help you provide. Without you this art, tradition and history would surely fade away. I hope, without to much bloodshed on my part, that this newbie can apprentice to join you.

Since my first BBS barber shave and the feel of a brush full of lather on my face many years ago, I have always wanted to learn to shave with a SR. Now with the aid of wonderful sites like this one and online videos tutorials, I feel I can finally, though cautiously, proceed.

After reading SRP's Wikis and countless posts, I ordered my first purchase of the following today from SRD - one each:

Dovo Best Quality Black 5/8 - couldn't justify the cost of the Redwood Prima Klang for my 1st razor
SRD 3" Premium I Black Leather Strop w/ Webbed Fabric
H.L. Thater 4292/5 25mm Silver Tip Brush - Lots support for it here
Lynn's "The World of Straight Razor Shaving" DVD - a must have I am told
Pinaud Styptic Pencil - just in case
Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap
Castle Forge Cream Sampler set - I don't know which scents to try 1st
Truefitt & Hill Shaving Cream & Balm Sampler set
SRD Shaving Soap Sampler set of all 13

Did I do alright or over do it? Was the Thater brush to much, to soon? Always believed YGWUP4. I couldn't find glycerin. Any ideas where can I get it? I hope this gives me a decent intro into SR shaving, cream vs soap, and some fragrance selections.

The wife a little but I gave her the "yearly cost of Mach3 razor replacements" line and also told her I can whip-up a super-smooth rose scented uberlather for shaving her legs. The last one peaked her interest just enough to get her blessings.

As I am a woodcarver, I already have plenty of sharpening supplies, including:a full set of Japanese water stones from 250-8000 grit, a complete "scary-sharp" setup with a precision marble .001" flat plate, 2.5" x 12" strops, and several types of honing compounds. With this background I think I have a decent shot at getting blades to pass the hanging hair test.

Now I just hope I don't cut my face off
____________
Jim