Beginners Tips: May 2010

Another month has come and gone, I try and write these right about the middle of the month. For those of you just joining in, I read most of the posts that come up on the forum, and write about any topics that I notice a trend in... As always if any of the senior members care to add another viewpoint to these, please do so, sometimes we see things from a different angle and the more viewpoints the more we help each other out...

This past month I have noticed this one a lot...

I just bought a "Shave Ready" razor from xxxxx and it doesn't seem sharp enough...
Followed by..

I tried the TNT
I tried the TPT
I tried the AHT
I tried the HHT

Stop testing, please stop testing,,, Use the Shave Test, from the side-burn line to the jawline on the dominant hand side, using a perfect angle, and a well prepped beard, and stretch the skin... That really is the only test that matters... It is also the oldest test on this forum I swear Lynn posted that right after he logged in the first time...

Having been to the meets, and having watched as Newbies try and shave the first time, trust us here, the odds are way way way higher the problem is not the razor....

Stropping:
Is king, always has been, always will be, you have to take the time to learn to strop CORRECTLY, use a butter-knife to practice on the hanging strop if you must, and place it on the edge of a table when stropping yer razor until you get the hang of it...
My one and only stropping "trick" consists of this statement.. Pay attention to the spine make sure the spine stays on the strop and it moves evenly and smoothly up and down the strop...
Be careful when you hear the words NO PRESSURE, what that really means is that you use just enough pressure to keep the spine in contact with the strop...The edge will follow right along and do what it is supposed to...
The worst thing you can do, besides cutting the strop :rant: is to lift the spine, and leave the edge on the strop....

Honing:
I love this one... "I bought this hone, what is it????"
Really guys you should read the Wiki article or the original thread about What Hone do I need You have to decide what your path is going to be before you pick out a hone.. Now your next statement should be "Well how the heck do I know that, I am New"
Which is exactly why we always recommend that you learn everything else for 6 months then consider honing....

Another thought on honing, if yer learning to hone and you are honing anything heavier than a 1/2 hollow, it isn't a great experience, it isn't going to make you a great "Honer Dude", it is going to frustrate you to no end...

Get a full hollow in as good a shape as you can find, and learn on that...

Which brings us to the next best one...

Razors:
The infamous "I bought this on E-bay, did I get a good deal" thread...
Honest most of the time we are thinking one of two things when we answer that...

The #1 thought is.. "Awwww Dude you just wasted some serious money, now how do I tell you that so you don't get discourged"...

The #2 thought is this, although much, much, more rare "Oh man that lucky so-n-so Newb just scored that and doesn't even know what he got" It is this second thought that fuels so many more of the #1 thoughts...:) Those jackpot bells are in Vegas for a reason ya know...

Really we tell you to stay away from E-bay for a good reason, finding good buys on there takes some experience, again get your first two razors "Shave Ready" and then wait 6 months before jumping into buying a ton more, the timing should be about right, you buy a couple of e-bay razors, and your hones at the same time :)...

ps: Rust very simple here folks, ALL razors rust... period end of story, you have to care for them, they have to be wiped, air-dried, oiled, whatever is necessary in your situation to stop rust from happening...
It is not Stainless, it is Stain Less.... Also I have found that new or newly restored razors Stain/Rust way faster than older, seasoned razors, I don't know why, I have theories but no proof...


So there you go, now embrace the challenge, and enjoy your shaves...

I was waiting for this thread.Great Advice once again! Thanks.Don.:)

In my limited time on this board I completely agree, this easily addresses the top recurring questions.

Good stuff as usual Glen. This seriously needs to be stickied or Wiki'd.

gssixgun is right on the money.
It is indeed true to focus on one thing (i.e stropping) before you move on to something else. I've had my first razor for about an year now, and just recently purchased and hone, and a separate practice razor. Take your time fellas.

Interesting thing about those Ebay razors... The more experience I have with razors the fewer I buy.
I think that is probably a common story.

My dear Glen:

I like what you do with these advice posts. They are comprehensive and most helpful. Thank you, sir, for taking the time.

Regards,
Obie

Thanks, Glen. Great advice, as always.

Cheers,

Larry

Thanks a lot for the great post. I am new to this forum and to straight shaving and I really have gotten a lot from the information posted here. Thanks for the great tips.

Regards,

Mark

Being a beginner.. I look forward to these every month. Thanks Glen for doing these.