Another "New to straight shaving" thread.

[Stubear]

First of all welcome!

Thats a great starter kit and will definately serve you well. As it comes from SRD it will definately be shave ready and you'll be on your way in no time.

In terms of hones and pasted strops, dont worry about them for now. Learn to shave first and then start looking into the hones, pastes and honing later. Its quite common when people start to get a sub optimal shave due to inexperience, but to think its the razor and then get tempted to try out that new hone or pasted strop.

There are a fair few threads here along the lines of "I got this shave ready razor, but it would shave so well/wouldnt pass the HHT/pulled when I shaved so I did a pyramid on my hones/stropped it on my pasted strop and now it wont shave anything. What do I do?"

There are plenty of dynamics to the shaving part (stropping, lathering and the actual shave) to keep you busy without adding the extra element of honing. You're doing things the right way by starting with a known edge, and that'll keep you shaving for a good few weeks to months.

If you havent already, check out the SRP Wiki and other articles linked in my sig line below as they are very useful.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[BeBerlin]

The razor and strop are great. Personally, I would pick a cream over a soap, and definitely swap the Simpson for a Thäter. But that is just personal preference. An alternative to the strop would be the modular paddle strop (seems expensive, but really isn't) with diamond spray or CrO paste for edge maintenance. I love mine.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Regards,
Robin

[KimJongill]

Anything particularly wrong with the Simpson brushes or are the Thater just that much better? Genuininely interested. If it's the case that the Simpsons are sub-par then IYHO what would be the best of the selection available in that pack? As I'm trying to keep with the discount that comes with buying one.

Edit - As for the soap/cream choice I thought I'd just try one of the scents for the hell of it and if soap isn't my thing I'll just buy something local.

[MykelDR]

Welcome neighbour/fanatical communist dictator!

That setup sounds pretty good for a starter.. you can't really go wrong there.

I would recommend not worrying too much about honing at this stage.. it complicates the picture WAY too much when your focus should be on shave technique, stropping, shave technique, lathering, shave technique and you get the picture. Investing in another shave ready razor is also a great idea.. use one and keep one aside.. when things seem to be going kinda shitey swap razors and see how the other goes. This will help you to recognise what a 'shave ready' razor is. Also helps in telling you that it was you and your technique and not that dodgy razor or honemeister.

If you (like me) are still hell bent on honing/maintaining your own razors... you mentioned the Nortons. See the bloke at a company called 'Lie Nielson' here in Adelaide. As far as I know he is still the sole distributor of Nortons in the country. He also sometimes has some slightly damaged but completely usable stones going cheap. I got mine from him and he does a pretty good deal for cash too.

As far as the rest goes.. it is all time on the razor, your face, the strop and the hones. Shave a lot, ask questions and make mistakes. Keep your eyes open, be patient and you will improve quickly. Most of all have fun and enjoy possibly one of the finest and most empowering journeys a contemporary gentleman could possibly embark on.

On a side note.. I recommend visiting 'Frank the Barber' on Ebeneezer Place in the city for one of his $15 straight shaves.. they are sublime and you will learn A LOT. Buy one of his silver handled Omega Boar brushes while you are there.. you will not be disappointed.. he also has a heap of Proraso products. Get your hands on some TABAC, it is THE soap of all soaps. Also stay away from all the antique stores in the western suburbs.. they never have ANY razors AT ALL!

Most of all welcome, enjoy and I wish you great shaves
Cheers,
Mykel

[KimJongill]

Thank's for all the advise mate, good to see some fellow southerners down here. Just out of interest, what area of the state are you in and do you offer sharpening/rehoning services? I know there's a guy in the classifieds located in Sydney but a local would be great.

Also, how much would one of these Omega brushes set me back?

[MykelDR]

I am based 5km out of the city. The Omegas at Franks are cheap.. about $20. I hone my own razors only.. this is challenge enough for me. The bloke you spoke of in Sydney is Oz. He is a true Gent and a master of, amongst many things I am sure, stone and steel. Awesome guy to deal with. Jimbo(an advisor on this site I think) is another bloke with a legendary reputation on the hones but he is based in Brisbane. There are also other blokes around who are lesser known yet could certainly help you out. Either way you will NEVER EVER BE THE SAME! Good luck

[JimmyHAD]

Welcome to SRP. The Dovo and strop are fine and of course the Dovo will come from that vendor shave ready. I would upgrade to the Premium 1 strop if it was me. Personal preference thing again. I've never used one but if you start with buying the Omega for $20 you can always upgrade to the Thater or one of the other better brushes once you know for sure you are going to stick with it. See my sig below to avoid nicks and cuts.