Initial Suggestions for Newbies
I don't think I am an expert at any of this by any means, but I have a few suggestions for people just starting out. They are things that I have done recently that have helped me learn a lot about straight razors in a short time period.
There is a .pdf out there written by Dr. Chris Moss titled "The Art of the Straight Razor Shave". I suggest you go download it and read it. You can easily find it on google.
There are documents in the 'Help Files' section that can help answer questions you have regarding straight razors. There are also some videos that can help you out.
There are videos by Brian D'Onofrio on the web that show a straight razor shave, honing and minor restoration/cleaning. Google will help you find these.
Make sure to edit your options to show all posts in the forum and search through it. There is TONS of information there that can help you out. Every question that you are thinking about has probably been answered by 20 different people at least 10 different ways.
It's good to read everybody's different replies because a lot of different things can be done to solve your problem. There isn't really any one thing that everybody here agrees upon....except to get a norton 3" 4k/8k if you want to hone razors :).
Feel free to ask for help! I am in no way an expert and ask questions all the time and the people here are always helpful.
If you have a lot of questions try to find someone that you can call. A 10 minute phone call can answer a lot of your questions. An open dialogue like that is often easier to answer lots of specific questions you have without feeling like a jerk for asking eight different questions in one thread or opening eight threads. Feel free to call me if you'd like, I can answer 'beginner' questions but not really anything advanced. I don't think I can give any advice about honing besides what you can use.
Don't get discouraged, there are plenty of people here to help out and give advice. Don't be scared to ask questions.
