Thread: Sound advice for newbies

I would like to chime in here as a newbie. I started off not knowing anything about straight razors and bought the cheapest thing I could find on ebay that was described as "new". Stupid! It was a pakistani razor that is now in my tool box to be used as a box cutter. Then I discovered this site, found out Paki razors are crap, and that new razors are seldom shave ready. I then bought another NOS razor from ebay, it was still not quite shave ready but it would cut hair, it just pulled when I got to the heavy parts of my beard. I tried to used a pasted dtrop to get it into shape but nothing worked. I was ready to give up straight razors completely. That is when I finally ordered a razor from Bill Ellis. It was kind of a last ditch effort for me to see if I could actually shave with a straight. Once I shaved with the shave ready razor from Bill it completely changed my attitude. Now that I know what a sharp razor feels and shaves like I want to continue using a straight. I have a pair of 4000 and 8000 grit hones that I can use on the other razor while I develop my technique using the shave ready razor. I guess what I am saying is the first thing I think a newbie should buy is a shave ready razor. Then you can see if you like straight razor shaving and determine if you want to invest in hones and other razors. Let's face it. Shaving with a straight is not for everybody and it is best to find out with a good razor than to start out with something that is going to disappoint no matter what.

Just my 2 cents

thx Jim I think you are a great example of my post...Im glad things are working out & you are starting to enjoy a new and better way of shaving...Im sure your hones will be fine...I would rather see you with a norton4/8 and a belgium cot but see how it goes...I would suggest buying a shave ready razor from either a vendor on this site or a member of forum instead of ebay for awhile if you desire another razor...razors on ebay usually arent shave ready and unless you are careful know the ques to ask the seller and look closely at pics you can get duped...

Well Jim I couldn`t aggree more
I went the other way before I found this forum and I recon that I`m probably a couple of hundred down and still need a few items
I wish I had found you guys earlier
Kind regards Peter

My advice in this case would be for a newbie to get a Shavette, and start learning honing and stroping right away, referencing to a DE blade sharpness. You have to learn that sometime. As for the lasting of the hone job, I have to touch up my razors every 7-10 shaves. That is far from 60-90 shaves, and I think it depends on the coarsness of the beard.

Nenad

I started learning to hone right away......it worked for me.

As usuall, I took the other route...I learned to hone before learning to shave. Bought an e-bay special (actually not a bad razor--a Silberstahl) and spent several evenings with it on my Arkansas stones. As you might imagine, it took awhile to bring a dull razor to shaving sharpness on an Arkansas Black. However, I did it and in the process learned how to hone, learned that shaving is indeed the best test for a sharp razor, learned that I needed a faster hone (not necessarily better)...quickly bought a Norton 4/8K, and later, to check my honing skills bought a Lynn honed razor.

Just another data point,
Ed

I'm getting a razor from Randy, and I'm currently honing deficient.
I'm looking at a 4 sided paddle from Tony. .25, .5, and 1 micron paste on three of the sides, then an ordinary daily strop on the fourth side. Are the three paste sides for touch-up?
I guess my understanding is that you hone a blade rarely, like once or twice a year, touch up every couple of weeks with pasted strops, then use a standard strop on a daily basis. Am I off?

Mike

Mike, That sounds about right. Although you will find it depends upon the razor each is different.

Originally Posted by TMike

I guess my understanding is that you hone a blade rarely, like once or twice a year, touch up every couple of weeks with pasted strops, then use a standard strop on a daily basis.

That should work pretty nicely actually. Each gentleman is unique as is each razor so you might find some alteration as time goes by, but it sound sound() as a starting point.

X

Thanks guys, good to know I'm on the right track.
Heck, its good to know I can be taught (In your face! Friggin' high school guidance counciler)