new razor fail

Hi Everybody,
I'm ready for the new year, first shave with a straight razor, enter manhood with a face full of gashes.
But I was a bit antsy buying my first straight on line at Amazon. I thought I did enough background reading and taking my grad student budget into consideration, i bought a "soringen" made blade that seems to have been really made in pakistan. With that, i have an unhoned razor and i'm debating whether I should even bother with it now. I checked out a couple of the SRP members' websites and was swept off my feet by the images of steamy masculine straight edge virility. But i'm so pooooooor :(
Seriously, i'm pretty down about the 60 bucks i threw at this blade and want to shred my face and head with swaggering confidence of Clint Eastwood, not the bumble fingers of Woody Allen.
Any suggestions? Reviews I've read about the blade are mixed, from it's too soft to hone properly to it does a good enough job. I'll spend twice as much though at our respected members' sites. Any new year's specials? What do i do with Pakistan's finest? (no disrespect to desi's. many a roommates and friends from south asia)

thanks for any and all suggestions!

First off, welcome to SRP.

If I were you I'd throw the pakistani blade out, and checkout the classifieds on the site. You could also try the shaveready razors from whipped dog. I have no experience with that site, but it's recommended by members for beginners. The razors are around 30 bucks including shipping and are shave ready.

You don't need any hones yet, just a shave ready razor.

But getting a shave ready, quality razor is absolutely key to enjoyment. It doesn't have to cost a lot of money, my first was about 40 euro's(shave ready from the classifieds) and I'm shaving happily with it for a few month now.

Also, as far as you didn't do it, read the wiki and ask your questions in the forums.

Happy new years!

Welcome to SRP / I agree with Brick. It doesn't have to be crazy expensive for the first one. My favorite shaver came from an antique store and I got it for $38. I sent it to Lynn for honing and it's still my favorite a year later.

I'm still a newbie myself, just started last December and I can see your concern over money. I'm up to six razors already and decided to take a break. In the beginning, I didn't do adequate research and wasted some money on a couple Pakistan razors. They are both in a landfill in Phoenix now.

Take the time to settle into it. While learning, take the time to send to a professional and get it honed right first. I know the waiting sucks when you want to start, but a good edge makes all the difference. Don't waste money on an expensive strop yet either. If your like most of us, you'll nick it up a few times in the learning curve and theres no need to be down another $60-$80.

Welcome aboard

Brett

Quote:

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Originally Posted by elreynol

I'm ready for the new year, first shave with a straight razor, enter manhood with a face full of gashes.

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Most of us wanted just the opposite for our first shave. Hopefully, when you do start with a cutthroat, that statement won't be a self-fulfilling prophesy.
On a more serious note, from what you have said, a 'Soringen' razor won't be a lot of use for shaving (I'd guess you didn't graduate in geography).
You need a decent quality, shave ready razor,a strop and ideally, soap and a brush. You should be able to buy a decent shave ready vintage blade without breaking the bank, especially in the US. Vendors on SRP will advise, I'm sure.
When you do start, read the help readily available on SRP,take it slowly and carefully to start with, to avoid the 'through the car windshield' look.

+1 on both ideas of acing the letter opener and seeking council with Larry at whippeddog.com. Larry is a good guy who will take the time to guide you through the process as well as sell you a decent shaver, well honed, for a price that a graduate student can afford. I'm sure you'll get some feedback that your "Soringen" can technically be brought to shave readiness. Do yourself a favor and 86 that thing.

Welcome to SRP and straight shaving. Don't let this experience get you down. You can always send it to a honemeister and ask them to review it for a final honing that would suit any straight shaver. Sometimes, the vendors outside of the ones who advertise on SRP do not really have the razor shave ready, although they may claim it when they sell it. Trying to shave with one of these will be a little rough and can result in a lot of tugging.

Starting out straight shaving, I will say check out the Wiki on SRP. Faceprep is important and technique is very important. Technique takes time to develop and it is always better to just start with sections of the face and slowly build upon your progress.

Since you have doubt on your current razor, a friendly honemeister in training may be able to help you out and give your straight razor a once over with some comments.

Good Luck,

Pabster

I couldnt agree more with all things everyne has said thus far. Whipped Dog Straight Razor Sales has awesome "budget friendly" razors, that are professionally honed by one of our members. I say budget friendly because they're not cheap razors, just that he blew the bottom out of the prices so that newbies like us can get the eye for what to look at in vintage type razors. It's a great site, and he also has a policy that if you buy a razor from him, when you want to try a new one, just send it back and you get a razor of equivalent price for the cost of honing, so you get a taste of different razors. On top of that, the wikis on here have great tips on good razor brands, and the brands to avoid. Unfortunately any pakistani blades are on that list. Lastly, i hope you dont take any of the friendly joking around here to heart, but the thing with the "Soringen" razor, is that it is a rip off of the German quality made "Solingen"...pretty much you bought a Folex instead of a Rolex. Sorry, but those a the mistakes we make sometimes. Best of luck in the future.

Another good starting point vender, check Holli4pirating in the classifieds or PM him I've bought 3 from him for around 50.00 ea. and have not been disapointed. And he also will take time to answer questions. And check the other venders as well it will give you quite a range of choices. I mention Holli as a starting point only because I have first hand knowledge of his product.

Welcome to SRP. Have you done anything with the razor ? Amazon has a generous return policy. It is within the realm of possibility that you could return the razor and get a refund. Check out the SRP beginner's guide here for more info including which razors to avoid.

All great advice from the above! Sorry to hear about your purchase and first experience. Hopefully you can return it and purchase a proper shave ready blade from the classifieds to suit your budget. Welcome to SRP!

Welcome elreynol. +1 on all the great posts in this thread. You will find a wealth of knowledge on this web site. These guys are all very sincere and very experienced. Follow the advice given to you here and you will have no regrets. Take some time time check out the classifieds and some of the member vendor sites. There are some great deals on some truly shave ready razors.