first shave

i'm performing my first straight shave on my birthday i've been bought an Enzo england golden straight razor from ebay on reading many of the messages and reviews i haven't seen this type mentioned is this a bad thing

Well, how's your shave going, how old are you, and what else did you get for your birthday? Happy Birthday and good luck with the shave.

Hi, Wildchild, and welcome to SRP!

I haven't heard of your razor, but I would exercise caution with it. There are a lot of cheapos on ebay and a lot of them are junk. As a general rule, razors from pakistan or china are to be avoided. You can use them, but more often than not the steel is simply not high enough quality and it will not hold a proper edge.

This is certainly not to say that this is the case with your razor, but I would be sure to check it out. be sure to check out the wiki, and the stickies in the beginner's section are great. There are a lot of variables when getting into straights, and as a beginner they are all against you! I would highly encourage you to check out Larry Andro's site (whippeddog) or a site like SRD as well. Larry specializes in helping new guys out with good quality razors, and the other sites have very good shave-ready razors done up by honemeisters.

Again, welcome to the forum, and keep us posted!

Hello ace my birthday is Monday I'll be 39 been looking at straight shaving for a while so my mother bought it for me it haven't seen it yet so greatly looking forward to it

Best of luck... Be sure to update on how you get along. Good forum this should you hit a snag!

Happy Birthday

If this is the razor your Mother bought I would not be optimistic about it providing a good shave. A better approach would be to get a shave ready razor from one of the trusted vendors or the classifieds here.
GOLD CUT THROAT RAZOR

I'll second the advice given above. I would also advise immersing yourself in the Wiki here to prepare yourself to get a decent shave first time out.

Yeah, i would third that advice, read read read, then when you think you've read enough, read some more!

Above all else, prepare!....i undertook my first straight shave with my new baby, Dovo Ebenholz, as deadly as she is sexy. Make sure you prep your face, lots of hot water, i layed in a steaming hot, almost unconcious inducing bath for ages immersing my face for as long as possible, then spent a good while prepping the lather.

My three main bits of advice, although i feel unqualified to offer them being a newbie myself would be.
Take your time....enjoy it, make it a ritual not a chore!
Make sure that you follow the rules on beard prep and have practiced holding your razor for a while, a good grip is vital.
Make sure that your not gonna be interrupted or distracted! this one is a must, (id completed 99.9% of my maiden shave, with great success then the wife comes in the bathroom and asked how its going, swish, loss of focus and a nice nick on my chin.

Heres wishing you all the best and that sense of satisfaction you'll get after that first shave, will have you wishing for a quick regrowth.

Hi guys thanks for all the advise well it took half an hour for the first pass then fifteen for the next two my face is as smooth as a babys bum but my neck isn't as smooth but suppose that will come with practice only got a couple of nicks. Ace also got some Stephen king books and the usual smelly's