A little guidance for a beginner?

I've been using electric razors for just about as long as I've been shaving, and with my second one going to crap already I'm thinking of moving to a straight razor. I'm still a little intimidated by all the techniques and terms I need to learn (as I'm guessing most beginners are), so I could use a little affirmation or redirection from some more experienced folks.

Right now, what I'm planning on doing is buying a shave-ready razor from the classified section here, getting a brush and soap (and styptic pencil, of course), and seeing how I do for the first couple shaves. I figure then if it works out and I don't completely butcher my face, I can invest in a hone and strop. If not, I can just sell the razor and pick up a safety razor instead. Does this seem like a reasonable course of action?

Also, as far as hones go, are the cheaper chinese wetstones on eBay worth buying? From what I've seen so far, my options seem to be either (very expensive) brand new wetstone from Norton or etc., older, possibly damaged and rather small barber's hone, or one of the Chinese wetstones. With the razor and strop adding up, I'd rather avoid spending any more than I have to on the hone, provided whatever I buy will still work well enough, of course.

Welcome,
Your planned course of action seems entirely reasonable. I have no experience with regards the Chinese Whetstones, but you should not need to hone for quite some time. (I get a couple of months of daily use, before needing to hone)

FWIW (I've only been here for a year or so) --

I'd suggest two changes to your proposed plan:

1. Get a strop _at the start_. A straight razor dulls noticeably after only one or two shaves. To give yourself a good chance at success (which usually needs _many_ "learning shaves"), you'll need a leather strop to keep it sharp. Strop after every shave, something around 40 laps works for many of us.

2. Forget about buying a hone. When you can't keep the razor sharp with a leather strop, and you can't keep it sharp with a CrOxide pasted strop (that will take months of use, for most people), _then_ you have a choice:

. . . (a) Buy a hone, and learn how to use it, or

. . . (b) Send the razor out for honing.

If money is tight, your best deal might be the "Sight Unseen" option at

Categories

A razor, leather strop (small, but adequate), and pasted strop in a single package, at a reasonable price.

Charles

PS -- I could make an argument for getting a safety razor _first_:

. . . It will teach you about using _very light pressure_ at low cost, and with little danger;

. . . You might decide to stick with it forever.<g>

Bare minimum requirements from the word go imo, is a shave ready Razor, Brush, soap/cream of choice and strop. All of which can be got cheap enough through the classifieds here or whippeddog.com.
If you don't outlay too much it won't be much of a loss if you decide you don't like this style of shaving. The learning curve is a steep one, and time is the only way you'll get there. If all else fails and you still like the brush and soap/cream of your choice, you can always spend a few more dollars on a DE, recuping some or all of the cost with the re-sale of the cut-throat.


Mick

Thanks for the advice. It's definitely encouraging to hear I can put off learning this honing process a little longer. I'm waiting for Tony Miller's vegan strops to become available again (should be available soon), so hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on one before my first blade gets too dull. As near as I can tell, his are the only decent synthetic leather strops around. Actually, they seem to be the only synthetic leather strops available...

Bieb,

I can't add anything to what's been said, other than confirmation. I was too cheap/cocky to listen when experienced guys said: first learn the shave, then learn the honing. To put it mildly, I suffered. (stupid oughta hurt?)

One thing that would be VERY helpful would be to connect w/ other str8 shavers in your area. There's a google map page showing the location of other members, and I KNOW there are lots of guys in FL. In all likelihood, some member would let you try their gear. Just watching a shave or getting talked thru one might help. Seeing how stropping is done is worth the cost of getting together. Its a bit more involved than it appears.

Best of luck w/ your adventure. Its worth every bit of heartburn to learn.

Great job ditching the electric, you'll never go back once you have a few good wet shaves. Your plan sounds reasonable, and I would definitely suggest you listen to the advice about getting a strop now. I'm fairly new myself, and tried to skip stripping yesterday because I was in a hurry to catch a flight. I didn't think I would even notice, but the difference in sharpness was dramatic. If you aren't stripping from the beginning, you may get quite frustrated simply because your razor isn't sharp enough to give a comfortable shave. You have plenty to learn already, so take razor sharpness out of the equation and get a strop if you can.

Good luck!

*sorry, spell check wants me to be a 'stripper', not a 'stropper'.

I wouldn't shave without stropping before each shave. Bare minimum equipment would be a good razor and a strop. Then comes the shaving soaps and everything else. Good luck with your first shave. You'll learn a lot quickly!

P.S. Get Lynn Abrams DVD on Straight Razors... it will save you a lot of mistakes early on.

You might be able to knock up a vinyl strop if you got an upholsterer anywhere in your area. Just get a strip of the width and length you like and sew on a couple of dee rings. It should get you out of a bind until something better comes along anyway.
My sister is a vegan, but I don't profess to understand it. Each to their own and more power to you.


Mick

Hello and welcome, I am a new user myself and was very scared when I started but I completed my 9th shave last night and I felt great, I have never had such a great shave. If you are on a budget like I was I would recommend the following in this order:
1. Shave Ready Straight razor, Strop (if you are having trouble with this I will make you one, I am in the holster business but I made myself a nice Latigo strop that works great. Just message me your address and I will send you one.)
2. Brush/Mug/Bowl/etc.. this can wait, I started with a cheap boar brush from walmart and it still works fine, I later bought a more expensive badger brush but In my opinion it really doesn't seem necessary same with bowls and mugs, coffe mugs work as well, later when you want to have a more elaborate setup maybe you can buy this, I doubt that I ever will.
3. Make sure you use good soaps, I have never used a styptic pencil or alum block but I do use aftershave balm and good shaving soap, I am sure someone here can give you better guidance on this.
4. Hones, Before you commit to buying hones make sure that you really love straight shaving, my first recommendation would be a Norton 4k/8k combo, a DMT 325 for flattening, Later on get a good 1k stone and if you really want to use a higher grit like a 16k or a 12k however you can shave right off the 8k Norton.

Tips from one beginner to another.
1. when you start even with a shave ready razor you may feel some pulling, do not worry I believe this was due to my anxiety and I didn't watch my angle carefully.
2. Stretch your skin there are many ways to do this but I saw a post by easyace about using a choke type stretch to the neck and it changed my shaving life.
3. Strop your razor before every use, I used to give it 15 full passes but I later realized that 50 complete passes worked great for me.
4. Prep - do not neglect this, lather the soap up real well, make sure that your whiskers are standing ready for your razor and take your time, I usually wash my face in the shower and then I will apply the soap before shaving, I am sure there are things that I am forgetting but to me the most discouraging thing was the first few shaves where I experienced the tugging, oh btw start shaving wtg and don't worry about your chin area until you feel comfortable with the sides of your face, before you know it you will be rocking out some nice shaves. Good luck , Roy

There are a million options, and you've gotten some great advice so far.

If you're waiting on one of Tony's vegan strops, you might consider picking up soap and brush and a DE safety razor in the mean time. This will give you time to figure out the mystery of lathering (which was much more of a challenge for me than shaving actually), will teach you something about blade angle and light touch, and will get you half the equipment you need for straight shaving. (For around $30)

AFTER you get a strop, you can pick up a shave ready blade from the classifieds here, or whippeddog.com or one of the other vendors if you've saved up some dough and want to go to the Big Time.

Worry about hones and honing later. They're easy to get into, can be done step by step, and are only worth doing if you're enjoying straights.

+1 on attending a get together in your area.

Happy Shaving,
Jim

Thanks for the advice everyone. I ended up buying a razor from pinklather in the classifieds here, and through some unbelievable confluence of shipping times it arrived on my doorstep the same day as my strop and styptic pencil, with the brush and soap getting here a few days before.

The first shave went pretty bad. I cut myself probably a half dozen times, and after two passes I was still extremely stubbly. At this point I hadn't done anything to the blade, I just took it out of the package and shaved with it. Since then I've been stropping before and after shaving, working on prepping better, and at this point I'm getting an almost satisfactory shave. The razor still seems to pull and catch a little when I go across or against the grain, and when I go with the grain (at about a 30 degree angle) it seems to just glide over the hair without really picking any up. At this point, after three passes I have just a very short layer of stubble around my chin and sideburns, even less under the chin, and my cheeks are pretty much clean. I'm trying to figure out just what I might be doing wrong so far: how easily does a well-honed razor normally take off hair?

It sounds pretty normal for a beginner:) You possibly dulled the razor a little with stropping. Practice stropping for awhile with a dull butter knife, then 40 laps linen and 60 leather side and see if it's better.

+1 to Rod

A properly honed razor will take hair off pretty dang easily, IF you're using the right pressure, the right angle, good stretching, and have done even half way decent prep.

Your experience sounds pretty common for starting out. If you're confident your stropping isn't/hasn't damaged the blade, then work on stretching and angle. If you think your stropping's been even half way decent, then practice and then have at it with your razor. A lot of times you can bring a razor back up to snuff with a good stropping if it's only barely out of shape (which sounds like might be the case).

Best of luck, and keep us up to date!

Peace,
Jim