new straight shaver, first razor in the mail!

So I bought my first set, the "sight unseen deal" from Larry over at whipped dog. A couple brushes from amazon and some vegan soaps from honeybeesoaps.com on their way too.

Now just waiting for it all to get here and to get started. Any advice? Things to avoid? Tips?

Also, my girlfriend (the vegan) wants to start shaving with something other than a disposable but is afraid of a straight razor. I'm wondering what would be a good safety razor (DE razor?) for her to get started with and learn. This is for her legs, of course. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Advice: take it slow, be patient with yourself, and enjoy your journey :beer1:
Things to avoid: the faucet and your blood :p

Is this the first time you are attempting wet shaving? What razor did you get? Is it shave ready? Have you generated lather before? If this is the first time you are generating lather by your self, please watch the youtube videos about generating lather. Please read the Wiki section here about shaving and razor maintenance. Keep asking questions. And last of all be patient. One last thing..that is if you haven't got an alum block or septic stick get one.

I've been shaving with one of those gillete fusions and shaving cream for years. as for proper shaving, the straight razor, soap, and brushes are all in the mail. so no, i haven't lathered yet. yes, i believe the razor will be shave ready. that's the idea i got from the deal that they offer at whippeddog.com. i own a couple styptic pens, but i hadn't heard of an aluminum block until i found this site. i'll have to look into them.

avoid the faucet... is that meant as avoid the faucet with the razor?

Yep, the faucet is not your razor's best friend.

+++1 on the previous advice. Take it slow. Be patient. Start out shaving one side of your face, focusing on technique--that is the correct blade angle. Then progress to both sides of your face. Lastly begin shaving your chin and neck, which are the most difficult parts of a face to shave.

As for your girlfriend...I would recommend a low end Edwin Jagger or a Vintage Gillette Super Speed DE razor. EJ's are available from any number of online vendors who advertise here in the Vendor's Corner thread. They are both mild shavers. The Vintage Gillette can be obtained on ebay, but you need to be careful about paying too much for them.

I would also recommend getting some Gillette 7 O'clock yellow or blue de razor blades for your girlfriend's DE razor.

First thing you want to do is learn to do beard prep and lathering. Since you have been Creams that comes in cans, you are not used to generating lather. As the others have already said take it slowly. Remember in the beginning your shave may be not as good as your current razor. Over time you will develop correct angle and muscle memory to get a really good shave. So please be patient. Remember it is a very good idea to strop your razor before and after your shave.
Good Luck and keep us appraised.

The Merkur 34c HD is a great razor to start with. However, being a guy, I am not familiar with female version of merkur razors. To my knowledge they are well made and work well. The 34C HD is a great razor that I recommend for someone new to start DE shaving with. It is a fairly heavy razor with good grip and will not slip even when she is shaving in the water.

The whipped dog razors are indeed shave ready (the sight unseen deal was my first as well) The thing with larry to keep in mind is that if you don't like the razor he sends you, you can request another for the price of re-honing the one you send back (13 bucks I think) but either way, he sells a good product :)

I am not familiar with the soaps you are referencing, but I would recommend practice lathering once you get them before you shave with them just so you can feel what's up..

As for the shaves, don't expect a great shave your first few times out, it takes something like 15 - 100 shaves (Depending on the person) to get a truly good shave, I'm at about 25 now and I can get an acceptable shave (Not BBS yet) where I am comfortable only using the straight.


The Merkur is a good razor for your GF, I would almost steer towards one of the adjustable models so she can dial up or down the aggressiveness depending on how she feels....but a nice DE is a good thing to have in your arsenal even if you shave with straights.

Good luck and welcome to the addiction :)

My sight unseen deal from Larry arrives tomorrow, can't wait. :)

I have been using the full sandalwood product line from The Art of Shaving (pricy due to boutique nature) with a cartridge razor while I wait for a proper shave ready straight and DE and they are superb IMO. I simply can't believe how much better the shave I get and how relaxing and enjoyable it is to take my time with a proper wet shave.

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...Also, my girlfriend (the vegan) wants to start shaving with something other than a disposable but is afraid of a straight razor. I'm wondering what would be a good safety razor (DE razor?) for her to get started with and learn. This is for her legs, of course. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! ...

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Try posting this in the Ladies' Forum. That's where the experts are.

Charles

When I started I got some practice using my brush and cream/soap while still shaving with my Mach 3. I wanted to test the lather and see if it was giving me a smooth shave and not drying out. Once I was confident with the lather, I picked up my straight and could focus on technique with out having to worry as much about the lather.

Good luck, stretch your skin a lot and take it slow.

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Originally Posted by cpcohen1945

Try posting this in the Ladies' Forum. That's where the experts are.

Charles

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I guess that's not just "a place for the lady's to talk" as it says? I didn't want to be an intruder.

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Originally Posted by seandowling

So I bought my first set, the "sight unseen deal" from Larry over at whipped dog. A couple brushes from amazon and some vegan soaps from honeybeesoaps.com on their way too.

Now just waiting for it all to get here and to get started. Any advice? Things to avoid? Tips?

Also, my girlfriend (the vegan) wants to start shaving with something other than a disposable but is afraid of a straight razor. I'm wondering what would be a good safety razor (DE razor?) for her to get started with and learn. This is for her legs, of course. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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Reading the Wiki on this site will be a great help to you.

You can also watch videos on youtube, but if you do don't take 1 single video as gospel and get as much info as possible so that you can sort the wheat from the chaff.

Because your GF is a vegan then you will need to make sure she has either a horse hair or synthetic bristle brush. Badger and Boar won't fit into her ethics. And as a newbie will want a closed comb DE rather than an open comb. Also if she gets an adjustable then make sure she starts at a low number 1st as there are quite a few people who have a bad experience with a DE because they start with a middle range number when they haven't even any experience with shaving with DEs.

I agree with all the advice given. Be patient and don't get discouraged when things go awry. It may take some time, but you will get it.

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Originally Posted by jhenry

As for your girlfriend...I would recommend a low end Edwin Jagger or a Vintage Gillette Super Speed DE razor. EJ's are available from any number of online vendors who advertise here in the Vendor's Corner thread. They are both mild shavers. The Vintage Gillette can be obtained on ebay, but you need to be careful about paying too much for them.

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I agree. Although, I would buy myself a blade sampler pack and here's why. Different blades perform differently for different people. People can tell you that this blade is great or that blade sucks, and that is probably true.......for them, but you never know what will work for you until you try it.

Ok so here are my 2 cents...
first sight unseen deal is a Newb's best bet. It will give you a great view of what wet shaving can be. Eventually you will, if you like it, buy more razors. You can say you wont, but you will. Biggest thing to remember is to stretch your skin and how to strop.

As for the DE, you cant really go wrong with the Merkur with a long handle.

Now as a former Vegan, I tried the whole vegan soap thing....Good luck with finding one that a) lathers let alone lathers well b) dosnt smell like dirt, or gym sock, or oil.

I was able to find one soap made for my local market that was vegan and you could shave with, but GIVE ME TALLOW ANYDAY!!!!!

again just my 2cents!

have a blast on your journey through wet shaving!

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Originally Posted by seandowling

So I bought my first set, the "sight unseen deal" from Larry over at whipped dog. A couple brushes from amazon and some vegan soaps from honeybeesoaps.com on their way too.

Now just waiting for it all to get here and to get started. Any advice? Things to avoid? Tips?

Also, my girlfriend (the vegan) wants to start shaving with something other than a disposable but is afraid of a straight razor. I'm wondering what would be a good safety razor (DE razor?) for her to get started with and learn. This is for her legs, of course. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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First the razor will not need to be stropped for the first shave.

Next practice making a lather a couple times.
It will break in the brush and teach you a bit.
A good lather and shave prep is key....

DE razors are a good bet. Legs are a totally different
thing than whiskers. A DE blade you like may be wrong
for her so a selection is a good ting.

If she has never tried the Yellow handled BiC blades have
her try a small batch. They shave a lot like a DE and also
has a large opening that is easy to rinse clean. Rinsing
the razor clean is key no mater what she picks.

Lather for legs is also a challenge. There is a lady's corner
here. Co-author some questions there or have her make
her own account. A couple hints, one I recall is that
de-tangling hair conditioner makes a good shave cream for
shaving legs. The less expensive it is the better I am told
it works. A plastic basin and a shower/ bath seat sometimes
helps. The basin is to hold water to rinse the razor is
a help for some. Cleaning the razor, DE or tossable, as she
goes is important.

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Originally Posted by richmondesi

Advice: take it slow, be patient with yourself, and enjoy your journey :beer1:
Things to avoid: the faucet and your blood :p

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Amen in the faucet. My second shave with my $80 razor and I chipped the tip on it. Had to send it out to be repaired so I won't slash my face up.

just a thought on the vegan soap... I tried a couple of different types of vegan shaving soaps (my girlfriend is vegan to ha ha), and I thought they were horrible. The only brand i can remember was called "herban cowboy". I think especially as a beginner making a good lather can make ALL the difference in your shaving experience. So basically I guess I would reccomend trying other non-vegan soaps as well just to see the comparison. Good luck. Cheers!

well the soap is due to arrive tomorrow but everything else is here... makes me really wanna get started but somehow i don't think that's such a good idea? my only other options would be shaving cream or non-shaving soaps.

You may be able to find Poraso cream at a local walmart or pharmacy, you can build a decent lather with that if U don't want to wait... :)

Or search for shops that have creams/soaps locally, I found a good one here in NYC and sadly my time and my money are there way too much LOL

well i'll be back in the new york area in a month-ish so i'll have to check this place out. I'm in charleston right now and I haven't been able to find anything :/

does this shop in NYC have vintage razors/strops etc or just the soaps?

They don't have vintage anything, they have tons of brand new Merkur DE stuff, some blades and a TON of soaps/cremes. (Truefitt and Hill, Castle Forbes, Razorock, etc etc etc)

It's called:

Pasteur Pharmacy & Surgical
53 E 34th St # 1, New York, NY 10016-4332
(212) 683-3838 ‎

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Originally Posted by joben

just a thought on the vegan soap...
....

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Check out Kirk's bar soap (and other Castile soaps).
Today, Castile refers to soaps made without animal fats.

I to have Larry's "sight unseen deal" on the way. Also ordered about 10 of Mama Bears soap samples that are due to arrive tomorrow. These are single use samples. Whats the best way to get these lathered up? Just toss the sample in my mug and lather as normal?

Thats what I would do

So it's all finally here. About to attempt my first shave, probably after a nice long shower. I'll lather it up a few times and then go extra slow, it's not like I have a thick beard anyway. Just a PITA chin.