Thread: newbie's first

Thank you all so much for your replies.

The link to the razor I bought is
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6019&rd=1&rd=1

I have been researching straight razor shaving for a while before I took the plunge. But doing is so much different then reading. About a year ago I switched to using a double edge and I got a great brush and soaps. And I thought I would use a disposable straight for a while to see if I could get the hang of it.

So today I had my second shave with the real straight. It went better than yesterday's but still not perfect (in fact I cheated and finished off with my DE). Being that I so far have only got the one razor, I don't know if the issue is with the razor (perhaps it is not sharp enough or the wrong type of razor for me) or with me (perhaps I am not stropping properly or my technique needs improvement). But I’ll keep on working with it and see what happens. Also I might try to pick up a second razor to see if there is any difference.

One other question (for now) is a wedge blade better for a course beard than a hollow ground or does it just depend on the individual blade and user?

Thanks again for all your welcomes and advice.

Originally Posted by sim

One other question (for now) is a wedge blade better for a course beard than a hollow ground or does it just depend on the individual blade and user?

There's a difference between hollow ground and wedges, but wedges have a lot of disadvantages for relatively minor gain - they're fairly heavy for their size, they're much more annoying to hone, they're fairly rare. Ordinary hollow ground razors shave fine. I've got a pretty wirey beard and the only thing I avoid are the super-hollow "singing" blades, they're too light and have too much blade flex. Most of my favorite razors are full-to-3/4 hollow ground blades or frameback-style blades, while my 8/8 W&B wedge is something I prize highly but use only rarely.

sim it looks like you got a nice a pretty nice razor, but I wonder if it really is a Timor Hamburg is there anything on the tang besides what's written on the blade I didn't see anything in the pics but if so and it has a makers mark stamped in the tang you made a pretty good deal. Other wise I'm not sure. You may want to let us know.

The only other thing not mentioned is that you will really benefit from the DVD put out by the founder of this group, Lynn Abrams. It is 3 1/2 hours of info that will help you a lot.
Go to the Buy/Sell/Trade forum, it is a sticky, cost is $20 and it will answer 90% of your questions. It is th best DVD available, anywhere.

Thanks for the info about blade types. I appreciate it.

As far as markings, there's something stamped on the shank. It's a bit worn out but it looks like it says GIESON & FORSTHOFL (not sure of that last name) Solingen Germany. Does that mean anything?

Thanks for letting me know about the DVD. Sounds great.

i woudln't worry about the 1 razor only and waiting 48hours.. becuase as you start this love of straight shaving you will acquire more razors and you won't have that problem. but i also used my single razor when i first started daily without any problems.

straight shaving is so different then normal bic razor or de. you can not expect a perfect shave out of the gate, it won't happen. so don't expect it but expect improvement as you learn your face and how to hold the razor and what angles to hold it at to move to the contours of your face along with what angles to shave your face.

when i started i did sort of a 1 month progression on learning.

week1 - straight shave both cheeks, finished rest of face with bic along with touch up

week 2 - straight shave cheeks and started working jaw line (my personal heaviest beard), lip and chin. did my neck and touch ups with bic

week 3 - straight shave cheeks now no problems, jaw line pretty good (dont forget to pull up your skin by your ear) and lip/chin were good. started shaving my neck with straight.

week 4 - cheeks/lip/chin/jaw all good, neck almost all good. neck was very sensitive and it took a while for my skin to adjust to straight shaving as its more aggressive then you will be used to.

try some thayers witch hazel(non-alcoholic) after your shave/cold splash/pat dry... it stops bleeding from little nicks and tightens your skin making everythign feel great. buy it at GNC stores

remember, u have to learn your razor angles and movements to match your face...and your face has to learn the feeling of straight shaving(toughen up). its not a overnight process but the results a month from now will be fantastic

~J

Well if its a German blade you did good on the buy. All is good in my book.
Enjoy the hobby and post often sim, I look forward to your findings and experimentation.


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Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

One word of advice: Keep the boar brush until you're ready to splurge on something really extravagant. I even learned to get a decent lather out of a $5 plastic bristled brush so it will hold its own until you decide on something FINE.
I currently own the Wilkinson plastic and the EJ Best Badger. The Wilkinson is used for the first lather with the cheap soap that stays on my face while I strop, gets rinsed and the lather from one of my finer soaps/creams (mostly Colleen's excellent stuff, real steals at $5.95 a cake) goes on with the badger.
However, the badger will be relegated to being a long trip traveller and for occasional variety-changeups once I get the custom piece I ordered from Matt.

You can get a plain badger hair brush here for $10 shipped.
(it used to be $9 shipped. I think me leaving the link on shave boards drove the price up )
http://beautyrose.stores.yahoo.net/twdeshbrform.html

Thanks so much for the info. I had a couple of more shaves with it since my last post. One of them was a lot better. I have a feeling it might not be sharp enough. But I just bought my 2nd razor off ebay (you called it right jscott ) and I will be able to compare.

They are asking for $15 to ship to Canada. Dream on lol