Noob's first post!

Good afternoon everyone, my name is Chris and this is a completely new topic for me.

First, my reasons for trying out a straight razor are simple. I have sensitive skin, but the hair grows VERY fast. Shaving with a regular razor is just painful unless it's only done every other day. Shaving with an electric is nice because it's fast, but it doesn't do a very good job.

I thought a straight razor might be able to get me the smoothness I want, without the irritation from doing it every day.

I bought my first razor and strop on ebay last week, and I have a feeling it's not very good. Here is a link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5679&rd=1&rd=1

I also got plain old shaving soap and a cheap brush from Wal-mart.

This morning I actually woke up early, knowing that my first shave would likely take quite a while. I ended up being greatly disappointed. I'm not sure if the blade wasn't sharp enough, or if my technique was bad, or what... but it seemed all it did was irritate my skin, and not actually cut any of the hair. I had watched Lynns video on google, which is how I found this website, and he made it look SO easy... and I just couldnt get it to work.

Shaving my upper lip ended up just not happening.... it just felt like it was ripping out hair as soon as i touched the blade to my face, and I thought for sure I was just going to cut myself.

Do you guys have any suggestions?

Welcome,

My only suggestion is to do some reading here. Your assumption is probably right about straights. If your really wondering and want an answer.

1. Lousy razor
2. Its not sharp
3. It all goes down hill from there

Welcome aboard. If I were you, I'd read all of the help files, read up on the honing and strops forums, buy a shave-ready blade from a honemeister, buy a hone, buy an antique razor to practice on. Doing proper research in these forums will help you make the right purchases. Good luck.

I'm not an expert on the subject, but I'm pretty sure that razor and strop are of pakistani manufacture. If so, then it isn't ever gonna be sharp enough to shave with. The strop is probably junk as well. Unfortunately, ebay is flooded with the Pakistani junk, you can hardly find good razors for all the zeepk and pseudo-solingen "razors".

Your initial assumptions about straights are probably correct -- several members have both sensitive skin and wirey beards and have no problems shaving daily -- but you're gonna need good equipment to do it. You'll probably need a paddle strop with one or two pasted sides for the occasional sharpening and one unpasted side for daily stropping, plus a good dovo or thiers-issard razor to start out with. You've got Lynne's video so you've got the resources section at the end listing some reputable stores. Don't be afraid to let them know you're just getting started out, it'll help them guide you in the right direction.

Welcome to the forum. Alan is right concerning
this razor. But don't be discouraged, your not
the first to make this mistake and won't be the
last.

I suggest that you stick around, ask questions
and read the help files.

A suggestion is to check the following site.
www.thewellshavedgentleman.com
This is the site of Tony Miller. Not only
does he sell good quality Shave Ready
razors but strops as well. You can buy
individually or a complete set.

Though kinda sold down check out the
following sites

www.billysblades.com and http://www.shop.writerferret.com

Billysblades id the site of Bill Ellis aka urleebird and
writerferrett is the site of Joe Chandler.

Another optioncan be adjustme69@yahoo.com
This is the email address of Mr. Lynn Abrams, the
founder of this forum. He sometimes has razors
for sale.

I have bought from all these guys and have been
very satisfied with my purchases.

Hope that this helps a little. Don't be shy about
asking questions.



Terry

Howdy BS...

Here is the thread that has some info on the razor you bought. Yours is not sharp. It needs to be honed and stropped.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=7205

Tony Miller's site is actually http://www.thewellshavedgentleman.com/. Terry misidentified Colleen's (future?) site which doesn't appear to be working.

I think if you get that blade honed it should work for you, but you might want to upgrade to something better at a future time. Lynn, Joe, Bill and others can likely handle that razor. I'd offer, but I'm not sure I can tackle that blade and don't want to falsely reassure you.

A good quality sharp straight razor will feel better than any other option on the market. You might not want to shave every day for the first two weeks since it takes time for your face to get used to compensating for the exfoliation.

Keep us posted.

X

Xman

Thanks for catching my error...... :)



Terry

Welcome aboard. If I can help, let me know. I will say this about the Sanguines, though (and this is just a guess, not based on experience) ...they do appear to be better ground than most of the Pakistani POSs I've seen. Plus it's described as "high carbon steel" rather than the exceptionally crappy "440 Stainless" most of them are. There's an outside chance it's not total junk. I think Bill reviewed one of the new low-cost razors a while back, and while not great, it wasn't supremely awful. Anyway, welcome aboard again, and if you have any doubts, go vintage (cuz that's what I sell. :D)

WOW!!!

Less then a day and all these responses already!

First, I'd like to say thank you to all of you who took the time to reply. I really appreciate a forum where people are willing to help the noobs out!

I feared as much with the razor, as far as the cheapness. I think I might have to wait a while before I can buy something better, so I may be stuck with the electric until then. I'm going to check out those websites and see what they have to offer. I'm just somewhat leery of spending a bunch of money if I'm not going to get the results I want, or if I'm not going to have the patience to take care of my razor and prepare my shave every morning.

Just wondering... what advantage does vintage have over something more recent?

Again, I'll take a look at those websites, and read through this forum some more. You guys have been extremely helpful already!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BSDaemon

Just wondering... what advantage does vintage have over something more recent?

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I just think the old razors had better steel, better heat treating, were better ground, and were more interesting (there were lots of different styles back then, as opposed to what Dovo and TI are doing today). They were made when a majority of shavers used them, and market forces dictated greater variety. Additionally, with the old ones, there's a better chance it's a good one, as the crap would've been ditched long ago. Now obviously, the above wouldn't apply to something modern that has been custom made, like Maestro Livi's or Bill's.

This sticky thread in newbies corner will help you understand the differences between a razor that is truely shave ready and one that is not: http://straightrazorpalace.com/showthread.php?t=7563

Ah, very interesting stuff!

So, do you guys have any suggestions as far as razor + strop for a newbie? I don't want to spend a lot, because shaving with a straight razor may simply not be for me. ..

I'm looking for a combo that's around $100 or less, if possible. Any suggestions? :o

joe chandler sells some nice old razors which he has taken the time to restore and hone to feircely sharp. his prices are very nice for new people starting out and i'd suggest starting there as you will get something of good use which will come in great shape along with already honed perfectly so you don't have to worry about those aspects. http://shop.writerferret.com/ he only has 4 razors on his site at the moment, which is quite low for him, perhaps he's selling faster then he can restore....congrats joe. but you will find majority in the 35$-50$ price range. other people on here sell razors as well, and theirs are of quality also. however you will find they specialize in higher end razors which cost more then you may be willing to spend. that is why i listed joe's site as a good place to start. its very beginner / intermediate friendly.

as for a strop, definitely peruse Tony's shop as he's top notch along with all his goods / workmanship / customer service. http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.com/

and yes, the upfront, start up cost of straight shaving is a bit more then people expect or sometimes would like. but really thats all the cost there is. you will buy more soaps / hones etc etc down the road out of pure pleasure but you will be set from the get go if you wanna keep it minimalistic. take the extra week or 2 or 3 it takes to save some cash and buy some quality products to start which will give yourself a chance to enjoy the shave. you won't be perfect at it to start, your shaves will be not smooth and missing spots when you first start. but they will improve daily and the end result will be more pleasing and much closer then anything else you have used. its worth the adventure for sure.

~J

ah yes, I was looking at thewellshavedgentleman.com earlier today. His starter kits are pretty fairly priced! $135 for razor, strop, brush, mug and soap!

Do you guys prefer hanging strops or paddle strops? I suppose I'll do a search and see if there are any threads on this forum that address that question.

For me, a hanging strop is much more comfortable for daily use, but I do have a couple of paddle strops for tony for pastes and travel.

X

reading his site, he says he reccomends the paddle strop to start with, since then you dont need to buy a hone, etc. I think I may heed that advice.

Are his razors as good as his strops? or should i buy a strop from him and a razor elsewhere? I'm sure if he hones his razors before they get sold, they will be awesome!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BSDaemon

reading his site, he says he reccomends the paddle strop to start with, since then you dont need to buy a hone, etc. I think I may heed that advice.

Are his razors as good as his strops? or should i buy a strop from him and a razor elsewhere? I'm sure if he hones his razors before they get sold, they will be awesome!

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As for my honing, it's all been passed off to our own EL at this point and he has been doing a great job. Mine were okay with an occasional "not quite sharp enough" but not a question or doubt on an EL honed razor yet. I think he is using Belgian Coticules for his honing and has been doing this a long time.

Tony

Ah, thanks for the info!

Perhaps next pay I will be purchasing a set from you :)