Thread: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Every journey has a beginning and my journey begins from the land of Gillette. I was generally unhappy with the quality of my regualr shaving routine which consisted of a shower, gel shaving cream, and the gillette mach 3 'turbo' followed generally by patches of stubble, and occasional razor burn. You can see why I was unhappy with it. Being naturally drawn to projects, hobbies, and professions that involve sharp objects, I figured, "I'm gonna take up old school straight razor shaving."

Next in my journey came the internet, as I imagine it did for most of you. Somehow I managed not to find SRP till later in my searching but we'll come back to that. At the beginning I figured I'd need a straight razor, a brush, some soap/cream, a cup, and a leather strap (strop). Upon poking around the various online retailers I found them all selling sharpening stones (hones) so I figured I'd need one or two of those as well.

With costs adding up I started looking for what should be good compromises. I figured that any blade should sharpen about as good as the next so I found a cool "damascus" straight razor on amazon with 'mammoth bone' scales for $60. NOW, at this point I didn't have the guidance of SRP about the blade, but I figured even if the scales weren't real mammoth bone, who'd know, and at least that's the story I'd stick to. So I went ahead and made the purchase.
Attachment 95699 - I think I'll call it Manny...

Also on Amazon I found a brush/mug/soap kit for $30 which I thought looked decent and probably was of reasonable quality for a starter so I made that purchase as well. Amazon.com: Van Der Hagen Men's Luxury, Shave Set: Health & Personal Care

This is the point in my journey where I began looking for strops and hones. Searching around amazon, ebay and various other online retailers for a decent strop or hone, I finally managed to stumble upon SRP. I had a bead on a strop, and had placed a bid on a 4000/8000 combo hone from ebay. Peaking around SRP it was like the heavens parted and the shaving gods smiled upon my poor visage. Luckily I got outbid on the hone and I have since adjusted my search parameters for a strop. What a wonderfully vibrant and detailed and supportive place SRP is! The beginners forum and SRP wiki is jam packed with information that I eagerly drank up and continue to reference on a daily basis. Some of the information was bittersweet (I would have bought a different razor) but it gave me confidence in the future of my journey.

Finally my brush kit arrived! I was palpably excited, and having read the lather information for beginners the day before I felt confident that I could whip up a sweet batch of foam and go to town with my trusty old 'turbo'. SO, I broke the kit out and soaked the brush in some hot water while I showered, eagerly awaiting the day's shave. Having read the back of the box which suggested to put the puck of soap in the cup and to whip up the lather in that cup, and balancing it against the beginners information on lather on SRP which suggests using the soap in it's cup and a separate bowl to whip up the lather. SO, I left the puck in the plastic packaging and used the cup to whip up the lather. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C... I was able to conjure up something that resembled a cream, but I would in no way call it a lather, but it lubricated my face enough to shave with and oddly enough I do think that my face felt smoother after this shave than my previous ones. Maybe that's just the placebo effect, but maybe not. Anyway, today after re-reading the lather info from the wiki, I found that I totally forgot the proper 3 fingered holding technique when loading the brush with the soap. I think for my next shave I'll try using the soap in the packaging and the cup separate but I'll be sure to use the proper loading technique, and maybe a bit more water.

Today my razor arrived! WOOHOO!!! It looks very cool, and came in a nice leather pouch. And that's about where the good news ends. After reading on SRP about the difference between the real quality Damascus blades (~$300) and the crappy can't be sharpened "Damascus" blades (~$70), I sighed and said to myself, "Well, live and learn... At least I'll have a pretty show blade, and maybe I can use it for practice stropping." After reading about what I most likely purchased, I took the blade out and tested it on my arm hairs. Unfortunately they all survived unscathed. Maybe I just purchased a sweet butter knife?!? WELL, obviously I'm going to have to send it out to be properly honed by someone who knows what they're doing and in the mean time I'll need to purchase a plain-jane-work-horse of a shave-ready straight razor that is guaranted to be a good shaver.

I am now looking forward to my next shave - the "Return of the Lather" (episode VI), where I can do the proper technique and hopefully whip up a lather thick enough to make my ancestors proud. The next steps in my journey are to send out my new straight razor (possible P.O.S.) to be honed professionally and purchase both a strop and a quality workhorse straight razor(shave ready). I'll continue to post in this thread as I continue along my journey as I still have a VERY long way to go (the never ending shave). I hope that some beginners will be able to read this and learn from both my mistakes and my triumphs.