Thread: New to the site.....but not really

Hello Gents,
Hi my name is Matt and this is my first post. I have been reading a lot in different areas and now I have decided to post after going through a lot of different subjects. There are a lot of helpful people on the SRP and I do appreciate their helpfulness. Though I would like to pick a "respectful" bone with other members. As I've read many many posts I've noticed a lot of you can't do this until you do that or there is no way you can master this until you master that. While I appreciate what they are trying to do, which is I believe save new shavers time and shorten the learning curve I love to jump in over my head and learn fast.
I have been DE shaving over a year now and I am jumping into straight razor shaving, honing and restoration all at once. I read a post that told me that if I am new to straight razor shaving I should not be honing or doing such other things.....I disagree. I want to start shaving right away, I want to ruin a few razors...if needed by honing, I want to buy some old razors and restore them and so be it if my techique stinks along the way. I also make beer, wine, shine in my spare time and I always tell people do it or make it however you think is best and learn from your mistakes. I think the way to get good at anything is practice, error more practice. Like we say in artillery shoot, adjust fire, shoot again. That is also why I say respectfully because I do realize that many gents on the forums are way more experienced than I and I do learn a great deal from them which i apply actively to my shaving. Plus I say if someone wants to learn how to hone right away, let them hone right away. Why not take their hand and help them instead of saying well, you better hold off on that until you master shaving with one first.
My first time shaving with a DE was awful. I used a way to aggressive razor and my face was a bloody mess. I didn't do any permanent damage to myself and I learned a great deal about shaving in a short amount of time. I don't know why I wanted to express this except I encourage learning in anything in life. So if someone comes to me and says hey I want to do straight razor shaving and I want to learn honing etc. right away. Maybe instead of saying no thats not good practice, say well ok since you have an eagerness to learn lets do it together and we will take it step by step. Will you ruin something along the way, probably yes. I guess thats just the enjoyment for me in doing something new is making those mistakes and learning from it.

I am not writing this to complain......nonewhatsoever! I love what I read on this forum and I enjoy the honesty and sense of community and helpfulness the forums offer. Its just that when someone, especially a new shaver wants to jump in i think the attitude should be, great lets get started here's what we need to do first. Not saying that this never happens, I just think this is the attitude some of us need to adopt in some fashion. Thank you if you read my whole ramblings here and have a great shave.

Every man is greater than me in some way and in that I learn from him.

Hi Matt and welcome to SRP.
I cannot disagree with anything that you have said, given that, to be polically correct, there are many and varied ways of removing the fur from a feline.
We all have our own journey in this and all other life endevours - some are easier and others more difficult.
I'm sure that others here would concur with you, however, there are those in this world who need to 'take it slow' and learn/master one thing at a time or they may get frustrated and lose interest.
From my point of view, I would be only too happy to help others on their journey should they decide to take the path that you advocate, however, the issue for most is that they are trying to learn skills without face to face guidance and therein lies the issue.
As with most of us here, our suggestions are just that, born from our experiences and not set in stone.
Full marks to you for bringing this up as all opinions are welcome here.
Hang on and enjoy the ride.

Hey guys, great posts from you both. I appreciate both opinions, and you both have very valid points. I do have to agree with Havachat45 when he indicates that many of us are learning on our own, without face to face guidance. But, at the same time, I have always been one to jump in with both feet. So whom has the correct path, both of you, and all of us. Yeah I know, what a bunch of b.s. right? Isn't that what makes this site great? So many varied ways of removing the fur from a feline!

I think a majority of our advice given, is geared towards the largest percentage of the population who will learn best from a structured approach. But that is not everyone... If you learn best by jumping in headfirst then go for it!

Good luck to you

I agree that most of the population learns better in a certain environment and most people are not like me where I want to learn it all now. Thats just how i am. I usually make horrible mistakes but I get to look back at the journey and laugh.

definitely there are so many ways to go about this. I've seen some videos on here. Is there a video section where people can post video responses? In my eyes that would be more helpful if someone is having a hard time with something to show them a video to help guide them. Seeing old timers do it is sometimes not very helpful because they make it look so easy.

Yes without face to face help it is hard to learn a lot of things in life. I was just saying in another comment video responses would help out a lot or even video chat. I've learned many things in life just by solely watching. Changing the brakes on a car I learned just from watching. Tried it on my own and been doing my own for a long time now. Either way i'm looking forward to learning all of this and enjoying my shave. Out of all my friends I am the only wet shaver and I try to get them into it but they don't listen. I tell them that they view shaving as a chore, why not make it a pleasurable experience. I actually look forward to shaving now and the smells of the creams and soaps and the feel of the cutting whiskers. Its no longer a chore but something that is soothing. Its hard to make someone else who is not a wet shaver to see that point of view.

Originally Posted by mmilby

Changing the brakes on a car I learned just from watching.

Sure you can do that but there are other aspects to a brake job other than just replacing worn brake pads. Hopefully you already know that.
But first of all you need to know how to drive the car so you can test your job & that's a bit like us recommending to get the shaving wired prior to honing & restoring.

I can understand wanting to do things your way. I'm a bit stubborn, although not as much as I used to be. I think you just came on a little strong on your first post on this thread. I totally understand that sometimes what you say or type, isn't exactly how it could be taken by people overhearing or reading. I'm bad for that myself. I can't add much to what has been said, just repeat that others here have been where you are, and are where you are. There are members here that have been shaving for their entire lives, and there are members that haven't received or even ordered their first straight razor yet. The ones who can, teach and guide. The others like myself try to soak up the information they give out so that we are not starting from scratch and we end up enjoying our hobby more than just the dreaded yet needed (in some cases) chore it was before. Keep in mind that you didn't mention you had already ordered and shaved with a shave ready straight on your first post. That alone could mislead our view of you.

Basically I want to applaude that you have drive, but please keep in mind some starting out may never hone in their life. A service from someone like gssixgun, or in my case Maxi, is only part of the cost of one hone, let alone an entire set of stones. No one NEEDS to buy a hone, but many of us, myself included, want to learn. If someone wants to learn, a Norton 4/8 is suggested, just because it is relatively inexpensive, consistent and for some people is all they need to hone their own razors. Also many people have them, so they can give advice based on working with that hone. Then that person can go from there and decide what else they want, if anything. I'm just using that as an example. Some people prefer and/or started with natural stones. some may have unlimited funds and they are not worried what it will cost, but others are going to a straight razor to try and spend less than they have to for replacement blades.

Thanks I will take your advice and put it to work. Yes i've researched hones and i've found norton 4/8 combo is a good place to start. I do want to jump in but i have a lot more learning to do before i actually start honing. At first one my razor needs it i will send it off to have it honed so i can compare what i'm doing to what its actually supposed to be like. I'll get frustrated for sure but i love learning new things and it will be enjoyable experience for me. Feel free to either correct me or offer help along the way. Whatever you say will be read and applied to my shaving experience.