Thread: Hello All!

Welcome to SRP. As long as you have fun you'll be good.

Hi Sam and welcome to SRP. I don't think you can go wrong with the starter kit from SRD. The razor will come shave ready from Lynn himself. Patience is a virtue, but if you're willing to invest the time and effort, you'll be rewarded in due time. As for joining the Navy, I don't know if ships and straight razors mix, so you might want to try for a dry post after boot camp. Enjoy and ask any questions you have, the members here are always willing to help.

It will be another 2+ years before I ever set foot on a ship, cause I have 2 years of Nuclear Power school in Charleston so I will worry about shipboard life later. After power school Im gonna be on a boat for a pretty long while though...

I did some research and they are permitted underway, but the main thing for me would be the amount of time you get for hygiene while on the boat. I would probably only get a good shave/shower when in port or on liberty. At least i have a couple years to get my skills up.
Thanks for the responses!

Originally Posted by dubbin64

It will be another 2+ years before I ever set foot on a ship, cause I have 2 years of Nuclear Power school in Charleston so I will worry about shipboard life later. After power school Im gonna be on a boat for a pretty long while though...

I did some research and they are permitted underway, but the main thing for me would be the amount of time you get for hygiene while on the boat. I would probably only get a good shave/shower when in port or on liberty. At least i have a couple years to get my skills up.
Thanks for the responses!

Cool! I spent 4 and a half months, when I was in the Australian army on HMAS Westralia, the biggest ship in the Navy, then ('90s). It was fun 'driving' it through typhoons in the South China sea. That time on the ship will NEVER leave me. I think you could cope quite fine with a straight on a ship, esp if you use a shave stick or nice small puck of soap. In my experience, space can be an issue (though I resided in luxury in an officers' cabin). I don't really take that long to shave with a straight these days, probably the longest thing to do is stropping, and you could always strop at night (bearing in mind that in my experience ships run on shifts).

Oh, BTW, I'm not sure about where you're from, but here in Australia if you call a ship a boat you'll be doing 100 pushups or working in the galley quick smart!

In my experience in the military you shave every day regardless of if you need to or not. And you need to be prepared to be sent back for another shave time and again, esp in basic trg, so I would strongly recommend against even TRYING to use a new razor in that sort of situation. As an ex Recruit Instructor I've seen a LOT of very bloody recruit faces, as they rush to get it all done in 15 minutes (beds made, shave, dressed, standing at attention with KFS (Knife Fork Spoon) and cup ready to be marched to the mess).

Best of luck,


Carl

PS, you should probably get a DE too, they ARE very cool, and it'll be handy if things DO get too frantic for you.

Hi Sam, welcome, and thank you for serving! It sounds like you're lining up a rich future for yourself. I enjoy reading your note because you sound so mature for 18 years. I work in a trade and we've found that most 18-year-olds aren't mature enough or ready to work as hard as it takes. It sounds like you won't give anyone that kind of grief.

It's also really fun to see another young man taking up the straight toward the start of his shaving life, instead of pretty deep in, as most of us have. There was a discussion about this a couple of weeks ago, about how we all wished we'd taken this up back when our whiskers were still fine and tender and easy to cut. You'll get to learn to shave while shaving is easy, and later, as your own beard gets thick and gnarly, you'll already know how to deal with it. In fact, you won't even have noticed the change, 'cause you'll have been shaving right along with it. The wierd strokes and angles the rest of us learn about by reading and questioning here... will be instinctive to you.

Keep an eye out for a barber's hone. You won't need it soon, but it seems like it'd be the perfect thing once out at sea.

Very best wishes to you, and I look forward to reading your posts.

Some horrible news, I took a tumble last Friday and broke my elbow. I am getting administratively separated from the Navy's delayed entry program, and I have to re-enlist when I am well. Hopefully I can get the same job when I re-enlist.
Because of the nature of the fracture I don't even get a rocking cast or anything, just a sling. I am pretty devastated as of now.

A little bright note today all my orders came in and I got my Dovo straight razor, my used Clements King Of Diamonds, strop, brush, soap, and all the little other goodies. I took a warm shower lathered up as best I could and went to work. I only had 3 days growth which is barely 5 o'clock shadow for some of you blokes, but I did a decent job shaving with only my left hand.
I only did my sideburns and checks, but no nicks! I shaved with the Dovo today as it is a 5/8 size and is a little weightier than the other razor, and I thought it would be easier to maneuver. I have to say the first cut was a little terrifying.

I am not sure as to the sharpness of the blades, both were advertised as shaving sharp, but how sharp is sharp? I tried the hanging hair test and neither razor produced the "pop", but I read that those don't mean anything, and it's only shaving power that matters. Stropping was next to impossible for me and I didn't even bother, but once I have some strength and some more facial hair I will try again.
Anyways., thats how my first shave went! Definitely a lot to be improved upon, mainly the lather, and next time i will try a hot towel. I wish i would have got some flavored soap, but maybe I can pick up some of the cheap flavored soap at wal-mart.

So bad to hear what happen to you. But I must admit I am impressed, your first shave with the left hand and a broken elbow. You have some guts boy.

One of the first things is to do it slowly (and with the broken elbow you will have to try extra patience). But you can still learn in your recovery time. I did when I got chicken pox earlier this year, when I get cured finally I shaved, and only from reading I did improved a lot.

So keep with the good mood, and you will recover sooner, it is a proven fact.

Take care.

Sam, I am so sorry to hear your news! Very best wishes for a speedy recovery.

I've really enjoyed some Edwin Jagger soaps that came in a pack of three small pucks, sea buckthorn (a tree that grows along some European coasts and smells pretty cool), aloe vera, and I think the third was sandalwood. The lather is nice and the shaves were good. Duluth Trading Post has them.

You're pretty brave to dive in with your off hand! I assume you're right-handed. You'll need to strop, about 20 times after your shave to clean the blade's edge, and about 70 before you shave to rub away oxidation and do whatever else stropping does. I can definitely tell the difference if I try to lazy past that preshave stropping; the blade is not nearly as good as it should be.

What you need to find is someone to strop for you until your elbow is back in action. Check the Community drop-down at the top of this page--the Find Local Help link might list someone close by.

Good luck you you, man!

I stropped both blades with the help of a lace and a beltloop on my pants. Got both blades to pass the HHT. Cool stuff. One nick in my strop, but what are you gunna do about it. Anways look forward to trying again tomorrow with some fresh stubble, even if its with my off hand. Thanks friends!

Originally Posted by dubbin64

Some horrible news, I took a tumble last Friday and broke my elbow. I am getting administratively separated from the Navy's delayed entry program, and I have to re-enlist when I am well. Hopefully I can get the same job when I re-enlist.

Sam, I'm sorry to hear about your injury. No worries about your future in the Navy, though. I went through Naval Nuclear Power School back in 1974-75 when it was located in Bainbridge, Maryland. Over the main entrance to the school hung a sign that read "Through These Portals Pass The Top Ten Percent Of The Navy." If your Basic Test Battery scores were high enough to get you a billet in NavNucPwrScl the first time around, they'll get you that billet the second time around.

Navy recruiters have a quota to meet and an incentive to sign up recruits for critical Military Occupational Specialties (MOS) such as nuclear qualified machinist mates, electricians and electronic technicians. When your elbow is healed, go back to that same recruiting station. Tell whomever is on duty that you want the same deal you signed up for last time -- a guaranteed billet in Nuclear Power School. If he says no can do, tell him that doesn't work for you, then get up and walk out. Wait a month then stop in again and tell him you still want that guaranteed billet in Nuclear Power School. Keep doing that once a month until he gives you what you want.

Right now -- while you are still a civilian -- is the only time you'll have that pull, so use it now to your advantage. The Navy's needs for a particular MOS changes each month, as sailors choose to either re-up or get out at the end of their enlistment contract. They may have enough nucs for the next two or three months, but before long, the demand will go up again. HOLD OUT FOR IT! Whether you plan on just a six year enlistment, or a 20-30 year career, you should spend that time in the MOS that YOU desire, not some job your recruiter has a quota to fill that month.

Elsewhere you mentioned being on a "boat" after nuc school. Am I correct in assuming you plan to volunteer for submarines? I served on the Cold War Warrior USS Casimir Pulaski, SSBN-633 Blue Crew, out of Holy Loch, Scotland in the 1970s. <USS Casimir Pulaski (SSBN-633)> It was the greatest experience of my life, bar none!

Best of luck with whatever the future holds for you!
Morty MM1(SS) (former)

PS: do not bring a straight razor with you to boot camp! It will be confiscated as a weapon and you will never see it again! You can use a str8 at your duty stations after boot camp, though. Just don't leave it lying around unattended. Sad to say, not all of your shipmates will merit your trust.