Thread: Want to get into straight razor shaving -

G'Day and welcome to SRP - WOW, you haven't been shaving too long at age 16 - at 16 a rub with a rough towel was enough.....

I have just started using ARKO soap and love it - it makes a great lather.

Have a look at YouTube for mantic69 - he does some great instructional videos on everything to do with wet shaving.

Hope this helps.

Since you are in Mexico you might have some issues making lather with soap or cream because of the water. Are you in a hard water area? The reason I bring this up is this...a good lathering really makes for a good shave. It is one component but an important one. Even if you buy a great soap, and can not lather it properly due to technique and or water quality, I don't want you getting Put off in frustration.
Something to consider and hope it helps.
Anthony

Welcome! Look for vendors that say "professionally sharpened", not "factory sharpened". They aren't shave ready (not from amazon). There are plenty of vendors and people here to buy from, check the classifieds, and the vendors links for anything you need. A 3" latigo strop is a must. As far as soaps and creams, look for tallow or glycerin as the 2nd or 3rd ingredient; those will usually provide the best lathers vrs ones w/ water, chemicals, chemicals, chemicals, then castor oil or mineral oil of some sort in the labels. A good aftershave balm would be best to use before delving into splashes; you will be learning good technique at first and will find your face a bit irritated at times, so the balms help a lot w/ that. A good badger or horse hair brush will be the way to go; all work well, and depending on how stiff your beard is you can choose the softness of the bristles and the amt of $$ you're willing to drop on a brush. Be sure and go to the "razors to avoid page" in the search box so you don't get ripped off by a pretty trinket made of crap (sparkly turd if you will) steel that won't hold an edge to save its life.

Thanks for your contribution! Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier. The strop seems to be the second most expensive piece of all the requirements, I'm guessing an expensive strop is preferable to a cheap strop, even for beginners?

I'm not sure if it's considered hard or soft water. Supposedly it's not safe to drink, and everyone around here drinks bottled water. Thanks for the concern and I apologize for the long response time!

Haha yeah, I haven't been shaving for long at all. I figured I'd try and get ahead of the game as for straight razor shaving, and it looked a lot more interesting and much more appealing than disposables or really any other shaving implement. I'll check into mantic69.