The newest newbie, and some questions

I came across this site a week or so ago when I was doing some online comparison shopping for a new pocketknife, and came across some posts about straight razors. After reading a few articles, watching videos on Youtube, and perusing this forum, I wandered over to Target and picked up some Proraso shaving cream, pre-shave, and a $13 boar brush to try out with my not-so-trusty Mach 3.

With the Mach 3, I seem to have the choice of a lousy, stubbly shave or a close shave with tons of skin irritation, especially on my neck. Like everyone else, I'm also a little tired of paying up to $10 for a box of four cartridges, and I feel a bit used as a consumer caught up in the middle of a razor war where building up to an obscene number of blades seems to be leading our faces to mutually assured destruction.

The three shaves I've had since I started experimenting with wetshaving have been great, although I'm still getting a lot of ingrown hairs and razor bumps on my neck. I'm pretty much sold on the idea of straight razor shaving.

It seems like the best way to start out is with Tony Miller's starter set. I told my fiancee that my goal is to work my way up to a smooth, nice-looking shave in time for our wedding on April 28. She said she would get me the starter set as a gift for the 2-year anniversary of our first date, in February. I'm thinking I'll ask her to get the set with a pasted paddle strop, and that if she wants to splurge a little more she can get the one with both the hanging and paddle strops.

One of my questions is about the timeframe. If I get this stuff in February, and have until April 28 to practice, is that a reasonable timeframe for a complete novice to achieve a good shave?

The second thing I've considered is to pick up a cheap-ish safety razor (I'm thinking a Merkur HD or a vintage Gilette Super Speed) and a variety of blades between now and February, and give that a try. I understand that a DE razor is tons better than a Mach 3 for many people, and some seem to use it to shave tricky spots while learning to use a straight razor. Would it be wise to try the DE as well, or is my face going to complain and tell me to stop trying so many new things in a relatively short period of time?

Finally, if I have just one razor and a pasted paddle strop, will that last me from February to the end of April, in terms of sharpness? Barring anything stupid like banging up the razor, would I also need to obtain and learn to use a hone to maintain the edge? My thinking has been that at some point I'll also buy a cheaper razor that's been refurbished to shave-ready condition by one of the guys on this forum, use until it could use a good honing, and then try to learn to hone on that one.

sounds like a good plan to me. I'd say two months is plenty to learn to shave in. Don't expect to be any kind of huge expert but a good shave is more than possible. The DE might be a good choice, just don't pay to much for one, you won't use it once once you really get used to your straight:D. I've only been at this for a couple of months myself so I know you can learn in that amount of time but I'm not sure if one razor will hold up to everyday use or not, I haven't been at this long enough yet.

I took a break from learning to straight shave to get the hang of the DE. It was a good decision because the Mach 3 was killing my face. It took me about a month to learn the DE well enough to get the best shaves of my life.

It will give your skin a chance to adjust to a more aggresive style of shaving. Oddly a DE and straight are better for your skin long term, but it takes a little getting used to from the Mach 3.

A DE will also give you a chance to learn about prep, skin stretching and shaving in multiple passes. That'll give you a leg up when you get your straight.

The Gillette Superspeed is a great razor. I can't speak personally about the Merkeur, but they are also highly recommended.

Good luck,
Josh

Get a DE, the Merkurs rock. My fav is the Long Classic. You'll only be able to learn on a time table if you use pre-honed razors. By April you'll be just getting the hang of honing. And no, one honing won't last you long enough, but with a paddle strop on paste you'll have lots of fun trying (and you might even succeed). It takes some guys an eternity and others get it really fast. It just depends, but the DE will give you great shaves until you "get it".

Welcome to by the way.

Personally I recommend the Feather blades, just use NO pressure with a DE.

Welcome aboard. You should be able to pick up the technique by April without any issues. As long as you don't damage the blade the abrasive pastes should maintain it unti lthen and well beyond.

With a paddle only you need to keep one side clean for daily stropping. I prefer the hanging strop for daily stropping. It's more forgiving of any slight deviations. Using the paddle was almost like learning to strop all over again so I guess what I'm saying is go for both. You'll be set for some months with a two sided paddle pasted with 3µ and 0.5µ (or 1µ I guess) and risk spoiling your edge less by using the hanger for daily duty.

X

I went Fusion -> DE -> straight over the course of the last few weeks. While I'm not perfect with the DE or necessarily very good with the straight (only 3 shaves so far) I'm still getting far better overall shaves than with the Fusion, and in the DE case even compared to wetshaving with the Fusion. The DE has a relatively small learning curve (it's there though and takes some time to adjust) and a really good shave isn't that hard to achieve.

Even with just a month or so your skin will look better for the wedding. While you may not be getting perfect shaves by then I'll bet it'll still look like a better shave than with a Mach3 with all the associated razor burn/ingrown hairs, etc. Even with only a few (cautious) goes with the straight I still prefer the shave I get over using the Fusion with canned gel.

Ant

I've never tried to maintain an edge for a long time with a paddle and paste alone. I prefer stones. But I assume, besides using the right technique that one important point would be to go slow and not overhone.

So, what I'm saying is, test shave often and don't go crazy with passes on the paddle strop.

I'd say, given the posts I've read that we have a pretty good percentage of guys who have gone a year without honing to maintain an edge on only a paddle strop. Its the learning curve you have to be careful about. I personally wrecked a few edges trying to learn how to do this.

I forgot to mention something about the DE. The angle of the razor is very important. The handle sticks out about, what 30-40 degrees, when I shave with a DE.

Thanks for all the quick replies, guys. I appreciate the input, and I think I will go ahead and try a DE. It will give me something to do until I get the straight razor equipment in February. After all I've read, I don't think I could live with the Mach 3 for another month, the anticipation would kill me :)

Scour the antique shops for razors. I picked up a nice 1930s Tech for $5. All it takes to fix up is boiling for 30min, cleaning with a toothbrush a bit more boiling, a quick polish and a splash of alcohol. About 20min of actual work. You can pick up a pack of blades for about $5 if you want them right now. Either go with Merkur or Feather. If you decide to go crazy on the DEs, I've had great results with Derby blades that you can get 120 pieces for $13 shipped.

Art,

If you're going to try out a DE, wander over to www.badgerandblade.com. Those guys have a lot of good info to share.

But feel free to ask questions here, too. We don't have a DE forum, but I think we'd be willing to help you out since you're planning to go to the straight eventually... :)

Later,
Josh