Thread: A Note to Fellow Beginners

Hey all,

I am a beginner. I have been shaving with a straight since October, but prior to that I was reading and researching for at least 2 months. Even after I had my first successful shave I still continued to read and research. There is so much that goes into this experience and I figured all beginners were like me. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here. I recently had an experience that opened my eyes to how some people approach str8 rzr shaving. I thought I could provide some advice to the other noobs out there.

My friend, who suggested I go for it and get a str8, has been using a str8 a while longer than me. I finally got him to come over and bring his stuff so we could play around with our razors, strops, str8s, soaps, etc. When he came to my place, the first thing I noticed was his strop. He had huge gashes out of it and deep gouges all down the center. Then I got to take a look at his razor. He had small dents or chips in the edge. The last thing I noticed was his tub of shaving cream. He hasn't had this cream for very long and it was almost gone (he has been lathering in the cream tub, which wastes a ton of cream. I don't know about you guys but I'm not rich enough to go through a $60 tub of cream per month, or less).

After talking with him it turns out that he doesn't know how to strop, didn't know how he dented his razor, and he didn't know how to use his cream properly to get a good lather, without lathering in the cream tub. I think of those three things as the essentials to start shaving. You need to know how to take care of your razor, how to strop, and how to lather. He said he didn't really read beforehand and just went for it. As a result he will have to pay to get his razor honed, buy a new strop, and get more shaving cream way sooner than he should have to.

Don't get me wrong, I nicked my strop a couple times but I haven't taken huge chunks out. The nicks I did make were fixed by a little bit of light sanding. Also, I didn't learn until my second month that you don't build a lather on top of the soap puck.

All that said, I would like to encourage the newbies to research, read, read, research, watch videos and read even more. This isn't just to keep you from asking questions that have already been asked before, or to blow you off. This is to remind you that this is something that takes time and pre-knowledge to learn. It will make your learning curve a lot smaller the more that you know before hand. If you don't read and research it can make this nostalgic, enjoyable experience, into a frustrating, painful, and even hopeless endeavor. I would hate to hear that someone has given up on str8 shaving b/c they didn't know what they were doing and didn't bother to find out how to fix their problems. It isn't difficult to shave with a str8, heck almost all our ancestors probably did it at one point or another. So please read and research before, during, and after.

Don't forget, everyone is here to learn and help just like you so don't be afraid to ask questions.

Good luck & happy shaving!

-D

Originally Posted by dfafs

Hey all,

I am a beginner. I have been shaving with a straight since October, but prior to that I was reading and researching for at least 2 months. Even after I had my first successful shave I still continued to read and research. There is so much that goes into this experience and I figured all beginners were like me. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here. I recently had an experience that opened my eyes to how some people approach str8 rzr shaving. I thought I could provide some advice to the other noobs out there.

My friend, who suggested I go for it and get a str8, has been using a str8 a while longer than me. I finally got him to come over and bring his stuff so we could play around with our razors, strops, str8s, soaps, etc. When he came to my place, the first thing I noticed was his strop. He had huge gashes out of it and deep gouges all down the center. Then I got to take a look at his razor. He had small dents or chips in the edge. The last thing I noticed was his tub of shaving cream. He hasn't had this cream for very long and it was almost gone (he has been lathering in the cream tub, which wastes a ton of cream. I don't know about you guys but I'm not rich enough to go through a $60 tub of cream per month, or less).

After talking with him it turns out that he doesn't know how to strop, didn't know how he dented his razor, and he didn't know how to use his cream properly to get a good lather, without lathering in the cream tub. I think of those three things as the essentials to start shaving. You need to know how to take care of your razor, how to strop, and how to lather. He said he didn't really read beforehand and just went for it. As a result he will have to pay to get his razor honed, buy a new strop, and get more shaving cream way sooner than he should have to.

Don't get me wrong, I nicked my strop a couple times but I haven't taken huge chunks out. The nicks I did make were fixed by a little bit of light sanding. Also, I didn't learn until my second month that you don't build a lather on top of the soap puck.

All that said, I would like to encourage the newbies to research, read, read, research, watch videos and read even more. This isn't just to keep you from asking questions that have already been asked before, or to blow you off. This is to remind you that this is something that takes time and pre-knowledge to learn. It will make your learning curve a lot smaller the more that you know before hand. If you don't read and research it can make this nostalgic, enjoyable experience, into a frustrating, painful, and even hopeless endeavor. I would hate to hear that someone has given up on str8 shaving b/c they didn't know what they were doing and didn't bother to find out how to fix their problems. It isn't difficult to shave with a str8, heck almost all our ancestors probably did it at one point or another. So please read and research before, during, and after.

Don't forget, everyone is here to learn and help just like you so don't be afraid to ask questions.

Good luck & happy shaving!

-D

Thank God for the internet! I learned so much here and other sites and watching videos etc. I learned to hone from youtube!And Lynns straight razor dvd also. Which I never would have heard of without the internet. And to the many folks here who are very generous in giving good advice. I have put lots of good edges on my straights. I cant hone any crooked spines worth anything and my smilers can use some help getting the complete edge. But Im getting there. If there was no internet none of this would be possible unless you had someone that would take a lot of time to show you how to lather, shave, strop, hone as well as all the reviews on products that you cant find in a store but you can buy on the internet.

I tried straights 30 years ago in complete ignorance. No internet, no mentors, no current how to books. I did everything wrong, everything. After a very frustrating couple of weeks, the razor went into a drawer and did not emerge for 30 years. If wet shaving returns as a viable alternative to electrics and carts it will be because of the internet and the willingness of so many to share their knowledge and time with beginners.

I couldn't agree more. I'm one of those people who like to research everything before starting, and while (IMO) 99.99% of everything on the internet is moronic and useless, I'm grateful to have sites like these which supply useful information from people who are good enough to share and help.

I'm 7 shaves in and for my level doing quite well. Much more so, of course, than if I simply picked up equipment without knowledge and instruction. And I definitely recommend watching You Tube videos, you can see how to shave, strop, hone, even make lather. Amazing!

We are fortunate to live in a time where we can learn from the experience of many many people who came before us and made our mistakes for us already. Remember what Santayana said!