Thread: Newbie here looking for advice on best first straight razor or razor kit!

SRD kit with a Dovo 5/8 best quality. I am still using it. Upgrade to the 3" strop IMO for easier stroping. Lynn talked to me for an hour before I bough my kit and was very helpful. All these guys on here are great and want to help! Don't worry....you will be buying more then one....it's supposed to be cheaper...until you keep looking and buying more! I'm going to have to start keeping them in my gun safe beside the " honey I've had that gun for years". Honey I've had that SR for years! Good luck...watch you tube videos too!

Thank yal for the responses. I went with the kit dovo kit. Should be here Monday and my first shave will be Monday night . I will post my results haha

I totally should have gotten Dovo BQ kit lol instead I looked on SRP classifieds and bought a 3/8" blade. Not that it's bad, it's a hyane made in solingen and had been honed by Lynn and rescaled by another SRP member, but at the time I didn't realize that such a small blade would be hard to learn on! Now, even though I have a straight, I already need another!
On the flip side...it's like I'm starting a collection early lol

Congrats on the blade though! Keep us updated, there are loads of friendly and "eager to help" SR veterans here, as well as other new people, like myself, who have similar questions and obstacles to overcome! We all learn from each other!

Kit came in today, man I was happy to open the box!

First shave will be tomorrow

Looks like you are ready to rock and roll!

That looks gorgeous!

Lol so I decided to have my first shave tonight- I completed the shave but it didn't go so smoothly. Lather not wet enough . Horrible shaving with my right hand (I'm left handed) and the chin gave me the most trouble! 2 cuts on my right hand and about 3 on my face all I can say is thank God vintage blades LLC added a styptic pencil to my kit! But overall satisfied with my first shave with a straigh razor. I'm a beard grower so I haven't shaved my face in 3 years just been trimming.

As the saying goes "no pain,no gain"

Well, look on the bright side... it's bound to get better!

A good idea when starting out is just to shave the easy bits (usually cheeks with the grain) until you're comfortable handling the razor, have figured out angle and pressure, etc., and then moving on to the more challenging bits.

But hang in there - things will come together slowly, but the *will* come together and before you know it you'll be having great shaves that result from a thoroughly enjoyable ritual.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by Vemma

Lol so I decided to have my first shave tonight- I completed the shave but it didn't go so smoothly. Lather not wet enough . Horrible shaving with my right hand (I'm left handed) and the chin gave me the most trouble! 2 cuts on my right hand and about 3 on my face all I can say is thank God vintage blades LLC added a styptic pencil to my kit! But overall satisfied with my first shave with a straigh razor. I'm a beard grower so I haven't shaved my face in 3 years just been trimming.

As the saying goes "no pain,no gain"

I know how that is haha
It looks like you're using a puck of shaving soap?
If the later is giving you trouble, you could try a cream. Same concept of mixing, just easier.
I personally use a tube of Proraso shave cream, a pea sized amount creates a huge amount of lather.

Congratulations though!

Does everyone use both hands to shave or use one for both rides of face?