Thread: Newb Questions about straight and safety razor and accesories

1. Yes. I bring a straight razor, brush, strop, soap in wood bowl w/ lid and a cord to hang strop from door knob.

4. All shaving brushes do the same thing regardless of price. I've been using one best badger brush for about 15 years and I think it cost around $40.00. I wouldn't go crazy on your first brush. Try a pure badger or best badger for around $30 - $60.00. An economy boars bristle brush such as a Burma Shave brush for around $5 or $6 would be a good comparison brush so you can feel the difference. Later, if you really want to spend more, go for a silver tip badger.

5. As mentioned above, a $5 brush will do the same thing as a $500 brush. A less expensive boars bristle brush may be more irritating for some skin types, but even a silver tip badger can cause irritation for some, especially when new.

7. I'm assuming you mean honing. I get quite a few shaves between honings, but YMMV. A lot of variables apply here, such as experience and skill. The more experience and skill you develop, the more shaves you'll get before re-honing.

9. To me a shave without aftershave is like toast without butter. Pros - mild disinfecting newly exfoliated skin, astringent effect closing pores, various scents. Cons - additional cost (cold water can have a slight astringent effect).

10. Yes. With experience and skill you will be able to shave any part of your face safely.

12. Personal preference. With propper beard prep you can shave anytime you want.

Good luck,

Scott

I'm also a newb and haven't shaved with the straight yet.
As far as the Rolls Razors and Valet Autostrops, I've got a few of each of them. I have 3 Valets,one completewith strop, razor and blade, and two Rolls, which aren't as nice, broken stone(s? been awhile since I've seen them, they're in storage) and or missing strop. Both Valet and Rolls are quite collectible. I've never tried shaving with either of them though, so I couldn't give any idea as to how they would behave. When you find out what your friend shaves with let us know, you've got my curiosity up lol.
Tony

COMPLETE REPLY

1) Yup. Paddle strop for such occassions
2) Double Edge
3) search me
4) You don't have to have the nicest brush, but your face might love you. I got mine custom made by Matt AKA member shavethebadger and can't sing his praises highly enough.
5) I find me best badger brush actually works a better lather from soaps slightly easier than my silver tip which is awesome for creams.
6) Auto Strop
7) 20 or so seems to be the norm more or less depending primarily on stropping technique.
8) I don't think so, but I use one.
9) It's a skin astringent which closes the pores and conditions the skin after the shave. you could get by without one just using a cold water splash as I did for years while shaving with disposables, but I find the straight razor a littler more aggressive on my skin so even a gentle aftershave is a good thing, my face loves me and it's just more fun that way.
10) Unless that dimple is very deep you'll probably work it out eventually. Stretching goes a long way.
11) Tony
12) It's a good time to as the beard is moist and prepped. if you don't, you'll need to give yourself the hot towel treatment (which is no hardship let me tell you) to get the whiskers ready.

X

freebird I remember him saying one of the mechanical devices was a rolls, and i know he also used the word autostrop. Next time i see him I will get the exact names and model numbers as well.

I just ordered some stuff from http://www.leesrazors.com/ . Lee was really great and informative. i think i may have went overboard with the stand and the musgo soap and shampoo but oh well time will tell.


33.00 merkur razor HD #334
9.00 Merkur double edge stainless steel blades, 20 in all
23.50 badger brush (didn't really plan on using creams mostly figured i would use soaps)
17.50 stand
3.50 col conk amber shave soap
6.00 musgo soap bar
17.50 musgo shampoo

total
$110 plus s/h and tax

Already got an Old Spice shaving mug which was my great grandfathers, and that thing is really thick much more so then a coffee mug.

I also emailed thegentlemensquarter@ verizon.net and will probably pick up 4 cakes of soap, and recomendations for the types to pick up?

Later on after I get thru with the Merkur razor blades who could I buy a variety pack from? Firestart u said " A guy at SMF offers a sampler pack that has several brands that you could try" what does SMF stand for?

Are there any links for tips/guides for shaving w/ a safety razor I'd like to avoid as many newb errors as possible and also try to learn nuances b4 i attempt the 1st shave.

thanks again for all the input.

Originally Posted by rokuez

I also emailed thegentlemensquarter@ verizon.net and will probably pick up 4 cakes of soap, and recomendations for the types to pick up?

Leatherneck and Gentlemen's Oak and Moss are my favorites by a long shot. Warm and gently musky smells. Read this for more info.

X

SMF stands for ShaveMyFace, another shaving forum. I would also recommend www.badgerandblade.com. Spend a month or two over at those sites learning to shave with your DE. Then you can come back here and learn the stuff that's unique to straight razors.

Good luck,
Josh

Here's my list of top soaps from Colleen in the order of preference:
1) Cavendish Black
2) Leatherneck (a CLOSE second)
3) Orange Patchouli
4) Bay Rum + Orange
5) Desert Ironwood
Many people seem to like Highlander, but I'm not a big fan of it.
By the way, Merkur blades don't seem to have much of a following with the DE crowd. Once you try out the variety pack, you'll have a better idea of what you like and don't like.

Josh is right about the website www.badgerandblade.com . That site is an excellent source or information regarding wet shaving in general. They review products including razors and razor blades and describe in pretty good detail the differences you might encounter. I bought products based on their recommendations. As far as straight shaving goes you definitely need to pick up Lynn Abrams DVD " The World of Straight Razor Shaving". That's obtainable at classicshaving.com and is a must for all new comers to straight shaving. You'll get to see the best in the business hone and answer a lot of newbie questions.