Thread: Were I to start over...

1 - Introduction:
Hi! I'm Blake, I have been using straights for just over 9 months.

2 - Pre-Shave / Creams / Soaps / the Brush / Post Shave:
I don't use a pre shave other than hot water or a shower.

I like lots of creams, TOBS and body shop macaroot are probably the ones that most people use, But my every day cream is Ted Baker 02 shave cream from Boots in the UK. I have well over 20 creams. And I use the Ted baker for 90% of my shaves. When you go to buy be selective and ask the wife what she likes!! Mine hates sandalwood, So that's 1 tub of TOBS I should not have bought! The other soaps that are great to try are the cheap supermarket ones. There are some in the UK that can be picked up for pennies like Palmolive, Erasmic, and Ingram. These products are worth picking up just because they give you a cheap product to test on. And I quite like the Ingram creme.

My brush is Boar. A £10 omega. I have no plans for a badger or synthetic brush. Boar is a very competent bristle, and with a little breaking in is a very usable product.

Witch hazel splash, And Nivea Sensitive ASB.

3 - The Shave using a Straight (or DE):
Straight, 6/8 is my preference. Both hands 2 or 3 passes everywhere. I've yet to cut myself. I've picked 1 very specific razor brand and am working to get a 7 day set of those. So while I will and do have multiple razors I can keep myself in check from just going wild. Recently I've not seen many of these razors auctioned and that is something I like as it means I get to be even more frugal!

Vintage razors are not something to be feared, If you want to learn to shave getting a good brand new razor is ideal, But picking up an ugly vintage with a 0 defect blade and sending it out to be sorted is probably going to be cheaper. If your doing the vintage route the blade is everything, Learn to spot problems on a razor in bad pictures, and you won't go wrong. If you do end up with a lemon make sure it's a cheap one.

My first razor was £150, New, It's a good razor. In all fairness I use is probably once a month. The razor I like the most is a cheap £15 vintage that feels right... Quality in this hobby isn't set by price.

4- Stropping:
Balsa crox paddle, Veg tan Crox 18"x2 1/2" strap (home made), Custom strop, Oiled leather + veg tan, 18" x 3". Made by a leather worker friend for me.

I tend to just use the Crox strap 10-20 laps, and the oiled side of the strop, normally for 100 laps.

5 - Maintaining a Straights Edge:
Singer sewing machine oil.
Balsa polishing block with Crox. Just a square of 1/2" balsa with one corner rounded... It's fantastic at blade polishing.
Microfiber cloths.
Silica gel sachets in every razor box.

Any mineral oil will work as a blade wipe, I only use the sewing machine oil because I have is specifically for my finishing hones. Baby oil is as good as any oil you can get if you don't need it to hone with.
Microfiber cloths are perfect for razors, They don't scratch, or leave lint. And there pretty disposable if you get the supermarket variety. They also serve as nice backdrops to take pictures of your razors on.
Silica Gel sachets are perfect for razors. Just drop the ones you get in packages into the razor boxes and replace them every year. You have to be doing something very wrong to cause your blade to corrode if your using them.

6 - Honing:
King 1/6
Naniwa 5,8,12K super stones.
Trans black Arkansas
And a shed full of various grades of rock hounded Charnley forest.

I'm happy with all the hones, Even the 6K side of the King, even tho it is now redundant. If I had to start again I would probably still buy that stone first because for all it's flaws it gives a lot of room to sort the more important things like getting a good brush, soap and strop and razor.

My honing rotation ATM is King 1K, 5, 8, 12K naniwa, Then I get to pick a finisher depending on the razor.

There are hones I want, There are no hones I NEED. There are always better rocks, And those rocks will suck up as much money as razors if you let them. Pick a full system before you buy a rock. Work out the price for the full system. Then split that cost over a year.

So if you want to get a 1,3,5,8,12K progression, work out the total cost.

Then split the year and budget each rock into that year, Taking the most important rocks first. So 5,8 in quarter 1, 12K in quarter 2. Then the 1,3 in quarter 4. If you do this your wife won't notice... Just stop putting fuel in her car

7 - Conclusion:
I think I'm on the right path, I've picked a single brand of razor to collect. And allow a monthly budget for them.
My hones are good, I need a 3K naniwa super stone and a full size 1K, Neither are important atm.
The most important thing with razors is take your time, If your in a hurry then things seem to want to go wrong. And for me that's not just with shaving. Honing and even buying all benefit from just taking a few mins to have a brew and calm yourself down a little.
Listen to all advice, even the stuff you don't want to hear.

8 - Other:
Never mention peanuts. Never liken peanuts to hones.... It'll come back to haunt you.


When starting pick your budgets.