Thread: Introduction

New guy here. Used to shave with a straight that was my grandfather's until the airline lost my luggage. Cartridge/Safety razors will not pull thru my beard. Had a problem with ingrowns and someone suggested a good quality electric. At the time I had 3 in the cabinet that were worthless, two with the motor burnt out. I bought a Braun Activator and it was OK, ingrowns were not happening anymore, but there was a downside.

I changed companies in April '06 and took over as CFO. The CEO of this company is a GREAT guy, but can be a strange duck at times. With an electric, I was getting a 5 o'clock shadow at about 9AM. This drove him crazy! I had to bring the shaver to the office and re-shave at about 9AM and 1-2PM. Got old quick. My beard grows low into the neckline and stubble that quick was also ruining collars on my nice shirts.

Well, about two weeks ago the Braun burnt out and I started doing research. I found out my technique had a lot to do with the ingrowns. Went to a local shop here in Nashville and bought a new razor. Nothing fancy, just a $79.99 no name with a solingen blade. Plain Jane handle. He honed it for me. I did buy a new strop since mine was with my old razor in my suitcase.

I'm back to getting a good close shave, no ingrowns at all so far. No razor burn. I don't even use aftershave, just Williams soap in a mug with a boar brush. My face actually even looks a lot healthier. I think when you use an electric exclusively, you lose that daily exfoliation that takes place. I notoriously have normal to dry skin and it was getting very oily. My 5 o'clock shadow holds off 'til about 3PM now. Boss said he could live with that, that's what men do. He hated that I had to shave so often. He said no man should have to shave 2-3 times a day.

I'm fixin' to order my Norton 4K/8K from some wood working place in Brooklyn, NY for $68.xx, cheapest I found, hope I didn't miss a better deal. I don't know if I over looked something, but haven't seen shipping charges yet.

I know this was long, thanks for bearing with me. Great site with very friendly people I noticed from lurking.

Have a great shave!
Brad

Welcome, Brad! And welcome back to straight shaving.
I know what you mean about exfoliating - my face was not very happy during the short time I used an electric razor...even those damn cartridge things work better, and that's not saying much!

Welcome again to SRP - you'll find the gents here informative and very friendly.

Mark

Welcome! I remember using an electric in the Army...and my face looked like an oil slick afterwards. Str8s are the way to go and I'll bet after you get the technique down pat to where you can do 3 passes, you may not get 5 o'clock until 5 o'clock!

Greg

Electrics never treated me well. All that pulling and no shave after it all. Good to see you back in the fold.

X

Welcome. I used an electric for about 11 years, and the ingrown hairs and acne were horrible. Really a never-ending cycle of irritation and pain. Since I have been using a straight (10 months), the acne and ingrown hairs have virtually disappeared, like literally non-existent. For all this I thank this site and the members, because without it, I would still be hating life every morning.

Originally Posted by WireBeard

Welcome! I remember using an electric in the Army...and my face looked like an oil slick afterwards. Str8s are the way to go and I'll bet after you get the technique down pat to where you can do 3 passes, you may not get 5 o'clock until 5 o'clock!

Greg

I remember in the army we used to have to dry shave with disposables and with cam paint on, talk about excruciating and a waste of time.

Welcome to SRP you will enjoy it here, everyone is so nice and helpful.

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

I remember in the army we used to have to dry shave with disposables and with cam paint on, talk about excruciating and a waste of time.

Welcome to SRP you will enjoy it here, everyone is so nice and helpful.

Ugh, don't even remind me of the few times I had to do that...

Jimmyman - my nickname is a nod of the cap to John Milton. I've never seen him quoted like that before, but I have to say I really like it!

Sorry for high jacking the thread!

Mark

Thanks for the welcomes guys. I'm gonna assume on THIS site I don't have to go PC and type "guys/gals."LOL!

I was having trouble getting this new razor honed in and was having to supplement with cartridges. Cartridges just won't pull thru my beard. My neck was getting messy.

Helped my mother-in-law move this weekend, she had no one but my wife and I, and a GOOD friend of mine came to help me. On Sunday he brought a mutual friend of ours that I hadn't seen in years. He's a barber now. He fixed my razor right up. It won't pass the HHT, but the shave is good.

Within two mornings of shaving with a good sharp straight, my neck cleared right up.

Thanks again for all the welcomes, I like it here. Just hope that I can contribute. I have a pretty decent technique for shaving, just never had to hone them myself, much less a brand new one from scratch.

Originally Posted by OLD_SCHOOL

I remember in the army we used to have to dry shave with disposables and with cam paint on, talk about excruciating and a waste of time.

Welcome to SRP you will enjoy it here, everyone is so nice and helpful.

And the shaver probably was useless after one or two shaves because the dirt and face paint gummed them up. Assuming, of course, they didn't end up broken from being bounced around inside your ruck. And I recall those cheap AAFES brand disposables gave the worst shaves I've ever experienced: They were only good for shaving the fuzz off a beret.