Thread: What I Wish I'd Known

We spend a lot of time on SRP educating newbies, just as those before us spent time educating us. And, at times, they come back saying what advice or suggestion helped them the most. I would like to start a thread that is a little more retrospective...

When starting to shave with straight razors...

What advice helped you the most?
What advice would have helped you the most that you learned yourself?

I'll go first.

Once my whiskers were shaved to skin level, even though not near BBS, I did reasonably well. But, by that time I had a good case of razor burn!

I would have benefited if I had shaved with a safety razor first, shaving down to skin but not BBS, and finished off with a straight razor.

That would have allowed me to learn how to deal with longer whiskers gradually, and a little less painfully.

to find srp first before i bought any razors or hones. then find out all that i neded to know first. the next most important thing is to listen to what people told me to do. cause i am a little hard headed and tend to do it like i want to and that is not always the right way.

Originally Posted by ronnie brown

to find srp first before i bought any razors

BIG +1 here! I would have saved my face from unsharpened Pakistani pot metal.

What advice helped you the most?

Obie telling me to hold the razor like a bird - loose enough so you don't hurt it, but tight enough so it won't get away.

What advice would have helped you the most that you learned yourself?

No matter how calm your hands are, NEVER touch the blade to your face and hesitate while you contemplate your next move - not even for a millisecond. That's how I've received my only nicks (which BTW have all been very minor). I'm sure someone will post a link showing me that this topic is already in the wiki

Great thread. I would like to add one to this:

What advice were you given that you did not heed?
I did not manage to restrain myself from shaving my whole face first time out - boy was that a mistake.

What advice helped you the most?
Obie's advice to loose the clock - this is not about time. It does not matter how long it takes - it matters how much you enjoy it.

What advice would have helped you the most that you learned yourself?
The advice people give is based on trial and error and finding what works for them. It is a starting point and may not work for you.

Well the first was finding this site and the not to buy razor list as I almost bought one of the zepak razors off ebay. Good thing I found this place.

Once of the best things I found here was the link to Jockie's videos which gave shaving demos that helped a ton.

I can't think of any other advice that would of helped me out more as this site has been nothing but helpful and the members are top notch with the help they give.

I wish I'd fully understood what "keep the pressure light" meant when you shave with a straight razor. You literally need no pressure at all and if you're using pressure either you have a dull razor or you're going to end up with one sore face. Too much pressure on the strop will result in a dull edge or a sliced strop. Too much on the hone will give a rough edge. Whatever you're doing, keep the pressure light!

I wish I'd realised how important bevel setting is when you're honing. Get the bevel right and it all falls into place pretty easily.

Oh, this is easy.

The answer is everything.

What advice helped you the most? XTG, ATG shaving and approach to honing.

What advice would have helped you the most that you learned yourself? Stropping technique.

i would have liked to have known sooner that bbs is not mandatory.. once i was told not to set my goals so stupidly high.. things became a lot more enjoyable..