Thread: New Member - Naviathan

I've been looking at straight razors for a while now. Very interested in getting started, but I'm unsure of where to start without dropping a ton of cash. About a month ago I started using a DE I picked up at the local beauty supply store. It was cheap, but effective. I haven't found a DE blade I like though because I always end up scratching my neck really bad. I have a coarse beard and the hairs on my neck lay in several different directions so it's near impossible to shave with the grain. I'd like to find a nice stainless straight razor to start with. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Originally Posted by naviathan

...I always end up scratching my neck really bad...

To keep from jumping out of the pan and into the fire, getting your neck badly scratched doesn't sound that effective to me. Three questions, if I may:

What kind of shaving cream do you use; what kind of razor do you use; and are you stretching your skin tight-tight before shaving it?

Welcome, no shooter did mean your long and lat, that way if someone is close by they might be able to meet up and help you one on one.
Necks and/or goatee area seem to be the uicorn for a few of us.
Welcome to the forum,
All the best ed.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Welcome, no shooter did mean your long and lat, that way if someone is close by they might be able to meet up and help you one on one.
Necks and/or goatee area seem to be the uicorn for a few of us.
Welcome to the forum,
All the best ed.

Ahhh, well I live just outside of Jacksonville NC. Guess I assume too much.

Originally Posted by naviathan

Ahhh, well I live just outside of Jacksonville NC. Guess I assume too much.

dont stress, its nice to put a few details to a name.

Welcome to your official presence on the forum. I keep a cheap Chinese DE to use when my skin gets too irritated. I've tried several brands of DE blades and settled on Astra brand. Ultra thin and murderous sharp. I like them because they are thin and very sharp and also the edges are numbered 1 to 4. I find that helpful to know which edge I am on. I can get 3 -4 shaves from each edge berfore replacing the blade. And they are very reasonably priced.

Welcome to SRP! I too have a coarse beard which grows in several directions on my neck, and I routinely end up with a couple of small nicks but not usually anything that I would call a cut. I find that using less pressure and a shallower angle helps a lot; I also have to slow down a bit in areas where I'm prone to get nicks.

To get into SR shaving for less money, I recommend the classifieds here or whipped dog; I've had great experiences with both. The classified ads sort of speak for themselves, but you definitely want to make sure the ad says that it comes shave ready (a couple of current ads specifically say that they are not shave ready). Also, I know you said that you were looking for a stainless steel blade, but I personally haven't seen many of those for sale used and new ones will be a little pricey. As for whipped dog, there have been some recent threads where others have posted mixed reviews, but my experiences (I've placed three or four separate orders now) have been very positive. He sells "sight unseen" razors that are pretty cheap; they might not be particularly pretty but they will shave well and are, IMO, a good way to see if you like SR shaving. He also sells the "poor man's strop kit" which comes with a strop and a pice of balsa treated with chromium oxide and iron oxide for touching up your edge when it starts to dull. The downside to this is that the strop is pretty narrow (2 inch I think) and it doesn't have a linen component, but it's cheap and I particularly like the pasted balsa. Another option for a strop would be an Illinois Strop; you can usually find one for around $35. For a little more money, though, you could get a Big Daddy (3 inch) strop from Star Shaving, which will eliminate the need for the X pattern (using or not using the X pattern is another controversy, but that's another subject).

One more thing- whipped dog also sells a sampler pack of DE blades. Many sites sell one of these sampler packs, but Larry just puts one of each blade in his (he includes 5 or 6 different brands). I'm currently working my way through this sampler, which I prefer because I think I'll know if I like a brand by the time I finish with one blade as opposed to having a sampler with 5 of the same brand- I'm likely to end up with four blades of a brand that I've decided that I don't like. Even though this makes the price of each blade a little higher, the overall sampler is cheaper than any other that I've found.

Enjoy!

Hello and welcome. Like Ed said there a few of us have neck issues. I started on Sr because of neck issues to reduce irritation. Search using the search and you will find heaps of threads on cheap supplies.

I can offer this from my own experience- I just started straight razoring last month. To avoid spending a lot on something I may not stick with, I ordered Amazon.com: Parker SR1 Stainless Steel Straight Edge Razor and 5 Shark Super Stainless blades: Health & Personal Care $20 didn't seem bad to invest while still unsure. I love it. I will eventually find a 'real' razor, but this is working for now, and quite well. I have hair under my neck which grows in several directions as well! It's a pain, but I'm getting used to it.

Man, lots of info and welcomes, thank you to everyone. I found an old razor locally for $60 that I'm going to pick up and get honed. The guy said it's a WW2 era Mulcato. In the pictures he sent me it looks pretty good. The history is spotty though as he got it from his neighbor who said her husband came home with it from WW2. Has the box and everything. I don't know a lot about the brand other than what I've read here, but I figure it couldn't hurt and $60 seemed cheap to me for a razor. I like antiques anyway.vPic attached: