Thread: Newbie from Brisbane, Australie

Thank you to all again for your suggestions... I have placed an order (or emailed straight razor designs to place order anyway). I went with the starter kit, but upgraded the brush to HEINRICH L. THATER 21MM FINEST BADGER SILVER TIP TRAVEL BRUSH. I figured the Ralph Aust would be good beginner razor to practice on, and learn stropping etc. Also, will be a great blade to invite friends to try , both shaving and stopping. I am keeping my eye out for an "eye-candy" piece, such as old restored vintage or the Charlie Lewis mentioned in an earlier post.
When the kit arrives, Im happy to extend an invite to any beginners near me, to come and try it, or just to look at the blade or brush.

Would still appreciate anyone's feedback in regards to a nicer piece to get. My disposable income isnt great, so Im always looking for a bargain, but realise that quality costs money. Im simply justifying this by the longevity I will get from a good blade, how nice it will be to shave with, and the aesetic appeal. I was comfortable going the more expensive brush straight away, as I figure Ill have it for years and friends or I wont damage it as beginners.

I think you have made a very sensible decision, I believe austs are good razors.

Hi All,

a quick question before I get invoice from SRD, the kit comes with 2" basic strop, with option to upgrade. A lot of people mention Larry's poor mans strop, so was wondering if I should upgrade the strop to something better, to put away until I learn how to strop, and buy a poor mans strop as well, for immediate use.
If so, which strop from SRD would be good to put away until im better? ie there's a long strop, roo stop etc.

Stick with the kit, upgrade your strop to a 3" of any but the 'roo hide strop. I would recommend English bridle as a starter because Latigo, I feel, has a bit too much draw for a beginner to learn the light touch needed for stropping. I don't recommend 'roo hide for total beginners who may be heavy handed and who are also lacking the required co-ordination for stropping. 'Roo hide is thinner than other leathers.
Now that we've got that out of the way, SRD sells replacement straps for about $25, so go the 3" for the hardware, and replace the strap, if and when you need to, in the future.


Mick

Thanks, good advice.

Andrew

You could also order a replacement 3" roo strop leather (or any other for that matter) and put it away, that way you could save on postage. But I don't know what sort of cost saving would be involved so it may not be worthwhile.
Either way enjoy your new gear when it arrives.

Thanks Mick and Ed, I have emailed SRD and upgraded to the English bridal strop as per your recommendation (I really appreciate it) with a spare leather strap. Will maybe explore other leathers down the track but I think this will be more than adequate for now, as Im a beginner and likely to carve it up a bit from what everyone says.
Andrew

Sounds like you are set, well in a week or two anyway. I assume you get soap/cream and a brush with the kit.
Some other things you might want (if not included) are styptic pencil, alum or witchhazel, and aftershave.

Well, thanks to all at SRP, I think Im starting to put together quite a nice kit, apart from the starter razor, which will be a great starting place. Im not worried about shaving bowl or scuttle at the moment, just going with the cheap one included in SRD kit, as I have other nice earthenware suitable for the job. So far I have ordered the beginner Ralph Aust razor, the English Bridle strop with spare leather strap, the Heinrich L Thater 21mm finest badger silver tip travel brush, with the other basic starter kit (shave cream, classic mug etc).

Still looking for a better razor, but not in a hurry for that anymore. I think I may take up Geoff's very kind and generous offer to look at his Razors before spending too much money (which I could certainly find alternative uses for).

Thanks again to all, and would still appreciate any other feedback or suggestions.

I can see how this can be come quite addictive... Will be interesting in a year or two to see how many razors I have acquired lol

Andrew

Thanks Ed. The kit comes with some shaving soap and I ordered a few cheap samples of other soaps from SRD. The kit comes with styptic pencil, but I havent done anything re aftershave yet. I have a few already, just stuff from bodyshop, perfect potion etc, will see how that goes, but admittedly I dont actually use them with my current shaving routine.