Thread: New member from Melbourne, Australia

Finally made it through the registration process. Have been trying since yesterday. The No Spam Verification Question was tricky, but eventually got it after thinking through and trying a sufficient amount of iterations. Now i understand what the question meant.

I saw a member in my area inviting people for a honing, and thought it would be a good idea to drop in and introduce myself before joining in.

What follows is where i am in relation to the Shave Journey that started last year;

I bought a straight edge razor during the early 90's period. It didn't work out at the time. Perhaps a number of factors. Was it the canned shaving foam which also performed poorly with cartridges. Perhaps store bought razors need a hone and strop. I just used it straight out of the box and found it a bit strange to hear, and feel the blade on the whiskers. A bit scary at the time, and it got stored in the cupboard for a long time.


Further into this post i will talk some more in relation to the straight edge, but for now, this is how it kind of started;


Last year my friend got into DE shaving. Intrigued by his experience and the quality of a product made so long ago, i dug up and found a Gillette Slim that my father use to use in the sixties and seventies. Bought some blades from ebay and have been DE shaving since late last year. Shaving with different blades and trying to improve my technique. It really is amazing how different an experience we have to even the same thing.

I have since discovered there is a whole new world in shaving creams, soaps, blades, straights, shavette's, brushes, and a few other things.

Earlier last year before DE shaving, i started using a tooth paste type shaving cream. Much better on my skin, and leaving it hydrated, instead of dry. I use to dread shaving. Shaving any earlier than 5 days apart was unkind to my skin. Although a substantial improvement, it seems there is still room for a lot of improvement. I am still sensitive to shaving "too soon", but not as much.

Which leaves me curious. Have any of you guys found less skin sensitivity from switching to straights?
What else have you guys noticed in transition to straights?
Note, when i speak of straights in this thread, i am not referring to Shavette's. I am referring to the full solid straight razor.

I was excited to find the straight razor, but it was a disheartening experience to find rust on the blade. Not a lot, but enough in the wrong place to wonder if it can be salvaged or if it is worth salvaging. I have taken some pictures and blow up the half moon shape on the edge and estimate to be between 0.4 to 0.45mm taken out of the edge. ie going towards the spine.

The blades of some straights have a really beautiful contour. I don't know if others share an appreciation of forms like that. I love how they come to the point. I am referring to the (or at least some level of) hollow grind. Just holding the blade is a whole lot different to even a DE shaver. There is nothing else between you and the blade.

Just the feel of it in your hand. I really would like to try this when i am ready. I have been out of work for a number of months, so not keen on spending money on stones, strops, pastes, hones, a new blade, or whatever else might be needed to give straight edge shaving a serious go.

Anyway, thanks for reading to this point, and i hope you journey well.

By the way, my user name is Alsy, but real name is Paul

Hi, Paul, and welcome to SRP!!

Paul hi and welcome from W.A. I haven't really used DE's too much so far but find that I have a lot less irritation using the straight. I used to shave once a week and have lately been shaving every 2 days. If you haven't yet making a uberlather may help. Mitchells wool fat soap is also great. If you look in the library you will find all the starter info and the other basics of Sr shaving. Any questions feel free to ask and I'm sure all the guy's from your way will be along soon.

Welcome to the 'Place'

To answer some of your ??'s.
Yes a straight should be honed & stropped from new & yes , a straight can be ideal for sensitive skin if it is the right razor & honed well.
A skilled honer can 'equalise' a lot of different razors but there can be a few that consistently give that 'wow' moment when shaving.
Some research & some buying & selling usually sees us with something that suits.

G'Day Paul and welcome to SRP.
If you want to PM me the photos of your razor I'll see if I can do something with it for you.