Thread: Here we go.....

I found myself looking at my last disposable cartridge the other day.... Well 2 weeks ago and I still haven't shaved. I couldn't help but think there must be a better way, both a better shave and cheaper in the long run than what I was using. I get bad razor burn every time I shave so I figured I'll grow a manly beard, until of course my wife said she wouldn't kiss me if I had a beard. Sure made me weigh my options.

I had my heart set on a new straight and still do but started pricing out all the other stuff I'd need as well as the fact that most types seem to be sold out from a couple of Canadian stores I was looking at. I would agree buying the absolute best isn't always necessary, but I'm not about to throw money away on garbage tools either. I ended up ordering a Merkur safety razor, special of the day badger hair brush and some D.R. Harris soap. I can't wait to try it out.

While waiting though, I found myself looking for used straights on eBay (I know, I've read I should buy a shave ready for my first one). I found a Boker and a Wade & Butcher that I may try and snag. Neither are shave ready and need a bit of buffing, but I figured for relatively low cost it'd give me something to play with and look forward to.

At any rate I'm looking forward to learning the art and perusing the forum knowledge base here.

Cheers,

D

Originally Posted by Cooper

I found myself looking at my last disposable cartridge the other day.... Well 2 weeks ago and I still haven't shaved. I couldn't help but think there must be a better way, both a better shave and cheaper in the long run than what I was using. I get bad razor burn every time I shave so I figured I'll grow a manly beard, until of course my wife said she wouldn't kiss me if I had a beard. Sure made me weigh my options.

I had my heart set on a new straight and still do but started pricing out all the other stuff I'd need as well as the fact that most types seem to be sold out from a couple of Canadian stores I was looking at. I would agree buying the absolute best isn't always necessary, but I'm not about to throw money away on garbage tools either. I ended up ordering a Merkur safety razor, special of the day badger hair brush and some D.R. Harris soap. I can't wait to try it out.

While waiting though, I found myself looking for used straights on eBay (I know, I've read I should buy a shave ready for my first one). I found a Boker and a Wade & Butcher that I may try and snag. Neither are shave ready and need a bit of buffing, but I figured for relatively low cost it'd give me something to play with and look forward to.

At any rate I'm looking forward to learning the art and perusing the forum knowledge base here.

Cheers,

D

Good luck...remember, most of the fun is in the learning and exploring...anything worthwhile always is.

If you grab a straight, lots of info here on how to clean it up, and then you can check out the Classifieds for someone local who can hone your razor to shave ready - which is a must!

Welcome!

Welcome to SRP and the world of Wet Shaving...
Since you are just starting out, and you have a good Safety Razor on the way...you might want to give it a try before you get a straight.
As to the ebay route - take from one who has been down that (bumpy) road. The very best place to get a shave ready starter razor is either the classifieds here (be patient, shave ready, modestly priced great razors show up all the time) or one of the vendors who support the site.
Once you get started Wet shaving with the safety razor the adds to the kit are a razor and strop - that DE will come in handy during the learning curve and as a back up.

When I started it was supposed to be just the Safety/DE...but you hang around the wet shaving playground long enough and the Str8 Razor crowd will draw you in.

Take your time, your wife won't like it when you are all bloody either so don't go trying to shave with one of those ebay camp saws in the beginning...it will just make you mad.

This is a great place to learn - it is truly a global community of support and information.

Smooth Shaving...

Just be careful. I was a one razor man until I met my new friend here in town that restores and hones straights a few months ago. I now have 10...

Welcome. The two big shops in Canada are Classic Edge and Fendrihan, there is also Men Essential and a couple other smaller spots.

Welcome to SRP.

Better is relative, there are different ways to shave and they have different tradeoffs.
The first thing to improve your shave is to use good conditioning of your beard and skin, and use sharp blades and less pressure. Even with cartridge razors you will see big improvement (a single blade cartridge or disposable razor is better than multiblades). But most people don't change their cartridges often enough, in part because they are expensive and they just suffer through bad shaves because it's more expedient.

Another way is to use DE razor, which is what you're about to do. You will immediately loose the ability to bear down on your face, so the required light touch and the single blade scraping your skin should improve your experience. Since the replacement blades are significantly cheaper than cartridges you're likely to change them more often too, another step in the right direction.

With a straight razor you have full control over the angle of the blade, and the cutting pressure, but that means you also need more skill, which takes time. Since you strop the edge between shaves it can last orders of magnitude longer than cartridges or DE blades. But that means also more maintenance. If you don't dry your razor it will rust right away.

I am sure that you already see how not everybody would find the same way of shaving suitable for their situation and temperament. It's important to figure out what or what combination would work best for you.

If you try to go the ebay route you'll most likely end up spending more and getting less than just picking up a razor that is good to go, but it's up to you. Most people think that the odds aren't as bad and they would beat them, but very few do.

Hi, and welcome to SRP.

Originally Posted by guthriemt

Just be careful. I was a one razor man until I met my new friend here in town that restores and hones straights a few months ago. I now have 10...

I admire your restraint Sir...I wish I could have paused at 10.

Originally Posted by gugi

If you try to go the ebay route you'll most likely end up spending more and getting less than just picking up a razor that is good to go, but it's up to you. Most people think that the odds aren't as bad and they would beat them, but very few do.

I'm well versed in this aspect of acquiring items, and I would tend to agree buying a used razor on eBay probably isn't the greatest idea. Typically I'd rather buy new than used for most things, especially tools. I bought a used RC car for my mancub knowing I'd have to replace a few items. I got carried away and ended up spending close to what a new one was. Fixing it wasn't hard, just something to tinker with.

With the eBay blades, I had thought about stopping by Lee Valley and checking into some stones. I figure if I can put a good edge on my hunting knife with a sharpening rod after several beer, I should be able to sharpen a razor sober..... and if not, I can put a wicket edge on all the kitchen knives. Humor aside, I realize it may not work and it is risky, but what's the harm in having some sharpening stones in the tool arsenal Realistically, I'd rather practice the motions of sharpening on a cheap blade than a new nice one considering I'd like to learn how to do it anyways.

Growing up on a farm watching my dad (heavy duty mechanic by trade) fix everything has taught me to try and be self sufficient.

Hi and welcome. If you spend a bit of time here you will soon know what to look for in a razor and this takes some of the risk out of ebay buys. If you post pics if there are any issues we can point you in the right direction to fix them. A bit of time reading the honing and workshop forums sounds like its in order. I would also advise watching the vids on youtube by Gssixgun and Lynn Abrams. As your working on ebay razors you will want a 1, 4 and 8k hone or equivalent to get them in shaving order. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask