Thread: beginner frustrations mounting quickly!

Good evening all! My name is Ryan and I am brand new to straight razors. I decided to give this whole world of shaving a try. I always hated shaving and spending good money on those stupid cartridges that never last me and are way to expensive. I have always gotten terrible razor burn on my neck as well. I thought that a straight razor would help eliminate these issues, and I thought this would help me to turn a daily chore into a relaxing and pleasurable experience. I bought a kit from vintage straight razors. Com and I am extremely frustrated as of yet. The razor was supposed to be shave ready out of the box. Sadly, this was not the case. It tugged terribly from the get go. I have tried stropping the blade several times and still no luck. I suspect that I may have made a big mistake spending almost $200 on a kit that I cannot use at all at this point. I would very much like to jump in and enjoy my shaves but I am not sure what to do next to remedy this awful predicament! Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much, Ryan.

Unfortunately yours is a common first post, it would have been ideal if your first post was "Hi my name is Ryan and I am looking to spend $200 what do I need" you probably would have been sent to a shave ready razor and saved money

Can you link the kit you got so we can see if there is any hope at all


BTW Welcome to SRP let's see if we can't get you squared away and heading down the right path

Hi Ryan, and welcome to SRP.

Very sorry to hear about your experience. Whereabouts are you located? There may be someone local who can check out your razor and advise whether it is the problem or if the problem may lay elsewhere. Once of the frustrations starting out is that there are a whole bunch of things that can contribute to a sub-par shave. (razor not shave-ready, face/beard prep, blade angle, not stretching your skin are amongst the main culprits)

There are a number of vendors out there with very similar names. Could you clarify which one it was?

What kind of razor is it? Could you post some pics of it? Did you strop it before use? It is *very* easy to roll (i.e. ruin) an edge when starting out so that is possible. But it's equally possible you have received a a razor that either has a bad edge or is just plain junk. Again, this will likely depend on the exact identity of the vendor. Some companies have excellent reputations for good reasons, unfortunately others have terrible reputations for much the same reason.

Hang in there though - it will get MUCH better if you stick with it!

EDIT: Glen is quick on the draw tonight...

Well, I'm not sure how to link the kit I bought. It was from vintage straight razors.com and it was called the vintage Damascus straight razor shaving kit? I am quite upset about what seems to be a big waste of money but I am determined to get going on to successful shaving! Thank you Glen.

This one?

$100 Off Buffalo Horn Damascus Straight Razor and Luxury Shave Set - Vintage Straight Razor

I live outside of Philadelphia. The razor is a "vintage Damascus". I watched a whole bunch of videos on you tube about stropping and preparing for the shave and all of that. I was very careful when stropping before my first shave not to roll the edge. I don't know how to post pics yet but I will give it a try.

Exactly the one!

That is what we call an RSO or Razor Shaped Object... It will never shave, nor hold an edge, see what you can get in the way of a refund or trade for a Real SR...


I often wonder just how many people buy this stuff and never find one of the forums, go off and tell all their friends "Yeah I tried a SR, it Sucked"

Really makes me sad

First, let me say welcome to the forum! I agree with gssixgun when he says to post the link from the kit you bought, so we can see exactly what you're working with. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same notion about what "shave ready" is. It should mean ready to shave with from the get go. I recently bought a "shave ready" razor from ebay. It was shave ready, after I reset the bevel and resharpened it myself.

Where do you live? There maybe a member who lives nearby that can help you out. Most folks on here are very friendly and helpful, and would love nothing more than to help a new wet shaver. If not, there are many people on here that, for a small fee, would sharpen it for you. You'll eventually want to learn to sharpen it yourself, but for now I would focus on learning the shave before you get into buying sharpening stones.

I purchased my first razor from Whippeddog.com. You can get a REAL SHAVE READY RAZOR from him for very little money. Mine cost $28. It wasn't fancy or pretty, but it was functional and good to go out of the package. Think of it like your first car. It was a beater, right? But it was good enough for you to learn how to drive.

Don't get discouraged. Once you get this razor straightened out, you'll be on your way to the best shave you've ever had! Be patient with yourself, and don't expect a perfect shave right away. It comes with time. I would highly recommend that you watch as many Youtube videos as you can. I still watch them on occasion, and I manage to pick up something every time I watch one.

Best of luck!

As my friend GSSIXGUN has pointed out, you have not purchased an actual straight razor but something that looks like one! You are not the first, nor will you be the last to be sucked into buying a 'RSO'!!

If you check out this link you will find that we are saying to very true! I"m at post #11!

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ml#post1270315

Hang in there! Look at the classifieds here at SRP! Stay the hell away from FeaBay!! Send me a PM and I'll see if any of my friends has a beginner's level razor for sale!

Originally Posted by gssixgun

That is what we call an RSO or Razor Shaped Object... It will never shave, nor hold an edge, see what you can get in the way of a refund or trade for a Real SR...


I often wonder just how many people buy this stuff and never find one of the forums, go off and tell all their friends "Yeah I tried a SR, it Sucked"

Really makes me sad