Thread: Newbie from Buffalo

I thought I introduce myself to the community, as I've been lurking for months and already feel like I've learned so much... so time to step up and get involved.

My short story:
I've loved the nuances of the small, finer joys that life has to offer for most of my adult life - I'm 40 now. I've had a collection of fountain pens for instance and love the beauty and attention to detail they bring to writing. One of my "fountain pen" friends has been telling me for the last couple of years that I need to look into straight razor shaving. Then a couple of months ago I decided to give it a go. He suggested I buy a new Dovo and all the trimmings (new strop, high end creams and soaps, etc). He feels like you waste money buying cheap.

I decided to be a bit more conservative in my approach. I didn't want to spend a fortune before knowing whether I would like it or not. After all, I only spent 5 minutes a day shaving with a foil razor before this, and the idea of committing to 20+ minutes a day was not encouraging. So I started with a Shavette and some Astra razors, both of which I bought from Amazon. I also started with the Proraso Green line of cream, soap, and aftershave, along with my Dove men care aftershave balm (which I love). It took me a while to get the right angles on different parts of my face and neck and I caught myself pretty good a few times. But what was instantaneous was my love of this. I love straight razor shaving. I'm not sure what it is, but it is 20-30 minutes that I truly look forward to. Perhaps it satisfies some OCD thing in me, or it just represents one of the few areas in my life I can just relax and just think about nothing but the shave. I don't know, and when I try to explain it to my family, they just look at me strangely and say "I don't get it".

After a couple of months, I'm now wholly in. I've just purchased some old razors off ebay (5 of them) and some naniwa stones. I'll give a shot at honing these and if I fail, I'll just buy a new razor and go from there. In any case, I'm happy to be on board and I'm enjoying the ride so far.

If there's anyone else in the Buffalo (WNY) area, let me know. I didn't see a WNY group, but I'm sure we have a few to represent.

Welcome to SRI. Honing is a skill in and of itself. Read read and read, watch YouTube, and when you vet frustrated walk away and come back to that blade, best advice when honing your first blades from bevel to finish. Good luck.

Thanks. I realize that I'm in for a bit of learning when it comes to honing. I've done the reading and watching, now time for the trying and crying.... that's why I bought a bunch of old razors. I'll let you know how it goes.

Welcome Dave from the other end of the Great Lake Erie - has ya snow melted yet?

Welcome Dave.
I am pretty close to Buffalo.
I am a couple minutes from Darien Lake.

Hi ,and welcome to SRP.

Welcome Dave, enjoy the hobby.

Welcome to the forum.

Hi and welcome. Good luck with your honing

Welcome to the forum,


Sounds like the next adventure is about to begin!