Thread: Hello from Orange, CA (Socal)

Good afternoon!

My name is Adam, from Orange County. Up until January, I've been a Mach 3 guy. Cried myself to the isles every time i picked up a $30+ 5 or 6 pack of razors and wanted to try out safety and straight razors.

I purchased a Edwin Jagger Safety razor setup from Amazon and a 10 pack of Merkur razors. Love the shave, and amazing razors too.

Purchased a Parker SR1 changeable "straight" razor setup which was very cheap, came rusted on the inside, and the blades move around on install, and while shaving. Not even worth $5, let alone the $30 i paid for it.

My Current setup / products i use 2-3 times a week:








I follow a few shaving pages on Instagram and came across Val's page (@thegentlemansden) and love his collections and his restorations.

Today I came across this Merkur gem, and had to buy it for my first one. Can't wait to try it as my first actual straight, and looking forward to some nicks! ha

Thanks for looking,
Adam

There is some pitting on the back side but that doesn't bother me at all.

Welcome. Good looking razor and good one to begin with as well. pitting and rust are only a problem if it gets into the edge, then you have to grind past it to get to virgin steel. Where did you get it and did it come "shave ready"? If not then send it to one of the venders here to have it honed and stropped. Speaking of strops, do you have one? If not check out this place for a good beginner one Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment because you cut it as you learn to use it.

Welcome SilentSam, perfect timing for the First Annual SRP “SUMMER” Meet on August 17th to be held in Diamond Bar CA. Just over the hill.

Our first SRP meet was in January and a great time, check out the photos on this thread.

We are expecting a larger turn out and more info and hands on for new shavers. Since the First meet there has been a lot of interest and new members in So Cal.

Keep the Day open we will go from 12-5 officially but will probably start early and go late… again.

I am in Brea and 10pups is in Orange, he always has something interesting going on in his shop, most weekends. Wolfpack34 is also in Orange.

If you need anything, holler or PM.
Marty

Welcome Silentsamurai -- I'm Bob, and live on the East Coast. I remember being in exactly your position once, I did not want to keep paying for cartridge razors and haven't bought one in several years now. Take that, Gillette! However I don't know anything about straight razor shaving and need to learn. Like you, I am waiting for a good used straight razor to arrive in the mail. I'm going to start off very slowly, just as the beginner tutorials suggest doing.

I do have a decent beginner collection of double edge razors. I've experimented with razors, double edge razor blades, creams and soaps, and aftershaves over time. Some of my preferences are set pretty much set now.

Shaving creams -- I really love Geo F. Trumper and D. R. Harris and Taylor of Old Bond Street. They are all top quality. For whatever reason I don't really seem to like Proraso. Yes, I did have it. I bet the tube is somewhere in my closet. I don't really like Cremo either. It is worth it to me to pay for an expensive British cream.

Brushes -- I use a rather inexpensive badger brush from Edwin Jagger. I'm going to upgrade to a better brush later this year. A boar's brush feels awful on my face and doesn't seem to lather very well compared to badger hair brushes. I enjoy face lathering with my cheapie badger brush and I hope that an upgrade will let me get even more pleasure from face lathering. I always feel like a boar brush is scratching me.

Razors -- for double edge razors, I have several old Gillette models from the 1960s that were given to me by my uncle. One or two additional were purchased on Ebay or from a Badger and Blade seller. I also purchased a new Merkur barber pole model, and a very cheap made-in-China brand of razor which has turned out to be junk.

For straight razors, I am just getting started. I have a lot to learn.

Double edge razor blades -- the Merkur blades you have are not the only ones on the market. There is actually a fair variety. Not all blades are created equal. They vary in sharpness and quality. I started out with Astra blades, and tried a variety pack of different brands, then I discovered Feather platinum blades. The Feather blades are really sharp and give me a great shave. I've stuck with them since.

Some vendors sell variety packs of blades. That will let you try out 5 or so blades of each brand so you can get an idea of your preferences.

I'm mentioning all this because learning how to use a straight razor will take you a bit of time, and you may want to use your double edge or safety razors for a while till you master straight razors.

Using double edge razors from the 1950s/1960s, and my modern Merkur barber pole, plus high quality creams and patience, I do experience a much better quality shave than a cartridge razor gave me. The shave quality meets the approval of my spouse. I admit that said approval, and results from said approval, are why I continue spending money on the wet shaving experience.

Now I want to make the leap to straight razor shaving. I expect it will take me a year or two to get it right.

So many thanks

Bob

Originally Posted by guitstik

Welcome. Good looking razor and good one to begin with as well. pitting and rust are only a problem if it gets into the edge, then you have to grind past it to get to virgin steel. Where did you get it and did it come "shave ready"? If not then send it to one of the venders here to have it honed and stropped. Speaking of strops, do you have one? If not check out this place for a good beginner one Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment because you cut it as you learn to use it.

Hey guitstik,

Yes it's restored as much as possible and sharpened and shave ready! Val has white a few buyers and fans on this site. Does amazing work. Thanks for chiming in. Can't wait to try it out.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

Welcome SilentSam, perfect timing for the First Annual SRP “SUMMER” Meet on August 17th to be held in Diamond Bar CA. Just over the hill.

Our first SRP meet was in January and a great time, check out the photos on this thread.

We are expecting a larger turn out and more info and hands on for new shavers. Since the First meet there has been a lot of interest and new members in So Cal.

Keep the Day open we will go from 12-5 officially but will probably start early and go late… again.

I am in Brea and 10pups is in Orange, he always has something interesting going on in his shop, most weekends. Wolfpack34 is also in Orange.

If you need anything, holler or PM.
Marty

hey Marty!

I work Sunday through Wednesday till 5 so that day wouldn't work for me unfortunately. Thanks for the welcome though, I'll keep an eye on future gatherings. Cheers.

Originally Posted by BobCochran

Welcome Silentsamurai -- I'm Bob, and live on the East Coast. I remember being in exactly your position once, I did not want to keep paying for cartridge razors and haven't bought one in several years now. Take that, Gillette! However I don't know anything about straight razor shaving and need to learn. Like you, I am waiting for a good used straight razor to arrive in the mail. I'm going to start off very slowly, just as the beginner tutorials suggest doing.

I do have a decent beginner collection of double edge razors. I've experimented with razors, double edge razor blades, creams and soaps, and aftershaves over time. Some of my preferences are set pretty much set now.

Shaving creams -- I really love Geo F. Trumper and D. R. Harris and Taylor of Old Bond Street. They are all top quality. For whatever reason I don't really seem to like Proraso. Yes, I did have it. I bet the tube is somewhere in my closet. I don't really like Cremo either. It is worth it to me to pay for an expensive British cream.

Brushes -- I use a rather inexpensive badger brush from Edwin Jagger. I'm going to upgrade to a better brush later this year. A boar's brush feels awful on my face and doesn't seem to lather very well compared to badger hair brushes. I enjoy face lathering with my cheapie badger brush and I hope that an upgrade will let me get even more pleasure from face lathering. I always feel like a boar brush is scratching me.

Razors -- for double edge razors, I have several old Gillette models from the 1960s that were given to me by my uncle. One or two additional were purchased on Ebay or from a Badger and Blade seller. I also purchased a new Merkur barber pole model, and a very cheap made-in-China brand of razor which has turned out to be junk.

For straight razors, I am just getting started. I have a lot to learn.

Double edge razor blades -- the Merkur blades you have are not the only ones on the market. There is actually a fair variety. Not all blades are created equal. They vary in sharpness and quality. I started out with Astra blades, and tried a variety pack of different brands, then I discovered Feather platinum blades. The Feather blades are really sharp and give me a great shave. I've stuck with them since.

Some vendors sell variety packs of blades. That will let you try out 5 or so blades of each brand so you can get an idea of your preferences.

I'm mentioning all this because learning how to use a straight razor will take you a bit of time, and you may want to use your double edge or safety razors for a while till you master straight razors.

Using double edge razors from the 1950s/1960s, and my modern Merkur barber pole, plus high quality creams and patience, I do experience a much better quality shave than a cartridge razor gave me. The shave quality meets the approval of my spouse. I admit that said approval, and results from said approval, are why I continue spending money on the wet shaving experience.

Now I want to make the leap to straight razor shaving. I expect it will take me a year or two to get it right.

So many thanks

Bob

Thanks for all your input! Safety razoring has become easier for me as I get to learn how my soaps works with the right water and cup size. Been a few weeks with no nicks so want to up my game a bit ha. Yeah, it's gonna take a long time to get this straight figured out but I'm ready for the challenge !

As for the safety razors I've purchased the variety packs so yeah I'm not one sided ��