Thread: Aloha from Hawaii

First I'd like to thank everyone, especially the moderators for SRP! It's such a great site! It's been great reading on those nights I couldn't sleep. I'm old enough that I started out with DE razors, and moved to disposables later in life out of convenience. Last time my wife & I bought the fusion blades I about fainted! Anyway, back to the DE for me, but it kind of started me on this alternative shaving path. Too much time on my hands, and after awhile I'm immersed in this, "Back to the future" Zen shaving phenomenon. I mean it resonates with my core memories of watching my grandfather shave, being in barber shops as a kid. I grew up in Oregon, shaving cream, camel straights, Old spice, loggers, Johnny Cash on the radio, hot towels.
There was something that was lost when we speeded up life. Even though the men in my family were busy, they weren't too busy to shave. There was a ritual of bacon & eggs on the stove, radio in the background, and the sound of Dad shaving in the bathroom. We lost that moment of time we gave ourselves, to pamper, groom ourselves. My cat has it down! She spends hours grooming herself. I've gotten it down to a science, where I can jump out of bed, shower, shave, clothes on & out the door in 10 minutes flat! And then I'm rushing through traffic trying to get to work, heart racing. Even though I don't smoke, I guess I've always been somewhat jealous of the time smokers give themselves for that little pamper, even though that particular thing is probably killing them. So, I'm wanting to go, "Back to the Future" with this shaving thing. Even though I haven't shaved with a SR yet I've started mixing up shaving foam and using a brush with my DE razor. I could shave in less than a minute with my fusion. It takes me 5-10 with my DE, I hope it takes 30 minutes with a SR. I want to turn the radio on, and perhaps some mornings, perhaps I might even smell bacon & eggs in the air?
So, I'm going to take the plunge! I haven't shaved with a SR yet, and already I've spent enough money to keep me in fusion cartridges for quite awhile. Did the ebay thing and bought a J.A. Henckles Platinum and a Sheffield; I've got a thing for vintage razors. If I get hurt, I at least want the thing to be older than me. Thanks to SRP post, I kind of had a little info. to go on, the spines don't look like they have too much hone wear, the blades are flat and the points aren't rounded, the scales are in pretty good shape. I still need a strop and a some more hones. I've honed my own knives for years, but I've never tried to get a razors edge. Ughh, that's not true, I've wanted a razors edge, but got a sharp knife edge. I'm thinking it's an angle thing? I've got a lot to learn. I'm way nervous at the thought of holding a razor to my throat! I'm working up to it, reading, youtube videos, SRP is a great resource. Maybe just one pass WTG on one cheek? Maybe I'll wait till my wife's home in case I need a tourniquet around my neck.
Anyway, this is about two paragraphs too long. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions. Thanks everyone! Aloha!

Wellcome to SRPwhat Island?

Iv'e been to Heaven, and it's the Na pali coast in Kauai. Maui was a close second. I gotta get back to Hawaii!!

Welcome to SRP Gotea.

Just back from Maui,kiddlettes wedding,Island is getting overcrowded,very commercial IMO.
Will take the Kona coast on the big Island any day,used to do alot of Marlin tournaments out of Kona.

Hello, Gotea, and welcome to Straight Razor Place. Enjoy the treasure of research material here, and beyond that, ask questions and everyone will help you along. We're delighted to have you with us.

Hi and welcome. If you are going to try your hand at honing send one to a pro so you have a benchmark and then get a cheap one to learn on. It's pretty easy to stuff it up while you learn and there ain't no putting the metal back. Gssixgun and Lynn Abrams both have brilliant vids on YouTube you should check out. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Hi, Big Island

Hear that, Big Island is my home

Welcome. I agree with what Obie said. Be careful on starting to hone razors. Knives and razors are even more apart than apples and oranges. Glen and Lynn have made a number of videos that are excellent guides to the craft of honing (raising it to an art form, if you will). View and re-view many times to catch the subtleties. Lost count how many times I've watched them.

Thanks for the advise Ed! I'm pretty far from metal touches stone, or face. Still getting my stuff together. Although I've already got a bunch of stones I've gathered over the years I'd still like a few more. I've been watching the youtube videos on honing and I have to agrees there's some really valuable information there. As a young man I took some classes on honing knives and hand plane blades, but this is stepping up to what I consider the ultimate sharpening challenge. I'm looking forward to the challenge, but also feeling somewhat apprehensive. I think it's great advise to get a cheaper razor to practice on before I attempt to sharpen my vintage ones.