Thread: Hello From Central Florida

I've been thinking about moving to SR shaving for about a year now. At one point I ordered some shaving soap to see what I thought and I wasn't overly impressed. Mind you I had no brush so I was just trying to work up some lather with my fingers to do a cartridge shave. I knew I was missing the mark by not having a brush, but never got around to ordering one. I continued on with my Mach III and gel. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago and without having consulted this forum first I built an SR kit on Amazon and ordered it up. I ended up with the following...

• Gold Dollar Shave Ready Razor (6/8")
• Premier Strop Company Strop
• Escali Badger Hair Brush
• Proraso Pre-Shave Cream
• Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Gentleman Jon Alum Block
• Clubman Styptic Pencil

…and I stuck with my Pinaud Clubman after shave that I had on hand.

I wear sideburns and a circle beard so my shaving is confined to cheeks and neck. Although I did get too close to my left sideburn yesterday and now it's narrower than the right for the next few days. I'm doing pretty good with the razor although I have some trouble when I switch to my left hand. And I keep getting irritation on the right side of my neck after I'm done shaving. I understand there's a learning curve and I feel I'm already making progress. I've done WTG, ATG, and XTG, as well as started mapping out my hair growth.

The Gold Dollar is working but I can't help but think that a quality blade will be much more satisfying. It seems to leave some uncut hairs behind and does a fair bit of tugging on the neck. I had planned to order a good one when I got through the learning phase, but decided tonight to just order it up now so it'll be under the tree come Christmas. I chose a Ralf Aust 5/8" round point from SRD. I also ordered up a scuttle from Dirty Bird and some Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap. I think I should be good to go for some time now.

Other interests…whiskey, I like bourbon and rye. Music, I play most anything with strings except the fiddle. Shooting, hunting, fishing.

So there you have it. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for having me on the forum.

Hello, Kevin. Welcome to SRP.
I'm sure you will like the Aust when it arrives!

Hi Kevin & welcome to SRP. You're gonna love the Ralph Aust when you get it! Don't hesitate to use it early as you will get it fast. I sport a goatee so I know what you're going through. It's a pleasure to have you join the forum & you'll learn plenty on here. Members here (most) don't recommend the Gold Dollar but some have them & claim they have made them work. There is a "razors to avoid" on here in the library or go here:
Brands of Straight Razors to Avoid - Straight Razor Place Library
You will learn a lot on here just by searching around, especially in the Library:
Straight Razor Place Library - Straight Razor Place Library
Here's a topic about the Gold Dollar's also:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...ar-razors.html
Glad to have you here & if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. There are a lot of knowledgable people on here.
Have fun!

Welcome to SRP!
The Ralf Aust was a good choice and getting it from SRD was an excellent choice. Once you get the round point figured out, then you can look at getting a spike point for getting around your beard and sideburns.

Hi and welcome. Sounds like your shaves are going to improve considerably soon. The problem with ordering from ebay and amazon is people claim shave ready when its usually not. There is a good chance that if is tugging and not shaving all the hair it needs to be honed again. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

Thanks for the welcome, guys. I've been reading and absorbing as much as I can. Had a great shave this morning and picked up some Nivea post shave balm to address the sensitive area on the neck. Hopefully with the Aust, better technique, and some time for my skin to get use to the change, I won't need the balm for too long; I really prefer to just do a splash and go with alcohol based aftershaves.

Once you get the truly shave ready razor you will find the shaves so much better Enjoy. Tc

I've got to say, this forum is a lot of fun and full of knowledge. I've been reading in the Library, going over old posts, and getting in on conversations. It's real fun, not just another bland forum. I've learned a lot already and spent way more than I planned over my weekend ordering replacements for poor first time purchases, and different soaps and after shaves to try out. So glad I found this place.

I'm still actively seeking a local mentor, but I'm sure that I'll either find one, or learn enough from reading and trial and error that it won't matter at some point.

Originally Posted by KevinV

I've got to say, this forum is a lot of fun and full of knowledge. I've been reading in the Library, going over old posts, and getting in on conversations. It's real fun, not just another bland forum. I've learned a lot already and spent way more than I planned over my weekend ordering replacements for poor first time purchases, and different soaps and after shaves to try out. So glad I found this place.

I'm still actively seeking a local mentor, but I'm sure that I'll either find one, or learn enough from reading and trial and error that it won't matter at some point.

Yep, you're a candidate for RAD, razor acquisition disorder. You keep on spending, especially after buying some razors & you'll buy more & more razors until you think like the rest of us, that a man can never have enough straight razors!

I have a few hundred!