Thread: The old new fellow

Originally Posted by engine46

That's good Ed, I forgot to mention the brush & soaps to our new member. Thanks!

Gosh fellas. I really appreciate all of the insight. As an update to last night's post, before bed I got out the old razor just to take another look. It is a sort of disposable straight that has a razor blade that can be replaced. It also came with a sort of toothed guard. When I was a kid, my mother had this thing sort of like a comb with a razor between the teeth. She had the bright idea that she was going to save money by cutting our hair, and she started by dragging this torture device over our heads. You could hear the strands of hair breaking, tearing, cutting, and it felt like every follicle was being pulled out by the roots. Why she didn't simply use scissors on us was beyond me, but needless to say we protested so loudly that she soon gave up. I can only assume that this guard thing that slips over the blade is possibly for some similar use, which means that it went directly into the trash last night.

While my curiosity was piqued last night, I knew better than to attempt something so new and specialized right before bed when I had neither the time nor the patience to take the time to get it right. Now, bear in mind that I have been shaving with a brush and soap in a mug for years, so at least I have that part down. This morning, I took a leap of faith and took a stab at a few first strokes. I got about 1 square millimeter successfully shaved just below my sideburn before giving up and grabbing the old untrustworthy disposable schick. What little area I did get clean with the cheapey, I could feel each follicle being tugged just as my mother's torture device used to do, so I figured the thing must be dull and far too dangerous to continue trying to learn with. The cheapey Chinese straight is just too much of a Saturday Night Special-looking thing for someone respectable to shave with, so I've decided that it's not worth the effort. It might be fine for the immigrant hairdresser at the all-you-care-to-get-cut barber school, but it's not for me. I suspect I will be looking for a bona-fide straight with which to officially kick off this endeavor.

I would have been at this a lot earlier in my life but for the lack of a razor. You see, I had a double great-grandfather who was an Army officer before the war between the states. When the war came around, in order for the Union to keep him from defecting to the South - since he was a Southerner, they transferred him out to San Francisco to be stationed at the Presidio (sp?) to aid in negotiations with the Native American Indians. Ultimately he was killed in a runaway horse and carriage accident, and since he was not killed in battle, his poor wife and daughter were not awarded any pension on which to survive, but I digress. This Colonel John Thomas Lindrum had a toiletry kit with his name engraved on the top. It was an elegant wooden box that contained all sorts of ivory handled boot lacing hooks, fingernail files, an ink well, glass bottles for aftershave I'm sure, a hair brush, and a shaving brush. It also had a sort of a travel strop which looked like a wooden ruler with a sort of leather strip attached. By the time I got the box, the straight razor was long gone, but I'm certain there must have been one with it once upon a time. At any rate, I was impressed by the gallant Army officer who was obviously very refined and gentile to have such a box just for grooming, particularly at that early period of time in this nation's history. Additionally there was a tin-type photograph of him with his period-mustache and goatee. Had their been his straight razor in that box, I'm certain I would have been at this that much sooner, but there wasn't.

About 16 years ago I happened upon a pile of someone's personal things outside of an apartment complex near my house. It was apparent that someone had been evicted and their things had been put out on the street for disposal. After passing the pile several days running, I finally stopped to see what things of value I might salvage. I felt very sorry for the poor person who had been evicted because it was obviously someone who either had been or was already a barber - at least that's what I thought at the time because I found amongst his things a strop. It was obviously new, or at least it looked new to me, and realizing that it was something of value, I got it. I'm pretty sure I kept it thinking that I might have a use for it one day, but I will have to search to see if I still have it. It has both the leather and the canvass, so I already have some of the tools. I figured that this person may have gotten locked up or perhaps hospitalized for him to be evicted without all of his possessions. Now I realize that perhaps he was simply an SRP shaver who had come to this unfortunate end, and perhaps is having to go back to shaving with safety razors until he can get back on his feet and replace all of his lost equipment. At any rate, perhaps I will get the benefit of his strop after all.

The video of the manliest shave ever was astounding. Thanks for sharing. I had to watch it again to see that the fellow started with a full goatee and mustache before he completely shaved it off as though he did that every morning. I suspect if his razor had not been sharp enough to suit him, he could have just as easily gotten the job done with that large kitchen knife on the wall behind him. His prowess with a straight is certainly something to be admired, and something for me to set my sights on.

I certainly appreciate all of the kind words and encouragement I have found here. I will continue researching and shopping until I find the necessary tools. Since a man is only as good as his tools, I know what I'm going to tell my family they can contribute towards a gift for me for Christmas. In the mean time, I will start shopping and comparing. I will also follow the leads you fellows have so kindly suggested for me to reference. Thanks again gents. I'll try to keep you posted on my progress.

Incidentally, I live in the Atlanta Georgia area. Many thanks again. Rob

"Now I realize that perhaps he was simply an SRP shaver "
Sounds like one us that the wife through out of the house for taking up too much space in the bathroom.

Welcome to SRP!
I'm glad you decided to ditch the cheap Chinese razor. If it costs less than a broadhead, do you really want to put it to your neck?

You might want to check out whippeddog.com. He sells some not so pretty razors that are shave ready and cheap. That way if you don't like it you will not be out a lot of money.

Rob
I have a lot of razors & I'm going to be honing & stropping some soon so if you don't find anything send me a pm & I'll see if I can fix you up. Meanwhile, give your family members hints for Christmas but make sure you tell them of something you are looking for so that they don't get you one that is not preferred. Here are brands to avoid:
Brands of Straight Razors to Avoid - Straight Razor Place Library
Here are some good brands of razors that you would want to own:
Good Straight Razor Brands - Straight Razor Place Library
Study those lists & remember the ones to not buy. If you search on eBay, don't buy anything with excessive hone wear on the spine or one with a frown on the cutting edge. If you need some help, don't hesitate to ask.
Steve

If you do have a strop then all you need is a razor. Maybe check out the classifieds here. That way you know that you will get a shave ready razor and one in good condition

+1 on looking in the classifieds and pick up one of the less expensive ones to start if it says shave ready by a member it more than likely is. Oh and just forget EBay for now , learn to shave before trying to figure out blade condition just by pictures and even if it says it's shave ready , unless you know the guy , Buyer beware! All you need to concentrate on now is stropping, and shaving. Tc

Update to the New old fellow. Greetings gents. Well, I took the advice of the mentors here and asked for a Ralph Aust for Christmas. It required patience to wait for it, and I took the time to watch more videos and try to educate myself. My razor finally came in the mail, addressed to my wife, so there was nothing to do but wait for Christmas and try to be patient. Christmas day came and went, and all I could do was not shave so that there would be something to shave by the time I got around to trying out my new razor. My father-in-law also gave me a nice Roo strop to go with my new razor, so now I have all of the basics.

I first tried my new razor yesterday with fairly good results. I was able to shave my right side jaw with pretty good efficiency, but the left was another story. After realizing that I had better cut my losses on my first try, I threw in the towel and finished shaving with my cassette. However, later that day I realized that my right jaw had what I wanted; a DFS in that area. I decided to try it again today, and after sufficient preparation, some stropping, and plenty of time, I had my right jaw and neck shaved just fine. I continued to try on my left side, and I could do some of it with confidence, but I couldn't get the finesse. I now realize what everyone means when they say it takes time and practice.

Another thing I have noticed is that there are plenty of different grips for different parts of the face and different hands. I decided not to tackle any up-strokes or cross-strokes yet until I get better with the basics and comfortable with the down strokes. I also believe that as with any other razor, you get a better shave when there is more beard there to be shaved. Maybe the whiskers stand up straighter and taller when there is more of them, so you get a closer cut. At any rate, I am enjoying my new venture, and I'm not going to quit until I've mastered it. Then I suspect I won't have to quit and will be a bona-fide member of SRP.

Thanks for all of coaching, support, and mentoring I have found here. Lynn, thank you for the very good videos that help newbies like me get started.

I just learned the other day that my maternal grandfather was a straight razor man. He was also a WWI veteran who was a calvary MP officer in France. I never really knew him since he died when I was only two, but I hear he was an honorable man, a valiant soldier, and I know he had gumption because I knew his wife, my grandmother, when I was into my teens. She was a piece of work, so he had to have moxy to put up with her. At any rate, if he were here, I'm sure he would be my straight razor coach, but he's not, so I have been very pleased to get tutored in this place. For that I'm grateful, and I'm sure my grandfather, Henry, would be grateful too. He was a gentleman's gentleman, and I strive to be like him if I can. Many thanks again fellows. Rob

Good job. Keep with it and the dexterity with your off hand will improve. I just had my 14th str8 shave today. My left hand still has a ways to go, but it seems that I have the strokes and holds I need to make down. Just need more time to build muscle memory.

Watching videos of others shaving reminds me that I will get to where I don't struggle with the difficult razor positions.

One other thing to focus on, there has been a recent thread here on pressure. I am getting almost no razor burn when I focus on decreasing pressure. As my mentor told me "shave the lather, not the hair".

Enjoy the journey

Glad you are making progress Rob. One thing that helped me in learning to shave with either hand was a suggestion by an old member, Dannywonderful. In my case I used a 'shavette' with no blade, but you could use a long comb, a butter knife ....... Go through the motions of shaving with one of those instruments in your mirror. Once you get the hang of it do it while watching TV or whatever.

If you're like me you'll find that it aids in developing the muscle memory and dexterity to actually maneuver the razor when shaving.

Congrats on the shave success so far. Another tip for your left hand is to do some of the small things like brush your teeth, comb your hair etc with your left hand to he build the mind muscle link

Cool!!!!!!
I'm glad you got your Christmas present's! Have fun with them & enjoy the experience & the old way of doing things.............................the way it should be & should have always been.