Thread: brand new

oh another forum about shaving, in this one covers straights. awesome. well i am new to the whole straight razor shaving and i have found that i can not hone worth a dang. i will have to learn to do so because i am too poor to be sending my razors off. so far i have been useing a piece of glass and lapping film with out much luck at all. I am glad to be a new member here, but it seems like you guys will let anyone join this brotherhood lol i am currently living in piper kansas.which is the western part of whyndotte county kansas city kansas. I am a carpenter by trade.

Get ahold of earcutter (Topeka) by PM and see what he can do for you. Mentors and Senior Members are here to help where they can. I'd rather have him give you the details than on here. One on one contact is better. But, you should be reading at least the FAQ section in the Library for as much information as you can get. The Library can expand on what interests you from the FAQ.

Honing razors is nothing like sharpening knives and tools. A totally different mindset and techniques. earcutter, I'm sure, will explain.

I've had guys say "I can put a hell of an edge on a knife, a razor shouldn't be any different." I simple tell them "You know where you stop sharpening on a knife? Well, that's where you start with a str8 razor" and they look at me like I'm nuts.

Welcome to the forum. You are in the middle of quite a pack of experience members. I just saw your post on the meet up. You will learn more in an afternoon meet than a month of emails and videos. Good luck, I'm glad you decided to seek help instead of giving up.

Welcome to SRP! With all of the members around you, hopefully you can meet up with one of them to get you going.

Hi and welcome. Any questions feel free to ask. If getting to a meet I'm sure the guys will have you leaving there with a shave ready razor and plenty of advice. Good luck

YOu are fortunate to live in the KC area. There are a lot of active members around there. Also there are meet-ups that occur occasionally there and there will be another one some time soon so watch for that in the Get-Togethers and Meet-Ups section.

Originally Posted by admvalentine

oh another forum about shaving, in this one covers straights. awesome. well i am new to the whole straight razor shaving and i have found that i can not hone worth a dang. i will have to learn to do so because i am too poor to be sending my razors off. so far i have been useing a piece of glass and lapping film with out much luck at all. I am glad to be a new member here, but it seems like you guys will let anyone join this brotherhood lol i am currently living in piper kansas.which is the western part of whyndotte county kansas city kansas. I am a carpenter by trade.

I made a decision when I started that I wouldn't straight shave unless I could maintain my own blade. I can relate to your struggles, but it can be done and you'll figure it out.

Hi & welcome to SRP. It sounds like you have your priority's set. I don't know exactly how new to this you are but I do hope that you have been looking in the Library here & have learned how to strop. That is one of the most important things you will need to know when learning about straight razors before you learn how to hone. Stropping is very important & you will need to strop your razor before & after each shave. If you don't have that skill down yet, you can practice with a butter knife & an old wide leather belt so that you don't cut up a good strop because many of us have put cuts on our strops when first learning the art of straight razor shaving. I know I did. You will find mostly everything you need to know in the Library & if you can't find what you're looking for, just go to the FAQ's. Here's a few links that might help:

Frequently Asked Questions - Straight Razor Place Library

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Library

Beginner's Guide to Honing - Straight Razor Place Library

I won't post any more right now because I'm sure you know what you're doing, I just gave you some links that might help you out only if you haven't seen them yet. What kind of straight razor(s) do you have & if so please post some pics. We would love to see what you have. You should have some people close to you that can meet with you & help out. You can learn how to hone later once you have the stropping down if you don't have it down just yet. I understand about being poor. Been there, done that. I know you are going the cheapest route you can though. If you need your razor honed, I'd be more than happy to hone it up for nothing. All you would need to do is send it to me. You can pm me about that. I feel confident that someone closer to you can be of better assistance with some one on one mentoring. There are many knowledgeable members here that can help you & are lot closer to you which is your best bet but if you can't find anyone, then the offer stands. I take it you already have some shaving soap, a brush & mug but if not, you will need those as well.
Good luck, I wish you the best!

Welcome to SRP!