Hello Fellow gentlemen ,

My name is not really important, technonine for now. Im 17 years old and live in the netherlands.
As of writing this... I think it has been an hour now since I had my first shave with a real straight razor.

My personal shaving history, for who wonders how I started, Is pretty much starting out with a machine, then one day at a scouting camp, Me and my friends decided to shave with our pocket knifes out of shere boredom. It started as a joke but I found that with A basic soap bar and a (modified) brush, its more fun then shaving with a machine. I started again 2 months ago after having obtainted a japanese knife which happened to be sharp enough to shave with, an old leather belt, a mug, still a modified painting brush and a bar of soap. 2 months of practise, cuts and learning later I decided to make the jump, in terms of money, to a real straight with proper equipment. I bought a vintage razor from the '30s from a shave/barbershop where it was professionally restored and honed before sale, along with a small (30 cm or 10") long stropping belt and a serious pig hair brush (shaving brush).

Being a scout and having over 2 years of practice in sharpening and maintaining pocket knifes (with great care) I do have experience in sharpening knifes or razors on wetstones and stropping (with a leather belt). the essentials are the same as far as I found.

Result: It felt like heaven, more so because the essential technique wasn't that different, just the knife.

Lastly, I want to really thank everyone who contributed to this site. I read up on a lot of stuff that helped me get an insight and make the choice in going straight.