Hello from San diego

Hi all,

First off, I wanted to thank all of you for being so willing to share your experience and passion for straight razors over the internet, as I certainly never would have made the switch were it not so easy to find information about how to begin.

Had my "First" real straight razor shave today. So excited! Certainly not BBS, however it's a vast improvement over my last attempt, and I am super excited about getting better with each day.

The reason I got interested in straight razors is that SR shaving is a perfect expression of radical self reliance; once I build up the skills, It's something that will be with me till I no longer grow hair. In a world where disposable everything is the norm, something as simple as switching to a straight razor becomes a revolutionary statement. Plus, it's a small statement against western cultures' obsession with convenience and instant gratification. Anything to imbue more presence into the day is a huge help in today's breakneck pace.

I have a tendency to get super animated about new things, and jump right in. Did that with Straight razors. Decided to find a handmade damascus steel one, went to etsy, did a search, found https://www.etsy.com/listing/2557006...ns?ref=pr_shop , bought it, and waited a week with anticipation building more and more each day.

Finally got to my place, and the first thing I do is try and shave with it. Assuming anyone selling a handmade SR would sharpen it before hand.

Wrong.

Figure out I need a strop, luck out on one at the swap meet, get all excited again, come home, run through my first stropping, try to shave again.

And, still, not very sharp. Needless to say I got a bit frustrated, watched a TON of videos, eventually figure out that the blade needs a real hone, not to mention the fact that the blade was warped to begin with. Lesson learned, just because something looks pretty doesnt mean it actually does the job. So I promptly returned it.



Now the most ironic thing is that today I found a barber shop that sells handmade, damascus steel straight razors within three blocks of my house. The one I got from there is beautiful AND functional. Sometimes you don't have to look far to find what you're searching for.


I'm so stoked! Thanks for having me

No it's not shave ready and at the price you paid it was the first clue it was junk, should have read here what not to buy, your not the first to buy one of these" handmade Damascus razor" probably won't find a reputable guy to hone it for you. Sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but the bright side is your here.
Look in the library and start reading , go to the classifieds and buy a reasonably price shave ready razor from one of these guys here who actually shave with them, then learn, or buy a new one, not from etsy or ebay, go to a real dealer who will sell it ready to shave with.
Good luck. Tc

I guess my original post wasn't clear; I found ANOTHER razor today at a local barber shop that was actually shave ready; I stropped it and performed my first shave with it, not that piece of garbage I bought from etsy. I'll post a photo of my new razor at some point.

Hello lucki and welcome to SRP.
I spent about 2 months reading up on the info in the library before I purchased my first razor then another month researching how to use it.
There is a lot of info there to prevent you from making the same mistakes a lot of us made.
If I had one piece of advise it would be "take it slow".
BTW if you don't post a picture of your razor it didn't happen. :-)

Lucki, welcome.

There are not many pattern steel razors that will hold an edge, those that will, run several hundred dollars. Anyone advertising a razor as Damascus Steel, is someone you should be suspect of, because it is not Damascus and they either do not know the difference or …

I hope you bought one of the few quality, pattern steel razors from a reputable vendor and that it works for you. Do take advantage of the wealth of information on this site, before you next purchase and how to maintain and use your new razor.

The Library, Beginners Guide is a good place to start.

Hi and welcome. There is a lot of information here to make this as easy as possible for you. Have a good read and any questions feel free to ask. Good luck with your shaves

Hi luckisastateofmind,
Sounds like you found a more reliable source of shaving products, barbershops normally know their quality.

As other guys stated above, best start reading every bit of information you can in the library to have an idea of basic shaving and honing procedures, and practise as you go along.

I really like how you stated your reason for picking up shaving, it really is a meditative bussiness and it certainly is gratifying to take your time and get a good result in return, rather then a quick takeaway shave. Good luck on the journey ^^/