Greetings from Indiana!

Hey all. Figure I would introduce myself. Name is Chris from Indiana 33 years old. New to straight razors. Matter of fact I've never have shaved with a straight razor. But has been a passion of mine to do so. I remember as a kid going to the Barber with my grandpa a few times. And was always fascinated with watching the old time barbers with a straight razor in their hands. It was like watching an artist with a brush in hand. I'm also an old school kind of guy. I have thing for doing stuff like my grandfather, great grandfather ect. would have done on a regular basis. Kinda like going back to my roots.. Got into shaving my head (i wear a beard) with a DE safety razor last year. It was a hurry up and get the job down while in the shower type thing. Now getting into taking my time and enjoying the shave. Anyways enough jibber jabber. My father inlaw gave me a Gold Dollar straight razor kit he got from his work as a promotional gift for a new head Case IH is coming out with. He had no use for it so gave it to me. Been watching some YouTube videos and stuff and seems like everyone has their own way of doing things. I'm open to any and all tips tricks and advice for a first timer. Also would like to know who I can send my razor to and get it sharpened. Thanks in advance. And looking forward to talking to everyone.

Welcome to the forum! I do believe there are a few hoosiers on here, you can try PM'ing them for a meet up to get some one-on-one training.

Did the razor come with a strop?

The classifieds are a good place to get good service.

Feel free to post any questions

Thanks dinnerment I will definitely do that. That's something I would really like to do is get a little 1 on 1 training.
The razor did not come with a strop. But my mom is a beautician and has actually ordered me one through her supply store. I believe she said it's an Illinois strop company. I just need to pick it up.

Excellent. While you are waiting for razor honing, a couple suggestions.
1) Practice stropping with a butterknife and check out videos on stropping (gssixgun and lynn abrams are on youtube, check "stroptober" thread)
2) Every day or so, rub the palm of your hand on the strop. This'll impregnate some of the hand oils into the leather and keep it supple.

I do not have an illinois strop, there may be some "breaking-in" suggestions on the site. The google search bar in the upper right will help you out.

Hi and welcome. The gold dollars are a little hit and miss. Some are fine and some won't take a edge. You may find it hard to get a pro honing for it as they require fixing to be honed properly. You may be better finding a vintage razor from the classifieds here. Will definitely be better quality and will be shave ready. By the time you pay for the gd to be fixed and honed you will likely come close to what you can get a vintage for anyhow. Good luck and any questions feel free to ask

definitely get a pro to look at the razor and see if it can be honed. not the best quality(as already stated) so don't judge all razors (and the quality of the shave) by the gold dollar standard. enjoy the experience!

Welcome, Chris.

thank you very much. I will check those out. and start practicing

Hot diggity!!! Welcome aboard, fellow Hoosier!! And a fellow Chris, as well! We're on a roll, can we make it three?? What corner of this boot do you happen to hail from? I'm in Fort Wayne, but my family that I try to visit at least once a year is down 'round Evansville.

On the subject of 1 on 1 time: there are several currently active members between me & indy, with most of those few being around Anderson.

No real traction towards a full-on meetup, yet. But my hopes are high for the future... you'd think that Indiana being "The Crossroads of America" would make it easier for a multi-state gathering :shrug:. Gotta keep reminding myself that I'm not paid to think :gaah:.

I'd be willing to try to hone your GD. The known issues stated above do not bode well for a positive outcome. Also, the edges I've been able to put on my own razors is passable, but by no means a Lynn Abrams edge! I recently acquired a few fixer-uppers. Provided the wife is okay with it*, I might have an "ugly duckling" kicking around that I can try to put an edge on & loan out. It won't be the prettiest razor (or a Dubl Duck, sorry...), but it should give you a taste :tu.

I can wax poetic on this plenty more later. For now, it's a bit past my bedtime. 12hrs at work tomorrow (later today), catch ya on the flip side!

*It's not often I spend money on myself beyond necessities of life, so SWMBO may not be fond of the idea of me possibly mailing out a piece of hobby stuffs that I spent limited funds on, for an undetermined amount of time. I'm not required to blindly follow her will & whims, but marriage is a relationship of respect.

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Originally Posted by Crawler

Hot diggity!!! Welcome aboard, fellow Hoosier!! And a fellow Chris, as well! We're on a roll, can we make it three?? What corner of this boot do you happen to hail from? I'm in Fort Wayne, but my family that I try to visit at least once a year is down 'round Evansville.

On the subject of 1 on 1 time: there are several currently active members between me & indy, with most of those few being around Anderson.

No real traction towards a full-on meetup, yet. But my hopes are high for the future... you'd think that Indiana being "The Crossroads of America" would make it easier for a multi-state gathering :shrug:. Gotta keep reminding myself that I'm not paid to think :gaah:.

I'd be willing to try to hone your GD. The known issues stated above do not bode well for a positive outcome. Also, the edges I've been able to put on my own razors is passable, but by no means a Lynn Abrams edge! I recently acquired a few fixer-uppers. Provided the wife is okay with it*, I might have an "ugly duckling" kicking around that I can try to put an edge on & loan out. It won't be the prettiest razor (or a Dubl Duck, sorry...), but it should give you a taste :tu.

I can wax poetic on this plenty more later. For now, it's a bit past my bedtime. 12hrs at work tomorrow (later today), catch ya on the flip side!

*It's not often I spend money on myself beyond necessities of life, so SWMBO may not be fond of the idea of me possibly mailing out a piece of hobby stuffs that I spent limited funds on, for an undetermined amount of time. I'm not required to blindly follow her will & whims, but marriage is a relationship of respect.

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Hey Chris... I actually live outside of Delphi (halfway between Logansport and Lafayette right on the Hoosier Heartland). I was born and raised in Logansport. not too far apart.

I agree with Indiana being known as "The Crossroads of America" it would make it easier for a multi-state gathering.

I agree with a marriage being a relationship of respect. and no need to upset your wife for loaning out a piece of your hobby stuff. my wife actually surprised me with an old Wade & Butcher razor. she knows im an old vintage/antique lover and with my last name being Wade she thought it would be perfect... with the GD razor I would like to get it honed or see if it will hold an edge and be able to use it. just don't want to spend money on "junk". But seems that it was free I guess I could put a couple bucks into it and go from there.

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Originally Posted by cwade3085

Hey Chris... I actually live outside of Delphi (halfway between Logansport and Lafayette right on the Hoosier Heartland). I was born and raised in Logansport. not too far apart.

I agree with Indiana being known as "The Crossroads of America" it would make it easier for a multi-state gathering.

I agree with a marriage being a relationship of respect. and no need to upset your wife for loaning out a piece of your hobby stuff. my wife actually surprised me with an old Wade & Butcher razor. she knows im an old vintage/antique lover and with my last name being Wade she thought it would be perfect... with the GD razor I would like to get it honed or see if it will hold an edge and be able to use it. just don't want to spend money on "junk". But seems that it was free I guess I could put a couple bucks into it and go from there.

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That's really awesome of her! Whether she researched straight razors or not, that is still a great manufacturer in a W&B. Good score, either way :tu.

My offer to attempt honing your GD holds no monetary value: all it would cost you is shipping :shrug:. I've been at this straight shaving thing for just over a year now, and maintaining my own edge roughly half that time. I wouldn't presume to have enough honing ability to charge money for lol (see: "passable, but not superb"). Also, it's not guaranteed that SWMBO would shoot me down if I wanted to loan out a razor. I just didn't want to miscommunicate a false impression that there'd be "no problem/obstacle whatsoever loaning out a razor".

I don't claim to have noteworthy skill. Simply a nagging urge to be helpful, pass along applicable knowledge, etc.

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Originally Posted by Crawler

That's really awesome of her! Whether she researched straight razors or not, that is still a great manufacturer in a W&B. Good score, either way :tu.

My offer to attempt honing your GD holds no monetary value: all it would cost you is shipping :shrug:. I've been at this straight shaving thing for just over a year now, and maintaining my own edge roughly half that time. I wouldn't presume to have enough honing ability to charge money for lol (see: "passable, but not superb"). Also, it's not guaranteed that SWMBO would shoot me down if I wanted to loan out a razor. I just didn't want to miscommunicate a false impression that there'd be "no problem/obstacle whatsoever loaning out a razor".

I don't claim to have noteworthy skill. Simply a nagging urge to be helpful, pass along applicable knowledge, etc.

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I don't think she researched them very much. I had ran across a couple on ebay and had said something about them. Did a little research on them and found out they were decent razors. And she went and found one in decent shape and fairly cheap price and said nothing else it will be a conversation piece.

With the GD if you want the practice and want to see what you can do with it, I'll ship it to you.

Hello, and welcome from a fellow Hoosier!! I am 50 miles north of Evansville. If you would PM me your address I will give you a razor that is ready to go. In learning to shave with a straight razor there is alot variables that contribute to a good shave, and learning curve is large. So that is why I am willing to do this for you, to remove at least one of the variables. Take your time and enjoy the journey!!

Welcome to the forum!

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Originally Posted by Walterbowens

Hello, and welcome from a fellow Hoosier!! I am 50 miles north of Evansville. If you would PM me your address I will give you a razor that is ready to go. In learning to shave with a straight razor there is alot variables that contribute to a good shave, and learning curve is large. So that is why I am willing to do this for you, to remove at least one of the variables. Take your time and enjoy the journey!!

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Hello.. thank you for your offer. I sent you a pm

Welcome aboard, stick around awhile