Thread: My initial intention was to 'save' money .... best laid plans

welcome aboard mate
I see you have been introduced to the art of one handed brail shaving, lucky you are not a head shaver also

hopefully this run will be more successful

but I think you are keen to be ordering a custom razor when you have not tried any others for a comparison, this is where the vintage razors have there advantages of proven geometry & designs for a lot cheaper price
I would still get a vintage as your beginner to learn with also, it may help?

Originally Posted by Utopian

So you never have successfully shaved with a straight razor, but you have ordered a custom razor?



Oh yeah, you're going to fit in just fine!

Don't worry, it just takes practice and patience.

you beat me to it mate, you were already typing LOL

Originally Posted by Utopian

So you never have successfully shaved with a straight razor, but you have ordered a custom razor?



Oh yeah, you're going to fit in just fine!

Don't worry, it just takes practice and patience.

Yeah .... I tend to jump in - in so many ways ... I really wanted a fixed blade, but I didn't want a Japanese grind ... there aren't too many options out there.

Well - here it is, and it's on the way to me now .... can't wait

Originally Posted by 1981Eagle

So - here I am - another forum and another way to spend money

I initially wanted to 'save' money and learn to shave with a straight. I read a little, and I didn't want to spend an arm and a leg, and I saw that some vintage steel was superior to some newer and cheaper razors being mass produced. I got a couple at a local antique shop and sent them off to be professionally sharpened and honed. I got them back, and promply lost my nerve, and sold them (at a loss)

Part of the problem was that no matter how I held my hand, and my head, my hand seemed to block my vision and I couldn't see what I was doing. This led me to have day-time nightmares ... I had visions of arterial spray in the neck area and a fillet-of-cheek for breakfast. My wife even said she was going to put a video camera in the bathroom, so that when the police were here investigating the death, she could prove that I did it to myself and it wasnt a murder!

One of my hobbies is yard sale-ing and I went a picked up a Henckels for 3.00 (and another with a broken blade also for 3.00) .... the Henckels box was in rough shape ... but the razor was sound .... I also bought a Gem SE Featherweight for 2.00 from the same guy (and a Fat Boy for 5.00) .... I was in heaven! In any case - I am not a straight shaver, and I didn't have any SE blades ... so I got some SE blades and sold both straights. When I got the SE blades, I tried and SE for the first time ... I really liked it. The stiffness of the blade compared to a DE gave a different feel. And one that I would bet feels more like a straight. But I had sold off the Henkels ... so I was back to not having a razor, and wanting to try one.

So - yesterday (and in keeping with my personality) I figured ... 'in for a penny, in for a pound' and I commissioned a custom fixed blade straight. It will be here in a couple months. In the mean time ... I am a hobby machinist, and since I know what I am getting and how it will be made and sized ... I am going to make up a 'non sharpened' mock up. When I shave in the mornings - I will occasionally pull out my 'fake' razor and use it as a lather remover. Heck lather is cheap. This way I can work on hand positioning and what I think will be good angle development. I don't know if that is a good idea - or a bad idea ... and I don't know where my lack of confidence came from - after all - a lot of people shave with straights .... and you don't see that mentioned as the cause of death in many obituaries!


Edit to note .... the 'day-time nightmares' was meant to be sarcasm and a little tongue in cheek

Hey, welcome to the group(we hold daily meetingdls :-) ) and if your hand blocks your vision...don't worry 'bout it , didn't bother me