Thread: Beardless in Cincinnati

Hey all! In January I went clean shaven for the first time in about 15 years, which is my entire adult life and then some. In doing so, I have discovered something that probably was, at least partially, what drove me to beard-land in the first place (it's been so long I honestly can't remember); my skin does not react well to razors (at least not the cartridge variety).

It's not bad if I have a brand-new blade, but my whiskers must be like tree trunks (hence the tag), because I can only get like 3-4 shaves out of a razor cartridge before it starts getting ugly. I have a nice electric that doesn't bug my skin, but it doesn't get as close as I would like. I would love to be able to get a close shave without spending a fortune on razor cartridges, or living in permanent facial discomfort.

That combined with a possibility-unhealthy attraction to things that are the most difficult way to accomplish a given task (manual over automatic, Linux over windows/mac, upright bass over bass guitar) have led me here.

Welcome to the forum....

A lot of the reason's that brought you here we all share.

For me, got fed up with the price of cartridges, and the terrible shave, fed up with the canned chemical goo, and figured there had to be a better way. Was surfing around the interwebs, and stumbled on a video that just sat in my brain for a couple of weeks, then caused me to start surfing around to do some research, which led me here, and the journey began after lurking here for several months reading an old members journey into this.

You can do a search for most things from the top right corner, search out, "The Noob Chronicles"...great read.

Anyhow, this is the video that planted the seed, turns out he was a member here....enjoy it, got me hooked, and it is as great as it looks, still loving it...

The Manliest Shave (of which if you look closely, I thought he was going to shave with the Butcher knife on the wall):

Welcome to SRP. you can't go wrong once you get it straight.
I take it your in Cincinnati Ohio, I'm in Akron.
So you've not yet taken the plunge into straight shaving.?

Welcome to the forum, FF! Shaving with a straight is not a skill I would deem "most difficult" by any means, but this method has no built-in safety features and a bit of maintenance is required. But, it's not for those who prioritize convenience over all else. Once you get the hang of it, you will find straight razor shaving second nature much like men who had straights as their only choice some 100+ years ago.

We are just a group of guys who greatly appreciate the unrivaled closeness of such a shave and all the fun that goes along with it. Have you read about the Acquisition Orders one can succumb to here -- SAD, RAD, HAD, etc.? You can take it as near or far as you wish depending upon your budget.

Considering you prefer choosing the option that presents more of a challenge or engagement (same here with Linux and manual transmissions), I'm sure you will fall in love with this sport. Personally, I had no idea that wet shaving could be so freaking fun...so much so, that I always go clean-shaven (every other day at least).

Check out the Buy/Sell/Trade area for excellent deals on blades. A sweet 13/16 Bismarck went for just $60 today. Anyway, good luck with your endeavor to go sans beard without torturing yourself. Go slowly, do your research, and ask questions. Cheers!

(PS....I don't think the average cartridge user gets more than 3-4 shaves per unit; they suck from all standpoints excepting profit margin for the company manufacturing them!)

Impressive video, Phrank, but his shave speed made me cringe a bit. If I used the Manliest Shave guy's technique around my mouth, my lips would be chamfered in the most brutal fashion imaginable.

Hello and welcome to SRP!
Sounds like the challenge of straight razor shaving is right up your alley.
You're in the right place to make it a great learning experience.
Enjoy your time here on the forum and have fun.

Pete <:-}

guys from Ohio are always welcome here! get yourself a nice razor,strop,brush and soap and start enjoying your shaves! be sure to get a shave ready quality razor (if you can't afford new then vintage is just as good as long as it's not wore out) as said before the classifieds here are a excellent place to look.

Welcome to SRP!!

There's a lot of great folks here to help you out and check out the library for an overload of info
Enjoy and have fun!!

Welcome to SRP!! You are gong to fit right in here!!

Welcome to the forum.