Thread: Greetings

My name is Sam, and I am from Canada. Been thinking of getting a straight razor for a while; I don't much like the idea of the disposable type, and I don't like the finish of an electric one. Also, if I shave more than every 3 days, I get red spots. Hopefully this idea helps.

So what is a good place to start? What to buy?
What is the frequency like? Can I shave daily?

Thanks

Welcome to SRP Sam.
Yep..but sell trade section has good deals.
There's a bunch of Canadian wet shavers here, maybe they can point you to a store close to you.
Take in as much info as you can handle, and never rush the shave.

Hi Sam, welcome aboard.
Classicedge.ca is a good Online Hamilton based shop for straight supplies this side of the border. Phil is a great resource to work with new shavers.
Straight shaving will eliminate the hair bumps in time and gives a shave so smooth, once mastered, that shaving every other day will still leave you boardroom ready every day sans redneck.
Lots of us get together in the summer so if you are in Ontario, feel free to join in for some hands on help from guys that have been at this a while.
Look in the meetings and get together forum for more info..
Cheers.

Welcome, Sam, it's nice to have you here! One of the great benefits of straight razor shaving is that you can, eventually, achieve a wonderfully close shave without irritation. Keep hanging around SRP asking questions and sharing your experience, stick with it and heed the good advice here, and it will get better and better.

Hi and welcome. I used to wait a week for my neck to heal after every shave. These days most issues are resolved and a better shave but it does take a while to get the hang of. Well worth the effort though

Welcome to SRP!!
As you can see there's a lot of great folks and info here. Check out the library

Enjoy and have fun!!!!

Originally Posted by Samrw

My name is Sam, and I am from Canada. Been thinking of getting a straight razor for a while; I don't much like the idea of the disposable type, and I don't like the finish of an electric one. Also, if I shave more than every 3 days, I get red spots. Hopefully this idea helps.

So what is a good place to start? What to buy?
What is the frequency like? Can I shave daily?

Thanks

Hi Sam and welcome to SRP ,
for starters you can get yourself a very nice Double edge why?Because it's great for those in between days like when your straight razor is dull and you haven't the time to sharpen it or when your getting killed by the learning curve and you still gotta shave and it gives a great shave without red spots. It's also very economical,way more so than those cursed cartridge things. For what you pay for replacement cartridges you can get three times as many DE blades. It's also considered Old Skool and plenty of us straight guys use them.

Next...throw the sparay can cream like stuff that's full of chemicals and air away and get a nice shave soap or cream from a tube from a reputable shave vendor. Those can things do nothing but irritate skin . Be nice to your skin and it will love you for it.

Those two things alone will do wonders for you while you select a nice starter straight. Welcome to the world of pampering you !!

Nightblade speaks the truth: get a good DE to begin with. A vintage Gillette 3 piece or brand new Merkur will give terrific shaves when loaded with the right blade and it's fun finding which is the right one for you - I favour Astra but you may like something else - get a sample pack from one of the many online stores - but I'd steer clear of the supersharp Feather brand until your technique settles down. Speaking of which, competency with a straight takes a while to acquire but it's worth the struggle. And there's a bunch of guys here who can steer you right at every turn

Welcome to SRP!! Definitely +1 on starting with the Beginner's Guide. For Starter Gear I would recommend less worry on Looks and focus on Function... Classifieds here are a great place to start but make sure to have open dialogue with what, "Shave Ready", means and let people know you are just starting out.

Learning to shave by mowing down a full beard may be a challenging choice... I would recommend a Trimmer to mow down to stubble level first then try your first few passes and go from there.

Shawn
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Originally Posted by Nightblade

Hi Sam and welcome to SRP ,
for starters you can get yourself a very nice Double edge why?Because it's great for those in between days like when your straight razor is dull and you haven't the time to sharpen it or when your getting killed by the learning curve and you still gotta shave and it gives a great shave without red spots. It's also very economical,way more so than those cursed cartridge things. For what you pay for replacement cartridges you can get three times as many DE blades. It's also considered Old Skool and plenty of us straight guys use them.

Next...throw the sparay can cream like stuff that's full of chemicals and air away and get a nice shave soap or cream from a tube from a reputable shave vendor. Those can things do nothing but irritate skin . Be nice to your skin and it will love you for it.

Those two things alone will do wonders for you while you select a nice starter straight. Welcome to the world of pampering you !!

Shave soap. Is that literally soap that you work into a lather? I seem to remember something like that from old movies and westerns.