Thread: Greetings from Massachusetts

Welcome aboard. The only tip I can offer that hasnt already been shared is to stay away from the antique stores on Beacon hill if you are looking for a blade. My daughter goes to school in Boston and I scavenge the town whenever I come to visit. Every store on Beacon Hill is expensive and not flexible. (Doesnt mean I wont keep trying them though) The guys here are a great resource, enjoy your time here.

Welcome! A DE sampler pack is a good choice, the Feathers for me are too aggressive, I found the Personna med preps to be my favorite.

All I can add is something I and others have said countless times -- every face is different, and therefore every person's preferences evolve differently. A DE sampler pack is a great idea. Some blades that others rave about feel like ice scrapers on my face, while the Feathers and Personna med blades are my favorites now.

The same is true with straight razor profiles. I used to think that I preferred smaller, thinner grinds, but as I've improved my technique, my lathering and my stropping, my preference has changed and I now shave mostly with heavier grinds. When all is said and done, you'll settle in on what you like best by trying a variety.

On SRs, I'm a proponent of having a new SR user having them re-honed by a pro until you can shave comfortably and confidently with them and learn to refresh them some with CrOx on fabric or felt. A minor mistake stropping can dull an otherwise fine edge.

Most of all, enjoy the journey. It's meant to be fun and relaxing.

That makes a lot of sense, Harold. (BTW, if anyone wants to experiment with different DE blades without committing to even a pack of 5, there is a site that sells them individually, albeit at a markup, tryablade.com).

I might eventually like to try honing because I have some nice waterstones for knives and enjoy doing that. (But I would still need the finer grit stones). But I will wait a long while for that, and get my razors professionally honed a number of times, so I will know how correctly sharpened razors feel. (Not to mention that I can count on any I get from folks here on SRP will be correctly sharpened to begin with.)

Hi and welcome to the Forum. Lots of folks here eager to help including myself. Make yourself at home.

If you do try your hand at honing start with a finisher for touch ups and work at just maintaining your edges, work your way backwards until you get to a bevel setter, you’ll find learning to hone a straight from bevel set to finish much easier that way.