Finally here

Hey all,

I've gone down the internet research hole about half a dozen times and almost pulled the trigger, or made the leap, or dipped my toes, or dove/dived in head first. I've gotten excited and ready to face (or follow) my fear (or bliss), to embrace the change, to trust my instinct and/or gut...

But bit the bullet and I'm super stoked :)

A few years ago I followed some common advice I saw and switched to a safety razor. Absolutely a good decision. I'm a convert and preach to anyone who'll listen. I love the ritual of it, I love the control I feel by being able to experiment with a number of pre/post products, and I rarely break out like I used to and no more razor burn.

I also like the old fashioned nature of it. I restore vintage fountain pens, and non-modern shaving methods hold the same sort of romantic feeling. Products that don't sacrifice quality of manufacture or lead to diminishment of the experience in favor of ease of use.

So I've got a couple of razors in the mail from a member here and am excited to start a new journey. Plus I get to add the accessories of a strop and maybe eventually hones, new pastes et al...... more toys is always better.

I did some looking around and this forum seems to be the cream of the crop, not to mention the great wiki set-up and thank you all in advance for the welcome I'm truly enthused this is finally getting going.

If you are not from Chicago.....then I'm from Chicago.
If you are from Chicago.....then I live in Evanston.

Just about me real quick. I spent a lot of time as an improviser and theatre educator. I ran an educational theatre company for the better part of a decade. Life took some turns and did what life does and now I'm back in and most of the way through school to be a substance-use disorder counselor. Future: Undecided.

An etxra-special thanks if you made it all the way through this,

josh

Edit: I would love to trade some pens for any sort of shaving gear. I've got a wide variety types ,dates, prices. I moved and my "shop" isn't set up so I've slacked on selling them and I miss being able to get them into the hands of people who'll love them!

Welcome aboard!
It sounds like you are diving in head first. The first shave is nerve racking, but it gets much better afterwards.
Feel free to ask us any questions that you have, we are here to help.

Welcome to the forum

Bob

Welcome! just remember to go slow. It takesa time to learn but in the end you will be happy you made the switch.

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Welcome to SRP. :)

Be sure to post some pics of your razors when you can. Also, do not spend a lot of $$ on your first strop. We all have put nicks in our strops when starting out.

Thanks! Under instruction I got one off of ebay that was deemed suitable after a bit of cleanup and conditioning.

Hello Josh and welcome to SRP.
Enjoy your time here on the forum and your new shaving adventure.

Pete <:-}

Welcome to SRP! Enjoy your time here and new adventure.

Hi. Please be aware of "Razor Acquisition Disorder"
And welcome :)

you'll find some pen lovers here as well so you are sure to fit in. Great place to be. Welcome Josh!

Welcome aboard.

Welcome. Looks like you've already spotted the entrance to several rabbit holes. There are plenty of enablers here who can help you navigate once you fall in.

Hi and welcome!
I'm a Omas f.p. lover!

Welcome! Enjoy the journey!

Welcome. Watch out for the enablers. Just kidding we’re are all enablers.

Welcome to the site. Once you get that first strop all nicked up, you can follow the strop repair threads that are posted here. Straight razor shaving is fun and easy, but you will eventually have to make the decision that you are not going to buy every blade that you find in every antique store/auction house/yard sale in Illinois. (Seventy blades is, I am starting to understand)

Welcome Josh. Make sure to read the beginner's section for good start up information. As has been said the first one can be more challenging/painful than expected but it gets better so don't be discouraged. Ditto what MrZ said. Before you know it you have 150 and still buying more. Then if you're lucky/unlucky depending on how you look at it you'll fall into strop mania, or hone envy, or brush addiction, or soap fettish. Have fun and make sure to post pics. We love pictures.

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So.. your getting 2 razors off of Ebay?
The first thing is to clean them up to your satisfaction.
The second is to send them out to one of us for a proper honing.
That will give you a decent starting point.

Please do not make the mistake of having them honed first then you trying to get them cleaned up.
That never, repeat, never works.

Just my 2¢ :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by randydance062449

.
.
So.. your getting 2 razors off of Ebay?
The first thing is to clean them up to your satisfaction.
The second is to send them out to one of us for a proper honing.
That will give you a decent starting point.

Please do not make the mistake of having them honed first then you trying to get them cleaned up.
That never, repeat, never works.

Just my 2¢ :)

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And its dangerous too! Rubbing some mothers polish on a sharp razor is a recipe for stitches!

Welcome to the forum. :)

Hi and welcome aboard

Welcome aboard Josh. And thanks for the planet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dobel

Hi and welcome!
I'm a Omas f.p. lover!

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Fancy fancy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JOB15

Hi. Please be aware of "Razor Acquisition Disorder"
And welcome :)

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alllllllready feeling it :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MrZ

Welcome to the site. Once you get that first strop all nicked up, you can follow the strop repair threads that are posted here. Straight razor shaving is fun and easy, but you will eventually have to make the decision that you are not going to buy every blade that you find in every antique store/auction house/yard sale in Illinois. (Seventy blades is, I am starting to understand)

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Waay too many pens, but at least I don't buy the crappy ones any more. Also learned to only get attached to a handful or two so the rest can move (usually for money to buy new pens to restore and sell and on and on and on)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Welcome Josh. Make sure to read the beginner's section for good start up information. As has been said the first one can be more challenging/painful than expected but it gets better so don't be discouraged. Ditto what MrZ said. Before you know it you have 150 and still buying more. Then if you're lucky/unlucky depending on how you look at it you'll fall into strop mania, or hone envy, or brush addiction, or soap fettish. Have fun and make sure to post pics. We love pictures.

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Dated a girl with a soap fetish. Got to be too much had to let her go. Tired of being all dried out all the time ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by randydance062449

.
.
So.. your getting 2 razors off of Ebay?
The first thing is to clean them up to your satisfaction.
The second is to send them out to one of us for a proper honing.
That will give you a decent starting point.

Please do not make the mistake of having them honed first then you trying to get them cleaned up.
That never, repeat, never works.

Just my 2¢ :)

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No! Bought from here, I'm no dummy :) :)

Welcome Josh,

You’ll find loads of information here, your head will be spinning for a while. So much to learn and experiment with. Watch out though these guys are enablers!

Hey, I resent that! By the way, want to buy some razors? :roflmao:rofl2::roflmao:rofl2:

PSA: the previous statement should not be construed as advertising my business without becoming a vendor.

Welcome to the forum.. And kudos for having the best screen name.. ShaveMeFromMyself:):) Thats great man!!
Scott

Hello! Glad to see you here! Welcome to the community!!!!