new girl!

Hi everybody,
I was galavanting around the internet looking up various vintage cosmetic techniques and stumbled upon straight razors, which I've always fancied, but never put two and two together until now.

Yesterday I bought a "best" badger brush from Crabtree & Evelyn (told them it was a gift for my dad when they looked at me funny). I'm pretty sure I'll get some all-natural shaving soap (or make my own), but I haven't the slightest idea where to start when it comes to finding my first razor.
I've seen some recommendations around the forum, but I don't want to spend hundreds until I know what I like. I've found some "ready-to-shave" vintage blades on eBay, is that a good way to start? I was thinking of poking around the flea market, but I wouldn't know a good one if it sliced through my popliteal artery!

Also, recommendations for a hone and strop would rule.

Thanks so much for reading and taking me under your wing! I can't wait to start learning these skills.


Cheers,
lime

Welcome to SRP!

I would suggest a shave ready razor from the classifieds rather than Ebay, just to be sure you get a blade that is indeed shave ready.

For strops, the Tony Miller's from thewellshavedgentleman.com seem to be the forum standards. If you get a shave ready razor, you should be good to go for quite a while with either a pasted strop or a 12K/barber hone/coticule.

First, welcome aboard!
Second, "ready to shave" razors on ebay are a complete crap shoot, with the emphasis on the crap. If you would like a truly ready to shave razor, then go to the Classifieds in this forum. Even there, check to make sure that the person selling the razor is a seasoned veteran of SRP, as occasionally new members sell there without having a clue what they are doing.

As far as strops go, check out Tony Miller's site, The Well Shaved Gentleman. He makes great stuff, despite the entirely sexist name of his business.:w

Personally, I would hold off on hones entirely until you decide that you want to stick with this. You need a strop right away but you don't need a hone for a while. If you don't want to buy a strop, there are cheap alternatives, such as newspaper, that can be used.

In an attempt to encourage the presence of more "new girls" here, I will make you an offer. If you pay for shipping, I will send you a razor to try for free for a month. At that time, you will send it back to me and I will re-hone it and offer it to another "new girl." If you are interested, PM me and we will pick a razor.

Greetings Lime!:D

Welcome to SRP and the world of Straight Shaving. As Utopian said you don't really need a hone for now and it doesn't cost much to send your razor off to be rehoned by a professional.

When looking for a razor there is also http://www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk/ based in the UK. Steve is an awesome guy, very reliable and his razors come shave ready, I'll be sending mine to him to be rehoned very soon. Steve does a full international delivery, not sure where in the world you live which is why I mentioned the international delivery.;) But the classifieds here are also a guaranteed sure bet.

I've asked for you to have access to the Ladies Only section, so give it a few days and you should be able to access the forum. As it was only set up this week there isn't a lot on there at the moment, but it was created so Ladies who wanted to ask specific questions without getting embarrassed about the Gents overlooking can do so in privacy.

Lilith, Pearl, Viola and myself have all done posts in regards to leg shaving (with pictures), so have a look at those to see how to or not to do it. There is some really good advice given out by the Gents who are more than willing to support us "strange ducks" who like the straight razors.

As for razors themselves, I have a 4/8 Bauer which is my main razor at the moment. I do also have a 5/8 Solingen which needs to be honed before I can use it but it does feel heavier in the hands. It is a personal choice when it comes to the size and weight of razor you prefer.

Ron, that is a wonderful offer you have made. Thank you on behalf of the new Lady members yet to join us on this road.:bow

Limebutterfly,

First, welcome! This can be a very fun journey. If you haven't done so already, please read the sticky for the ladies forum so that you will know how to report posts and the general rules that are here to help make this an enjoyable forum for our lady members.

Second, Utopian has made a very generous offer to you. As a moderator, I will give him my full endorsement as a standup Gentleman who knows how to hone a razor to the proper degree required for shaving.


I hope you enjoy your journey to Shave-vana! :y

Have Fun!


-Rob

Welcome to SRP! Stick with Silver and the girls and they will take good care of you!

Thanks everyone for your warm welcomes!

I found these campy but informative how-to videos on YouTube, here's one on lathering:
YouTube - Introduction to Traditional Wetshaving, Part 2: Lathering

He's got a whole series and I'm hoping I can translate his advice, though he doesn't use straight razors.

I love this guy's videos. I think he is hilarious, and informative. Oh yes welcome to SRP. Hope that you have a good time.

Mantic is active on some of the other boards (I think he's primarily a DE guy). I think his videos are a great service to the community. You've gotten good advice so far. Welcome and enjoy. :D

Jordan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Welcome to SRP! Stick with Silver and the girls and they will take good care of you!

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Welcome to SRP!

Yes I agree with nun completely here. Whilst many of us can help you on most points of shaving, the lasses can help you better when it comes to areas more particularly involved in female shaving.

Unless you can find a professional swimmer in the thread, most men dont really shave their legs. :shrug: Stick with Silver and you wont go far wrong.

Welcome again,

Sandy

welcome to SRP !!!

Always nice to see new members arrive and say hi.

Check out some of the videos we have right here in the Video forum

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sidneykidney

Unless you can find a professional swimmer in the thread, most men dont really shave their legs. :shrug: Stick with Silver and you wont go far wrong.

Sandy

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Actually we do have a male cyclist who shaves his legs and has contributed to the corner before, Dave.:D;)";"

Most cyclists arent affected by wind resistance that the leg hair creates. This is because most cyclists prefer at lest knee length lycra cycling shorts. Swimming on the other had does get affected by drag since the force of the water is less forgiving. Also, fewer male swimmers professionally wear full body lycra gear. Most prefer to wear only the trunks and shave/wax the body.

You learn something new every day, dont you? ;)

I think I recall that the cyclist said that the shaving was not for wind resistance but rather to reduce road rash during spills. Apparently hairless legs get torn up less than hairy legs when sliding on pavement.

Personally, I have found that leather covered legs tend to get less torn up than lycra covered legs.

On motorbikes, yeah. But on cycles, its weight that is the consideration... at least when racing professionally....

Welcome!

Have to say "Kudos!" to Utopian: great offer and he also has the cyclist leg shaving thing straight lol

That's the first time I hear there's a Ladies-only section :) I think it's a great idea for the ladies so that they indeed don't have to be embarrassed.

On the other hand - you can be pretty anonymous on the Internet and, funny but true: while I don't read the Ladies section often at all, now I am soo interested what's going on in the Ladies-only section LOL - just because I won't be able to read it! :gaah:

Cheers
Ivo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

I think I recall that the cyclist said that the shaving was not for wind resistance but rather to reduce road rash during spills. Apparently hairless legs get torn up less than hairy legs when sliding on pavement.

Personally, I have found that leather covered legs tend to get less torn up than lycra covered legs.

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Professional cyclists shave their legs, because they receive daily vigorous massages, to release lactate, build up during training and competition, out of the muscles. Hair on the legs interferes with the massage, hence the need to shave it.

@Lime: a warm welcome to SRP.

Best regards,
Bart.

cleaning up road rash on a hairy leg aint fun......not that i've ever had it:w


i've been working on the "warden" to try DE and real shave cream hoping for a str8 conversion....so far, no joy.....

welcome to srp you are in the right place to learn. if i hadent gotten all the great advice from these fine people my decapitated head would be lying on my bathroom floor:rofl2:

Welcome Lime,

Nice to have you with us. I second the advice of others when recommending that you consider the classified on this forum as opposed to purchasing a "Shave Ready" special from E-Bay.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Utopian

In an attempt to encourage the presence of more "new girls" here, I will make you an offer. If you pay for shipping, I will send you a razor to try for free for a month. At that time, you will send it back to me and I will re-hone it and offer it to another "new girl." If you are interested, PM me and we will pick a razor.

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Wow, what a warm and generous offer! Utopian, may I be the 2nd on the "new girl" list? I've been DE'ing for a few weeks (successfully, I might add) and would love-love-love to try a straight, but I haven't a CLUE where to start. Honestly, it seems overwhelming, not too mention those around me think I'm completely N-U-T-S for wanting to try it (meaning zero support). Even the guy friends in my life have no experience or knowledge of either DE or SR (is this a Gen-X thing??). Anywho, thanks in advance

Razorette

Welcome to the forum limebutterfly and Razorette. Razorette, you'll find plenty of support and knowledgeable encouragement here. Albeit, maybe more encouragement than you want ~cough RAD cough~.
The wiki is a great resource and is coming along nicely with time. I might suggest, if you're comfortable with the idea, asking if anyone is around your area to give you a hand or keep your eyes peeled for "Meetings". Best of luck to you both :) .

Yeah, the Wiki as well as the Help Files and the Search function can serve you well, but don't be afraid to ask the questions that you can't find answers to that way. There's a;ways somebody willing to help out around here.

X

I apologize for the delayed response. I made the offer and then got swamped at work. Anyway, the first options are available here for Limebutterfly to peruse. These are just some of first ones that I dug out that I thought might be serviceable for this loaner program. I will try to find a decent round point 5/8 blade to add to the mix. Also, I just finished a strop that could be thrown in as well.
I don't know if there is a way to send photos by PM so I'm posting them here.

I forgot to add names!
In alphabetical order, and in order of the photos:

Diamondine 5/8 (because diamonds are a girl's best friend)
Henckels 4/8
Maher and Grosh 7/16 (bigger than a 3/8 but I don't think this was ever a 4/8)
Torrey 4/8? (it's not in front of me and I'm not certain of the size)
Wapienica 5/8 (aka Wapi)

Utopian, I have completely fallen for that Diamondine! Thank you so much again for such a generous offer!!!


Razorette, I know exactly where you're coming from- everyone thinks I'm nuts for wanting to shave with a straight, too. But they're the ones who'll be paying through the nose for shaving supplies month after month, when we'll have all the skills to hone and maintain the same blade for years! Welcome, and best of luck to you. :D

Okay, pick a second one. We don't want anyone thinking that you can get by with just one razor. How would we keep RAD (Razor Acquisition Disorder) going if someone thought they only needed one razor?

I'd like to send two so that if you accidentally mess up the first one you will still have a back-up to continue your straight introduction.

Have you found a strop?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Razorette

Wow, what a warm and generous offer! Utopian, may I be the 2nd on the "new girl" list? I've been DE'ing for a few weeks (successfully, I might add) and would love-love-love to try a straight, but I haven't a CLUE where to start. Honestly, it seems overwhelming, not too mention those around me think I'm completely N-U-T-S for wanting to try it (meaning zero support). Even the guy friends in my life have no experience or knowledge of either DE or SR (is this a Gen-X thing??). Anywho, thanks in advance

Razorette

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Razorette, you are on the list! It's pretty short at the moment. I'll PM you after Limebuttefly makes her selections.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by limebutterfly

everyone thinks I'm nuts for wanting to shave with a straight, too. But they're the ones who'll be paying through the nose for shaving supplies month after month, when we'll have all the skills to hone and maintain the same blade for years! Welcome, and best of luck to you. :D

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I remember when I thought like that..... then the RAD kicked in..... :rolleyes:

Welcome to SRP Lime and Razorette !!!!

Utopian/Ron Kudo's to you sir :tu Very, very nice gesture....

Wait.. how could I "mess up" a razor? :eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by limebutterfly

Wait.. how could I "mess up" a razor? :eek:

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-ding it on the faucet
-strop incorrectly
-drop it
-close it against the scales
-put it away soaking wet

There are many ways. Fortunately, they are easily avoided. Take your time, pay attention to your technique when stropping and shaving, be mindful of the edge at all times. Develop your system slowly and methodically and eventually it will be second nature!

Even then, you will still hurt a blade. Hopefully not so bad that a honemiester can't bring it back to the land of shave ready.
:gl:

-Rob