Thread: Hello from Holland!

Hello folks,

A month or two ago, I was doing my weekly shoppings at the local supermarket. Standing in front of the rack with Gilette safety razors, I noticed that Gilette had *again* introduced a "new" type of razor, and my good old trusty handle/socket was outdated. I stubbornly decided that I would never again waste a single dime on razors that can vibrate, have led-displays or build-in microwaves. Both my pa and grandpa were always bragging about the close shaves they were getting off straights, so I decided to give it a try.

As with everything in life, I figured that I'd have a smoother start if I invested in some proper tools. So I went to the dutch barbershop, and purchased pretty much everything on the newbees-shopping-list, except the hones. I ended up with a relatively cheap yet mint vintage Dovo, which came cleaned up and shave ready. Unfortunately, the very first serious shaving-attempt wasn't really comfy at all, so I blamed my technique and I guess I pushed it a bit too hard. But after I had read up on the matter, I did the HHT, and my blade turned out not to be shave-ready at all. Sadly, by then, my face was looking pretty darn 'Freddy Krueger'-ready.

So, a couple of days later (when my face was back in it's original 'Leonardo DiCaprio'-state), I carefully stropped her up on the canvas and pasted strops, and gave it a second try. And a third. And a fourth. Everyday my technique improved a bit, and I was getting better and better results. Now, couple of weeks later, I'm getting pretty consistent results: much closer shaves than I ever got with the Gillettes. So I'm a believer. In fact, in a post-shave smoothness contest with a friend (the girlfriends as jury), I won hands down, and his girlfriend made him order a straight as well.

Overall, I'm absolutely astounded by the close shaves I'm getting. The whole process of shaving is becoming more and more a daily ritual instead of a chore. And the awesome looks of all this great equipment in my bathroom seriously pumps up my testosterone level!

Anyways, I'd like to thank you guys for all the information you put up here. I'm really looking forward to learning more about this great tradition.

Best regards,
SirWildcard

What a great start! Glad it's going so well for you already. Enjoy it.

Thanks man! Indeed, all in all I got a pretty decent start, and I'm hoping to keep the learning curve this steep, haha

SirWildcard,

Welcome to SRP...Glad to have you aboard.

Your initial experience--as described in your post--mirrors the experience of a lot of us when we first begin straight razor shaving. I think you will agree, as one gains in knowledge and experience, straight razor shaving gets better and better.

Again, welcome to SRP. Take care--and smooth shaving.

hallo SirWildCard,

good thing to have yet another dutchie on the forum.
Lots of good things to be found near/in the netherlands, just started scouring marktplaats for cheapo razors to learn how to hone the str8.

welcome here and enjoy the ride!

Hello, SirWildcard.

An auspicious start with the straight razor. Welcome to Straight Razor Place. Trial and error as well as experimentation and improvisation will help you along as you master the straight razor skill. Lest you forget, you have many friends here. Keep in touch.

Regards,
Obie

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, really appreciated!

Originally Posted by jojingo

Lots of good things to be found near/in the netherlands, just started scouring marktplaats for cheapo razors to learn how to hone the str8.

Learning to hone a straight may very well be my next adventure indeed. I spotted some beautiful 7/8"+ W&Bs and Rogers' on eBay/Marktplaats; I absolutely adore the ones with barbers-notches. I'd love to try to clean one up and try to get it shave ready! ... But first things first, I will indeed need a decent set of hones and some scrap metal so I can get some honing-experience without ruining a perfectly fine W&B.

I still can't decide if I will go with a set of Nortons, or with a DiaSharp set (C,F,E,EE) and a Coticule. After reading Russel Baldridges postings in this thread, I'm leaning towards the DiaSharps. It sounds like the Diasharps are a relatively fool-proof starterkit for honingnewbs like myself. I loved Russels analogy of the stick-shift car versus an automatic.

Anyway, both the Nortons and the DMTs are pretty expensive, and it will probably take quite some time before my skill matches the quality of the stones. But then again, I'm pretty sure I will stick to straight razors, so I'm willing to pay a bit extra to ensure that I'll get some quality stones that will 'grow on me' as I get more skillful.

Hmmm..

*still pondering*

the naniwa stones can be found at a decent price in the netherlands.
I use them a lot for my knives and they are highly regarded both for knives and razors.
Also, I love dmt products, you can't go wrong with those either.

PM me if you want more info

Hey brother from the low lands (I'm dutch to). Glad to see a fellow countryman having such a great start. I myself only had my 4the shave today and I know your feeling, at first you hack yourself up (which still happens) but it gets better and better and I can honestly say I just had the best as closest shave ever. BBS!

So keep going and enjoy the awesomeness of Str8 shaving

P.S. My bathroom looks like a cowboy is living there with all the awesome stuff around, I feel so macho XD

Welcome aboard SirWildcard, glad to have you join us. You've certainly come to the right place to learn more about straight shaving. This place is full of useful information and friendly people. Enjoy.