Thread: How hard could it be?

I, like many others, have used sharp blades in other areas (mostly the kitchen where I'm a Wustoff devotee but also have a Thiers-Issard chef's knife and a CS nogent knife that are my workhorses, but also in the woodshop where my plane irons and chisels are kept scary sharp). When it comes ton my face, I've always had a love-hate relationship with shaving.

I've used an electric but have always been disappointed by the shave quality. I've usd various cartridge razors but if I shave more than once a week, these tear up my face below the chinline. So I tend to grow stubble for a week or so the take it off with my 5-blade monster and hope for the best.

I just received a kit from TAOS courtesy of my wife. She also got me a DOVO razor (brand new) and a strop. Lacking strop paste, I haven't used it yet, but will when I figure out what kind of paste to get!

I'm taking it slowly, using the straight razor on the easier parts of my face nd finishing with the cartridges. Today, I managed my right cheek without a nick. While I'm still depending on the cartridges, I'm only shaving every other day so I've got time to heal between shaves.

Looking forward to this adventure. I'm the kind of guy who likes to do things myself--I'm planning to build a car in a few years. For now, I'm thankful to not have to figure this out all on my own!

Welcome to SRP if there is any one place to learn about getting started on the straight blade, this is the place! In regards to the paste, I would take. Time getting used to stropping if you're new to it. If it's a new strop you probably won't need to get any paste just yet. Focus on your technique shaving and stropping first, the rest will fall into place in time. I've been doing this for just about a month now, and I am still learning technique. Just basics now, don't try to get everything right away. Best of luck and welcome!