Trying to do what I can with what I got

Greetings everybody.

So, my story. I never liked using normal razors, so I opted for the beard route and promised myself I'd only shave again if it was with a straight razor. That was 10 years ago.

Last year I started working on my fitness and decided that if I lost a set amount of weight I'd reward myself with one of these. Before reaching that goal the company I worked for closed down and I now find myself unemployed and struggling to find full time work. Struggling as I am to survive, a friend of mine is suffering more. This Christmas, despite really not being able to afford it, they scraped the money together to buy me some inexpensive shaving gear. The gesture meant a lot to me and I want to get the best I can from what they've given me. I'll be lurking the forums for tips, but after trying the razor out on my hairy forearm I'm assuming I might need to get a stone for honing it.

What razor is it? Some razors are a waste of time to try to hone. You need the correct steel to take an edge for shaving. There are some suprisingly inexpensive razors that will hold an edge, but many more are just crap. I know, I had to toss one of my early purchases into the trash bin.

Enjoy! :beer2:

It's an Imperial UK. At best I think I'm going to get a shave that feels like the hairs are being ripped out and will need several passes to get the job done. I expect my first shave will be a prolonged, agonising experience with my own razor. Later I'll try and a get a shave done by a local barber so I can compare the difference.

I assume that a Imperial UK razor is a vintage razor? or new?

Let us know which is the case and also where your located.

Welcome to SRP.:)

It's definitely not a vintage razor. It's a new one that's likely of the type seasoned users warn against.

I tkink they fall under the same banner as the Gold Dollar razors, but I'm no expert.


Mick

Looks like a very nice razor to me.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NotMuchOfAChin

It's definitely not a vintage razor. It's a new one that's likely of the type seasoned users warn against.

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Yes, brand new razor that cost 9.99 aren't great for shaving.

I'd like to point you in a few directions to find quality razors that won't break the bank.

The SRP classifieds
Whipped dog (his whole store is about providing equipment that will get decent results at as low of a price as possible)
Restored Razor (look under the budget section)
holly4pirating

And ruprazor has a 20 dollar strop made of decent material, although the el toro is a better bang for your buck.