Thread: Interesting title

Good afternoon, (my time)
Firstly, my name is Steve, I'm 27 years old for a few more months and I've been interested in straight razor shaving for a few years. I bought my first razor, a Thiers-Issard 5/8 with stainless steel scales, last night from AOS and their standard DOVO small strop. In my excitement, I rushed home and shaved immediately, at least slightly neglecting my prep work and of course I shaved my entire face and neck. Learn from your mistakes, right? I didn't do too bad for a first shave; minimal bleeding. I've cut myself just as bad with a safety razor. At any rate, hopefully I can get around the learning curve and continue straight razor shaving until I get so old that no one will trust me with one. Hopefully SRP will be able to give me all the guidance I need to that end. By the way, I'd really like to hear what everyone has to say about the equipment I've already mentioned and about AOS. Thanks.

Congrats on your first shave Steve.
That was quite an interesting title.

Welcome to SRP!

Thanks for the welcome. By the way, I'm also somewhat interested in a mentor. I've been reading everything I can find on straight razor shaving and naturally have come across some conflicting/confusing information. Just trying to sort out the good info from the bad.

I wish I'd started at 28. I hope you find a mentor - I think it is a great idea.

Hi Steve! Welcome to the forums! I too am new. My straight razor just arrived today and I'm just waiting on some more shaving supplies before I embark on my first attempt at shaving. I'm glad to hear yours went as smooth as it did.

Did you use your dominant hand the entire shave, or did you switch hands for either side of your face?

I plan to try all with my dominant hand, although I have heard pros and cons to both.

Originally Posted by SpicyJem

Hi Steve! Welcome to the forums! I too am new. My straight razor just arrived today and I'm just waiting on some more shaving supplies before I embark on my first attempt at shaving. I'm glad to hear yours went as smooth as it did.

Did you use your dominant hand the entire shave, or did you switch hands for either side of your face?

I plan to try all with my dominant hand, although I have heard pros and cons to both.

I wouldn't say it went smooth, but I'm still alive. I'm gonna need to let my face heal for an extra day before I try again. The first stroke was awesome, by my standards, then it went downhill from there. I used my dominant hand for both sides. I'm not entirely sure what the common pros and cons are, but I found it hard to stretch the skin in some spots and had some visibility problems at times. On the other hand (no pun), I am VERY right handed, and I feel like I'd probably lose and ear or half my nose if I tried shaving with my left. I'm gonna try it eventually just to see if it's easier than I expect, I'll let you know how that turns out if you want.

Originally Posted by AHS

Thanks for the welcome. By the way, I'm also somewhat interested in a mentor.

What would you do with a mentor?

I'm over in Fairfax. I have some time available mid-March as well. You can PM me with questions. I'm opinionated, but, experienced.

Originally Posted by Qatsats

I wish I'd started at 28. I hope you find a mentor - I think it is a great idea.

I may be wrong, but it seems to me like an increasing number of people around my age seem to be getting into a more classy style of living. Relative to that, not many of them are going out to buy straight razors, but I've definitely seen it in bars and tobacco shops and a little in clothing. You'll see 25-30 year olds having a good glass of scotch or buying a nice cigar or smoking a pipe, (i do all of these and most of my friends do as well) and some of them can actually tell you something about the aforementioned products other than that they cost more and must, therefore, be good. Within my circle of friends, there seems to be an almost incongruent appreciation for some of the finer things in life that you wouldn't expect.

That being said, my initial attraction to straight razor shaving was born from my attraction to days gone by when men were men and knew how to do certain things like use a straight razor and a strop or make a pair of leather shoes last long enough to be re-soled. Too many of the "men" of my generation lack what it takes to maintain a razor and be able to use it, and wouldn't understand the satisfaction that I've already attained from doing it once. Before this turns into a rant, after my initial interest I learned that straight razor shaving has other benefits, e.g. closer shave, exfoliation, decreased ingrown hairs, etc. Which I've already witnessed. If I had shaved with a mach 3 last night then my throat would be covered in ingrown hairs and blemishes which I do not have at the moment, so I'm already hooked.

Anyway, hopefully SRP will get me past the point of frustration to the point of enjoyment so that I can one day teach my son (if I ever have one) something that all men should know.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

What would you do with a mentor?

Truth be told, I was kind of hoping that mentor might be able to give me some insight into what I might learn from him. At the moment, I'm figuring everything on my own from reading and looking at diagrams and pictures, but I feel like these can only take me so far. I've been reading for what seems like forever and while I understand most of it, there are so many conflicting opinions out there from sources that all seem to think they have it right, or from companies trying to plug their brand. For someone like me it's hard to tell good advice from bad. So, a lot of what I'm trying to do is sort the good from the bad and get my facts straight so that I don't give up before I develop an appreciation. I'd also like to save myself a little pain and blood and hopefully be able to buy my next razor because I want to and not because I destroyed my first one.