Newbie Intro

[JBWesterwick]

Hey! I'm Barry and I live in the Tidewater area of Virginia. Retired Navy, got a couple of Alfa Romeos in the garage (they actually run too!), collect stamps, married, two boomerang kids... you know, life. During a trip to Turkey many moons ago, I got my first barber shave and after not having to shave for three days I have been in pursuit of a good shave every since. Took the straight razor plunge last week, but I'm no stranger to wet shaving. I've been using a brush and soap for years and have owned one electric (hated it). I'm the neighborhood kitchen knife sharpener (Will that be sharp, or scary sharp?), so I think with a little time and practice, a SE is not too much of a stretch.

I think I bought my first brush 25 years ago in York, England during a military deployment. After many years of usage, several sneak attacks from a series of Labradors (bad dog!), grandson with a pair of scissors, etc.. it is sadly been relegated to scrubbing our bird's food and water dishes. It was replaced by a Semogue boar bristle brush. If anyone has any questions about that, I'll be glad to give them a rundown, but I think it's a very fine brush. Been using Col Conk for a while, but I just bought some Taylor's Lavender and like it. Also got some Cremo cream- heard good things about that too.

In the same purchase was a Dovo Shavette. OK, OK, I know... boar bristle, disposable straight edge.. It seemed like a good idea, and I'm happy with it because it is a good starting point. I took the great advice here and started easy with the Shavette- sideburns only for a couple of days, get a little bit more every time. I connected the two sides of my face the other day. Not too much blood. I use the long blades- the short (normal) tore my face up more than I thought they should. The wife is fascinated and horrified at the same time, like watching a car wreck. Not quite sure on the right side-left side transition, but working on what will work best for me. Do you guys actually switch hands? I have trouble picking my nose left handed, much less handling a deadly weapon for shaving.

Grandad's J.A. Henckels' is sitting in the drawer, still in the box. Waiting.

Great site- excellent info, great people. Hope I can contribute!

Barry

[MODINE]

Welcome to SRP. You might want to check out the Wiki section at some point for helpful tips, which may save you some nicks. Much info in the Wiki on honing a Str8 too. I also have a Semogue Boar brush and think they are great brushes. I saw a video once on a Turkish shave and the barber used a fire ball to burn the little hairs growing out of the ears. Which is a good thing.
MIke

[Lazarus]

... Do you guys actually switch hands? I have trouble picking my nose left handed, much less handling a deadly weapon for shaving....Barry

That was one of my initial questions Barry. I am not particularly ambidextrous and I can tell you I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I became comfortable using both hands shaving.

[JBWesterwick]

Burning the ear hair. Hmmm... forgot about that part. It's true. It wasn't terribly traumatic and it worked pretty well. Can you image doing that here in the States? They would put you away for years.

The cost for a haircut, shave, getting my ears set ablaze and my neck cracked (that was a surprise too) was $1.50! I gave him a $1.00 tip. This was 1987 in Konya, TU.

JBW