Hi, first shave a success

Greetings from London everyone,

First of all I want to say thanks for such a brilliant and thorough resource, SRP has been essential in me taking my first steps to straight shaving.

I was first attracted to straights about a month ago, by chance really. I was out shopping and saw a beautiful display case of razors and one particularly caught my attention - what I now know to be a Dovo Bismark. I just thought it was such a wonderful object, but at that price it was a bit too much for an impulse-buy so I decided to give it some thought and do a bit of research online.

I'm so glad I did because as I learned - and mostly because of SRP - that would have been the wrong place to start and I probably would have ended up with the razor not shave ready. Plus now I have something to work towards :D

After much deliberation and avid reading of the Shavette posts - weighing up the pros and cons of starting with disposables - I decided this might be the right choice for me. It has been really helpful for practicing holding the razor and practicing the angles before attempting my first shave. It also means I can concentrate on learning to shave first, then move on to learning honing and stropping when I get my first true straight - my brain can only take so much information at one time! I also travel alot, so I think the disposables will become more than just a training razor for me.

My first shave went really well. I'm so glad I read Lynn's beginners guide. As advised, I didn't try shaving the whole face. I got both cheeks and my neck done fine and even managed a second pass with only a couple of abbrasions (this if anything was a bonus as it gave me a chance to experience the styptic pencil for the first time - this is all stuff I want to learn). I completed my chin and moustache with a Mach 3.

So I'm happy with the first shave and its given me the confidence and bug to carry on with this method of shaving, and to move on to true straights.

Thank you all for such a great site, and for preventing me from lacerating my face and/or wasting my money! :beer1:

I'm sure I'll be on here again soon for tips

Stevie

Welcome to SRP, it's good to have you with us. Seems you are well on your way to a great start, good job reading up on the subject before diving in. There's lots of great info floating about in the wiki, and when you run into uncharted land don't hesitate to holler, there's lots of knowledgeable people here.

Welcome to SRP. There are several guys here who are in your neck of the woods and there are several resources for razors and supplies from that side of the pond.

Best of luck in your journey!