very new with a very sore face

hello everyone as you can probably have guessed by title of the thread ive alredy had a go; with little success. i know the blade is sharpe but the edge is all wavy pretty much this ~~ i stroped it but i think the blade is all messed up i am about to buy a Cyril R Salter razor for about £60 to get started but would like to know if anyone knows if this is a curable codition for the razor i currently own.

so hello my name is martyn and im around the middlesex area ( greater lodon)
great site and feel very lucky i found such a comprehensive and knowledgeable bunch

Welcome to SRP, good to have you with us. This site is full of knowledge, and we are happy to share. A sore face does noone any good, so check the wiki, and have a gander at Gssixgun's beginners tips and then check out our video section. That should answer most of your initial questions.

It is close to impossible to give any advice on your current razor as there is not enough information. What razor is it, and what condition is it in? Could you do us a pic or two, that would offer far better grounds for anything on it? Let me just say, if your razor was a decent one, and all you did was strop it and shave, there is no permanent damage to the razor.

Oh btw, look out for a get-together in your neck of the woods, in july I think. Take care,

Martyn158,

Welcome and hello from Hastings :)

I would recommend you have a chat with Mr. Neil Miller (www.strop-shop.co.uk - hand made straight razor strops, razor pouches, shaving accessories, vintage razors, razor honing and restoration).

He is a Member here at SRP and does work of the highest and most impeccable quality :)

Good luck !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Hello and welcome,

Wavy sharp blades need some extra work on the hone.

Welcome to SRP Martyn.

Is there someone (a senior SRP member) close to your location? If that's the case, send them a PM and see if they can help with your blade situation.

Martyn, Welcome, and congrats for choosing quality in shaving.

Having made most mistakes so far, I strongly agree w/ all who've said to connect with local shavers. You have some extremely talented guys in the UK, including some that do some honing for free. If you were stateside, I'd gladly do. What you may find, though, is that if you blade is that difficult to hone, your best course might be to acquire a blade from a user that's ready to go. Many are quite reasonable - less than 1/2 the cost of the Salter you mention. I always extend the invitation to area members that they can come by and try my blades so they can experience different sizes/grinds without having to buy and sell to discover what they like best. When you first start, its not that critical what gear. Everything is about learning your facial topography, lay of the beards, and learning technique. The good news is that in a very short time, you'll be getting the best shaves of you life. A year into it, the pleasure shows no sign of letting up. You're heading in a direction that will give you pleasure in every shave.

Welcome to SRP!

I agree with the others, there are many SRP members in London (well, all over England actually) so you are set as far as having help is concerned. When you do get your razor in tip top shape please remember a bit of advice from a prominent member here: when straight shaving go for comfort first, closeness second. Sage advice, no matter what your experience level is.

Have fun,

Ryan

i have come to the conclusion i have a warped blade........ i will try to post some photos when yahoo lets me downlosd my own photos ??????? whats that all about?
ah ha i'll try now
check these out>>>>
not sure what you'll make of them but i can shave with this
i have to sharpen blades to almost shaving sharp everyday being a bookbinder but this is all new, i have never seen a blade look like this
this razor was given to me

Now that is an UGLY girl!!!! How did you not cut your own throat?

It sure looks wavy alright. I'm not sure that even breadknifing that one will do any good. I'd say it's time to move on to a straight blade. Remember that we call this "straight" shaving, not wavy shaving.

it is sharp as you like..... it passes the hanging hair test aswell but skips on the face if you know what i mean
if you notice..... from the toe to about the middle of the blade is nice and straight and then it all goes a bit cock eyed

you want to check out my face........ not a pretty sight

That looks "from the pics" to be one of the Chinese razors either a DA or a GD that somebody was using to learn to hone on..
That edge is no good for shaving, not the way it sits...
On SRP I would either get a PM to Neil Miller or to Stubear and see if either of them can't help get you up and running

I would never let that razor shaped object near my face... Talk to some one near you and I'm sure they will be able to help you out with getting something worthy of your time and effort so that you can learn properly.