Thread: Greetings!

Greetings, folks!

My name is Tom. I'm 28, and I've always loathed shaving. I have a corporate job that frowns on unkempt facial hair, but is lenient enough that I regularly go days without shaving so that I end up sporting a scruffy face for half of any given week.

I can't recall how I got the idea to start shaving with a straight razor. This was just within the last week or so, and in fact, I don't even any of the necessary equipment yet. Straight razors always remind me of my grandfather, despite the fact that he died before I was born. I'm told he had a five o'clock shadow within hours of shaving.

Anyway, I do have a bit of a problem with new hobbies in that I'm very impulsive. I ended up buying a few vintage razors from eBay with the intention of restoring them, before reading here that beginners should avoid doing that. Spent $29, $23 and $8 on them (Joseph Rodgers, Genco, Joseph Rodgers). So please forgive me for this beginners mistake. I hope to learn much here and avoid making more mistakes

...my hope is that making a hobby out of shaving will change my attitude toward it.

-Tom

Originally Posted by tom9d

... Anyway, I do have a bit of a problem with new hobbies in that I'm very impulsive. I ended up buying a few vintage razors from eBay with the intention of restoring them, before reading here that beginners should avoid doing that. Spent $29, $23 and $8 on them (Joseph Rodgers, Genco, Joseph Rodgers). So please forgive me for this beginners mistake. ...

Not necessarily a mistake. You will eventually buy more straight razors, more than you have now. So, you just got to it sooner than some.

Get those bad boys honed, or at least one of them, and carry on...

Welcome to SRP. I did the same thing starting out and I got really lucky. Hopefully you will too.

Shaving was a pain in the rear and always left my neck looking awful...unless I used a new cartridge every three to four days, which gets rather expensive. I didn't think anybody still used a straight really until I googled them one day. Shortly thereafter I found SRP and was glad I did.

To start off, read the Wiki. You can get one of your razors honed, or you can pop for one that's already honed and learn to hone on the ones you have (it all depends on what YOU want to do and what sort of shape your razors are in).

You'll need a brush, some shave soap, and a strop at a bare minimum to get you shaving. The brush and soap can be had for as little as $12 if you can find a Van Der Hagen kit at a local pharmacy (walgreens, CVS, etc.) or you can always pop for more expensive setups. Same goes for the strop. Larry sells a cheap but quality starter strop at whippeddog.com, but you can pop for more expensive versions from places like Straight Razor Designs or Classic Shave.

Once you have a professionally honed blade, a strop, soap(or cream), and a brush you're ready to shave and turn a PITA chore into a joy. It will take some time and learning, but it will be worthwhile.

To start down that track read through the Wiki here. Click on Classifieds/Member Services to find someone to hone. Click on Community/Member Map (and allow it to load) to see if there are members in your area (I'm sure there are). And have fun!

Peace,

+1 BigJim. He hit the nail on the head with his advice. Read, read, read, then read some more. Ask questions you can't find answers to and the helpful members here will be glad to help. Don't say we did not warn you, but your new hobby is very addicting as is this forum. Make yourself at home and enjoy.

Welcome to Straight Razor Place......Your gonna love the ride that never stops..........Happy Shaving !

Thanks fellas! Appreciate the welcome and advice. The razors I ordered should be here early this coming week. Looking forward to getting them. I figure it'll be a while before I get any of them shave ready since I'm just starting out, so I can use that time to get all the other equipment I need and do more reading.

Originally Posted by ReardenSteel

+1 BigJim. He hit the nail on the head with his advice. Read, read, read, then read some more. Ask questions you can't find answers to and the helpful members here will be glad to help. Don't say we did not warn you, but your new hobby is very addicting as is this forum. Make yourself at home and enjoy.

It definitely seems addicting. And great username you have.

Welcome to SRP! Like you, I hated shaving, However, since I found this site, straight razor shaving has become a love affair. The whole process has become a welcome ritual that I perform everyday. I have found it relaxing as well as exhilarating. I hope that you end up enjoying it as much as I do.

Best regards,
Johan