Aloha from Hawaii/Utah!!!

Howdy ya'll!
I just wanted to take a minute and introduce myself to the wonderful SRP community! My name is Jon, I'm 28, ex-military, Mason, and Firefighter/Paramedic that has been shaving for the past 14 years. I have a rather thick beard and am sick of constantly buying new disposable blades just to get a comfortable shave.(I could easily have started a decent collection of straight razors with the money I have thrown away on the newest 3, 4, and 5 blade disposable heads). I never really had a father growing up to teach me how to properly shave, and had to figure out how to best hack away at my whiskers. I am a total newb to the world of straight razors but have always been fascinated with it since I was a young boy watching my grandfather "shave like a man". By the time I was old enough, my grandfather developed tremors and was no longer able to use a straight razor, let alone teach me. When he passed away my grandmother gave me his brush and straight razor that I recently came across again for the first time in years. The blade looks like it needs to be cleaned up so I am looking for a great starter set(razor, bowl, soap, strop, etc) to use while I research getting his cleaned up and shave ready. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I look forward to learning all the ins and outs and diving head first into the sea of knowledge that has been shared here at SRP!

Hello Jon and welcome to SRP. Hawaii/utah? There's a story there I am sure.

As with many things in life, the best advice is not to rush in straight away and grab just any old thing (take my wife.......please!! :D). Although it may seem confusing and perhaps even contradictory at first, take some time to research the various aspects of straight razor shaving so you can make a more informed decision. Let's' face it, you've lasted this long without straight razors, another week or two won't kill you. In fact, the little time spent now will benefit you in the long run. But it sounds as though you are intending to do just that anyway.

Good luck, and don't hold back with any questions. There are a lot of friendly, helpful, and friendly helpful people here more than willing to answer anything you care to ask.

James.

Welcome to SRP and the world of str8 shaving. The advice Jimbo gives is sound and there is a lot of information to be learned from the wiki and folks on the forum. Good luck on your shaving journey and be sure to ask questions if you get stuck.

Thanks for the pointers! Yeah Hawaii/Utah... half the family is from the big island, the other half from the mainland so when I get to missing the ocean I head to Hawaii. Then I start missing the mountains, elk bugling, and the smell of pine trees so I head back to Utah... It's a viscous cycle lol. So I've got a question on shaving. Ever since I started I get bad ingrown hairs on my neck. I don't know if this has anything to do with me being part Hawaiian or not. I've tried different blades(none of them straight razors), different strokes, and a couple different after shave splashes/balms with no relief. Any suggestions?


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- -Coconut-

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Originally Posted by Coconut

Thanks for the pointers! Yeah Hawaii/Utah... half the family is from the big island, the other half from the mainland so when I get to missing the ocean I head to Hawaii. Then I start missing the mountains, elk bugling, and the smell of pine trees so I head back to Utah... It's a viscous cycle lol. So I've got a question on shaving. Ever since I started I get bad ingrown hairs on my neck. I don't know if this has anything to do with me being part Hawaiian or not. I've tried different blades(none of them straight razors), different strokes, and a couple different after shave splashes/balms with no relief. Any suggestions?


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- -Coconut-

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Welcome to the SRP. There is tons of information and many places to get a good starter set. Take your time reading and looking around the web site and you'll be enjoying a good shave quite soon.
As far as the ingrown hairs are concerned, most folks find they don't get them anymore once they start using a str8 so that will be a great bonus. I have an area on my neck that used to get ingrown hairs known as a hair circle. The hair grows in all different directions making it difficult to shave without causing irritation or ingrown hair. Since I started str8 shaving, I've not had a problem.

Again, welcome aboard!!

Hey Coconut, I know that I'm a few months late, but welcome to SRP. A few of us local guys are planning on getting together sometime the begining of Jan, if you're going to be in Utah. I'll send you a friend request, so we can keep you up to speed. In the meantime, let me know if I can help you out with anything.

Mahalo!!:y