Hello from Washington!

Hello all, I am from Seattle, Washington and brand spanking new to the world of straight razor shaving! In fact I just pulled my "starter kit" and first razor out of the box from RupRazor. I went cheap to start and got the "Gold Dollar" 208, boar brush, strop,etc, and a shave mug for a few bucks at an antique store. This was my gift for my 36th birthday tomorrow (special thanks to my wife).
I have been pretty pumped about getting this stuff but now I must admit, I'm a little hesitant to just leap into it. On many recommendations I decided to get the "World of Straightrazor Shaving" dvd, but I only just ordered that minutes ago.
Any words of advice (or encouragement) is greatly welcomed!

Happy Birthday and Welcome to SRP. Advice- go slow, no pressure on the face or strop, if the blade doesn't cut hair easily it's not sharp enough, and use a pre shave cream or oil or something like that.
Read the wiki it full of very helpful info.
Ask lots of questions we are here to help. Stick with it and you will be rewarded.

Welcome to SRP to a fellow NW'ter also for a true jump start on this hobby, consider this your invite to the 2nd annual meet up :) all the info is here

http://straightrazorpalace.com/get-t...a-meet-up.html

If you can make it I promise more info in one day then a few months of just reading :)

I don't know if I'd be able to get all the way out to Spokane, but I will try once I know the date. Thank you very much for the invite! I just did my first shave...very good at first, then like anything else I instantly grew over confident tried to do my whole face right from the get go and paid the price with a couple little nicks. Lesson learned, in the Army they said "listen to the vets", roger that, I should have known better. Having said that I learned a couple things NOT to do lol.

Welcome deso,

If you can make it to that meetup you really should. Glen is not exaggerating; I went to the Denver meetup a few weeks ago and learned as much in a day as I'd picked up on my own in a couple of years of reading and fumbling. It took me hours of driving time and cost a couple nights in a hotel, but it was unquestionably worth it. Glen drove way farther to be there than I did.

It seemed like the most popular guys at the meetup weren't the ones with the coolest hones, or the coolest razors, or the biggest collections; the most popular guys were the ones just starting out. Go! Enjoy! Your timing is perfect.

Best wishes to you.

Sunday Sept 25 is the date

all the info is in the thread I linked... Also there are a few more of the guys coming from your end of the state so I would post in that thread maybe you could car pool or at least convoy hehehehe Hope to see ya there

Hello, desco518, and welcome to Straight Razor Place. If you can attend the meeting Glen notes, you will be all the richer. I would attend it, but I'm way out here in Wisconsin. In the meantime, as you wait for your starter kit to arrive, remember three points: research in the Wiki, watch straight shave videos, and ask questions.

Deso,

Welcome to SRP! I'm a newb too with only a few month experience but I'm here to tell ya, I'm having a great time!

The folks on here are great. There's so much sharing of knowledge and good will. All the advice above is excellent. Still take it slow. Here's some of the mistakes I was making at first:

1 - Not paying enough attention to my lather making/building -- it really does need to be thick and rich to get good "glide". Start off with less water as you're whipping it up -- you can always add more later if needed and different soaps will vary greatly in how much water they need.

2 - Stretching the face REALLY IS important. I can get away without it so much on the neck, but much of the rest of your face must be stretched tight.

3 - Go slow and take short swipes at first. Don't force anything, and don't try for the big long "swoop" like you may have been doing with a sucky safety razor.

4 - Strop about half the speed you think you can. That way you'll be focusing on method and form instead of speed. You can "draw" quickly across the strop if you want, but only do that after you have the blade flat. It helped me to put the strop on the kitchen table at first (yeah, kinda like a paddle strop).

5 - Don't be afraid to use a sucky safety razor on the tough parts for now. Meanwhile, you'll be learning all the important basics on the easy parts of your face like angle and pressure (or LACK thereof!).

6 - If at all possible, GET TO THAT MEET UP! I learned more there in a few hours than I thought possible. Baring that, get to know some locals who are wet shave enthusiasts.

Read and watch all the great videos on here! So much information. People are more than willing to help, but even more so when you've shown that you have invested time and effort first on your part.

If there's any newb questions I can help with feel free to PM me. Have fun!

John

Welcome Deso, You came to the right place. Cheers, Don.

Welcome to SRP. It sounds like your off and running. We all were excited to get that first shave and all have paid the price of a little blood, welcome to our club, but it sounds like your doing well for a first shave and already learning what not to do. Keep up the good work and hope to hear of your continued success.