Hello from the Heart of Texas!

My name's Paul, and I'm tired of shaving being a difficult process and dreading the razor burn and the funky chemical smells that seems rampant in the aerosol creams. They're dry, which I have come to figure out means that only the first couple blades on my Fusion are getting any lubrication at all when I shave! This will not do anymore! Besides, there's more experimentation and variety with soaps, aftershaves, razors, brushes, etc.

So with my next paycheck I'm going to buy my soap, preshave oil (maybe), and a brush. I like more masculine scents, so I was going to go with Mama Bear's Tobacco or Sweet Gale Whiskey soaps, unless there were other suggestions of soaps along those scent lines. For a brush, I was going to get either a full badger, a badger/horse, or a synthetic badger, I was looking at eBay'ing a Tweezerman badger, but after a few people reporting that they were coming apart...I'm looking for something else, so I am definitely open to suggestion! I was also considering a pre-shave oil, as my skin (especially my neck) is kinda sensitive, and my beard is a proud testament to my Norwiegan (read: Viking) heritage, meaning I can slay Celts and Picts with my beard alone (source: every woman I've ever had face-to-face contact with), and I hear that oil makes all the difference. Again, I'm open to suggestions.

For my razor, I was going to get one shave ready, with a strop, from Larry at Whipped Dog, but I haven't really had the chance to peruse the classifieds here yet. This was going to be my cheap starter razor, and I was going to improve with my second and subsequent razors as I amass more funds and learn what I like.

I've been around the proverbial block with reading about wetshaving; I learned about it from the SG group "Razor, Brush, Lather", and I pretty much lurk Reddit's "Wicked_Edge" subreddit when I'm at work. So while I feel that I've got enough learnin' and common sense to actualy go ahead and start buying up supplies and start shaving, I know that I still have a lot to learn. That being said, I'm completely open to suggestion, and I'm more than happy to share what I've learned, what I know, and my theories about shaving.

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tl;dr for beyond this point: Me talking about myself.
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So now, about myself: Like I said, my nae is Paul, and I live in the sticks of Central Texas. I work and go to school in Waco, and I cannot wait until I'm able to transfer to San Marcos and finish my undergrad and get working in a rewarding career as a geographer (geographers, lemme know what you do, as I recently discovered GIS is not my thing, so I'm just kinda clueless...I get overwhelmed at my choices).

I like films and music; one of my all-time favorite films is Ballad of a Soldier (mmm...Zhana Prokhorenko.../drool), and a general rule of thumb is that I'm probably going to be less inclined to have seen it if it's newer. For music, I will listen to just about anything. When I'm writing a paper, I listen to stuff like Korpiklaani, and Arkona. Typing this, I was rocking out like a boss to the Red Army Choir's Definitive Collection. I like pop music like Ke$ha and Katy Perry, but I also listen to (just pulling names that are on my phone) Sinatra, Animal Collective, Beirut, Benny Benassi, Bolt Thrower, Spinnerette, Taylor Swift, The Pogues, Rammstein, The Dubliners, Glitch Mob, John Williams...and it goes on. I just have eclectic tastes, and while there aren't any particular genres...I like some artists that are a certain way, buty they can start a new group with a different name, and a different sound, and I won't like it (e.g.: love Spinnerette, but do not like The Distillers). I wouldn't say I was picky...but I probably am.

I like shooting and guns, and I like to go shooting when availability and weather cooperate. I've got a few, including my '43 Izhevsk Mosin, a '41 Springfield Armory M1 Garand, and my Ruger Mini14...I think I'm up to 8 now, which is plenty for me at this time, although I would like an FNP-9 or 45, or a Sprinfield XD in 9 or 45.

Welcome to SRP. If you're wanting to get started on the less expensive side of the hobby, then Larry at whippeddog is a good way to go. No eye candy, but you will get a shave ready razor at a bargain price as well as a beginner's strop. Check out the classifieds here as you may find the other gear you'll need at a decent price. Have begun wet shaving with your current means of whisker-removal device? If you have, then making a decent lather is not an issue, if you have not, then you may want to soon as it will help in the long run and make learning to shave with a straight a bit more enjoyable. Take a look around the forum and you will find it to be a wealth of information. Hope you enjoy your hobby.

Sorry for the delay, things were a little busy and I forgot.

That was the beauty of going to Larry: razor and strop. Once I get that, and learn what kind of blade I want, I'll upgrade the razor first, and keep my starter strop until I'm very proficient and not making more knicks before I get a new, more expensive strop.

I have started wetshaving with soap and brush while using the last catridge on my ProGlide. I picked up a cheap boar brush (which I actually kind of like), soap cake, and bowl kit at the HEB I go to. I figured that at the very least, the $8 was worth the bowl itself. I will have at least glycerin soap before I bring a straight razor to my face. This has just been teaching me to lather. Not sure whether to splurge on badger brush just yet; like I said, I kinda like the boar brush. I know I'll upgrade soon, as the brush seems to be shedding excessively, which I know is normal in boar, but this will be my back-up/travel brush, or I may give it to a friend to get them into wetshaving...especially since I went through the effort of de-stinking it for them lol.

Today I picked up a 1958 Gillette Fat Boy DE Adjustable in an antique store I found, and I was planning on using that as my travel razor, and getting my face used to a single blade instead of a bank of five. Just something to get away from cartridge razors for good...that and I'm interested in both kinds of razors.

I'm just kinda jazzed to be able to shave every day without my face feeling like Khorne took a shit on it and dropkicked it to the depths of The Eye. I've been lurking a lot on the forums, and if you're familiar with r/Wicked_Edge, then you probably recognize my screen name from there as well.

Thanks for the welcome!