Thread: Greetings from an Aussie straight razor noob

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Hi Shane,
I think 60 bucks for a brush isn't TOO expensive, though I think the price that some go for completely ridiculous. Be careful, if you spend TOO much on a brush you'll have an "Occupy Wall Street @ Shane's House" demonstration in your lounge room, with people demonstrating against your obscene consumerism...

Oh I totally am an obscene consumer, but my consumerism is based on buying quality products so they last a long time, therefore requiring less manufacturing and use of natural resources

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

You need a GOOD cream. We're a little limited in what we can get in Australia (though Men's Biz is a good site). I'd highly recommend Body Shop Macca Root, Musgo Real (one of the best in my opinion) and Truefitt and Hill Trafalgar. Speick isn't bad (but Musgo Real for me is better). La Toja is also good, but I've only tried the 'for sensitive skin' one and it's got hardly any scent. Stay AWAY from Windsor soap, it's not that good in my experience. If you are new to wet shaving, maybe start with creams rather than soaps, as creams are 'easier' (for me, anyway), but you do need to try an Überlather. Evelyn and Crabtree Nomad works well for an Über, and is readily available in Australia (at least in SOUTH Australia, but then, WE have culture (Google it, remember it's spelt with a 'C' not a 'K').

I got a Dovo strop, but wish I didn't, it's a little narrow. I think one of the Mick's sells strops, and he lives in QLD I think, maybe you could get one from him? I know my next one will be one of his...

I probably should have stated earlier on, to date, 95% of my shaving has been done using disposables.. Musgo Real must be a pretty good brand, it's completely sold out on the mensbiz website :S. What exactly is an Überlather? I read a thread that MickR had made saying he wasn't making them anymore due to obligations on the farm... Mick if you have one available I'd love a roo strop.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

BTW, you talk of 'less dollars' for the creams. A tube or a tub of cream will last you ages. I was going to get some more the other day (I have only six or so) but based on my calculations I have enough for probably the next six months at least, in other words, don't be such a tight arse and spend some money on a good cream.

Thanks for the input, I think 60ish isn't too bad either, and I think a good quality brush is going to last longer, and do its job better, so the extra cash is worth it. And I will buy quality creams, I promise.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Speaking of Mensbiz they carry Cella which is an Italian soft soap, not quite a cream but inexpensive & efficacious. If you don't like the almond scent tho, ah fuggedabowdit

This actually looks pretty good, think I'll try it out, as well as a few others.

Originally Posted by MickR

Fauldings is boxed up and simply labelled "Shave cream" with the label fauldings either in small print or not mentioned at all.

*penny drops* OOOooohh I DID see it then, great! The packaging was so plain on that, I would never had guessed.

Originally Posted by MickR

Oh yes, and I'm the Mick, Carl meant when he referred to strops.

Yep, as I said a few paragraphs prior, I saw your roo strops but thought you didn't have any left. If you do, I am interested.

Originally Posted by MickJ

One of my favourites is Taylor of old bond street, its thick and slick and very easy to use, Tabac soap works pretty well too, i got them both from ebay UK

I like the scents that Taylor of Old have, so I'm going to get the lime one and a few other things from 'Himage'. Glad to hear its a good performer too. I figure $17 AU from ebay UK shipped isn't that big a saving on $19 plus combined shipping. Thanks for the feedback.

Originally Posted by ShaneVE

What exactly is an Überlather?

There's a great video on the Wikki about Überlather. Basically, it's simply a mixture of shaving soap, shaving cream and glycerin. You load the brush with soap (it's best if you put a little hot water on top of the soap while you have a shower), then place some shaving cream in a bowl, with a little bit of glycerin (size of a five cent piece) and mix. It makes a really nice mix that, in my opinion, is really nice. I think one needs to try an Über at least once. BTW, my comments about consumerism were just a joke of course (I do tend to make outrageous comments at times) and I completely understand about buying quality goods :-)

After watching the video you may think that an Überlather is complicated, but it's not really....

Hi everybody,

Sorry I missed this one earlier.

Random thoughts:
- 5 pips is a truly awful cider. Monteiths (NZ) is one of the better readily available ciders in Oz. If you can find a bottleshop that carries some French (Normandy) cider get some and you won't look back. Bulmers and Scrumpy Jack are also good. 46 is a new in Oz Swedish cider and IMO is a ladies' cider - too sweet and apple-ly for a proper cider.
- I haven't got around to uber-lather but hard soap + cream is better that either of the components.
- A good brush is a necessity.
- Different grinds and different widths suits different people. I prefer my razors on the narrow side (closer to 4/8) because I find them more nimble and easier to handle. I also prefer extra-hollow grinds. Until you try a variety yourself you won't know what your niche is.
- We are talking finely tuned pieces of metal with razors. I have found that French and German blades respond best to my honing and stropping. Just because other people rave about XYZ doesn't mean that it will work for you - find what works for you.
- Come along on the 20th - the more the merrier.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

There's a great video on the Wikki about Überlather. Basically, it's simply a mixture of shaving soap, shaving cream and glycerin. You load the brush with soap (it's best if you put a little hot water on top of the soap while you have a shower), then place some shaving cream in a bowl, with a little bit of glycerin (size of a five cent piece) and mix. It makes a really nice mix that, in my opinion, is really nice. I think one needs to try an Über at least once. BTW, my comments about consumerism were just a joke of course (I do tend to make outrageous comments at times) and I completely understand about buying quality goods :-)

After watching the video you may think that an Überlather is complicated, but it's not really....

Thanks, I found that video tonight. The Überlather looks great. I haven't bought a soap yet, just a few creams that some other members here seem to like. I'll look at getting a soap and glycerin sometime soon to try it out. Yeah I knew your comments on consumerism were just in jest, no offense taken

Originally Posted by Pauly

Hi everybody,

Sorry I missed this one earlier.

Random thoughts:
- 5 pips is a truly awful cider. Monteiths (NZ) is one of the better readily available ciders in Oz. If you can find a bottleshop that carries some French (Normandy) cider get some and you won't look back. Bulmers and Scrumpy Jack are also good. 46 is a new in Oz Swedish cider and IMO is a ladies' cider - too sweet and apple-ly for a proper cider.
- I haven't got around to uber-lather but hard soap + cream is better that either of the components.
- A good brush is a necessity.
- Different grinds and different widths suits different people. I prefer my razors on the narrow side (closer to 4/8) because I find them more nimble and easier to handle. I also prefer extra-hollow grinds. Until you try a variety yourself you won't know what your niche is.
- We are talking finely tuned pieces of metal with razors. I have found that French and German blades respond best to my honing and stropping. Just because other people rave about XYZ doesn't mean that it will work for you - find what works for you.
- Come along on the 20th - the more the merrier.

Hi Pauly, thanks for dropping by. I wouldn't say it is awful, 5 seeds is just the value option . Monteiths is pretty good, but still around the quality of 5 seeds, same price, less quantity. There is a Dan Murphy's just up the road from me, and I'm pretty sure I've seen a few french ciders there, one is in a large bottle with plain labelling .. There are a few swedish brands coming in now, like rekorderlig, with its strawberry, elderberry, and whateverberry flavoured ciders.

I ended up buying a brush based on what I saw in the wiki page on brushes. Super badger (imagine the little "S" on his furry chest).

Yep its all part of the fun and games of using a straight razor, which is actually part of the appeal for me. It's a bit of an art form, a combination of skill and finding well suited hardware, perfected over time by each individual.