Thread: greetings

howdy,

looking to start shaving with a straight razor for many reasons. I am a professional cook with a lot of sharp knives and sharpening equipment and it seems silly to use a gillete fusion-junk razor. most of my kitchen knives are shaving sharp (literally). getting some stropping equipment soon and this would be a good purpose for it. also, it's supposed to be a much better shave. i guess i need some shaving soap too?

also a college student on a budget. as i understand, it may be better to buy a used razor that i know has been honed and is ready to shave?

anyway, looking to get started and also have some interest in vegan friendly options as my girlfriend is a vegan who is very into the lifestyle and is also a cook. i don't know if she can handle a straight razor though.

thanks for any advice/ help.

Welcome!!
An Omega synthetic is a great vegan option if you don't want to use animal hair products, I'm not so sure with synthetic strops

also a college student on a budget. as i understand, it may be better to buy a used razor that i know has been honed and is ready to shave?

Yes !

Sharpening a razor uses the same principles as sharpening a knife, but the details (and hones) are different. The surest, cheapest way to get a sharp razor (so you know what 'sharp' means) is to buy one from the Classifieds here, or from Larry at "www.whippeddog.com".

There was (I think) somebody in England making "vegan-friendly" strops. Try search the Forums here.

Charles

Originally Posted by rodb

Welcome!!
An Omega synthetic is a great vegan option if you don't want to use animal hair products, I'm not so sure with synthetic strops

Could he go with just using a very soft broken-in cloth/fabric?

Greetings seandowling. Welcome to SRP.

You are correct in your assumptions. You can get a good quality shave-ready vintage razor here in the SRP Classifieds or Whipped Dog.

There is another online retailer of vintage razors. If you want his link, just pm me.

+1 on rodb's advice about the Omega synthetic shaving brushes. As for a vegan strop, I suppose you could make one from a pair of old blue jeans.

Look up heirloom strops. He will make vegan friendly strops on occasion. If you post a location/map yourself you may find a mentor near you or one of our meets. You will be amazed what you can learn there.

thanks for the quick replies. I'm not too concerned about the vegan strop, as I would be the one using it and I'm not the vegan.

my girlfriend is an odd vegan, she doesn't really worry that much about animals. it's more about the environment and her body. she wouldn't use non- vegan shaving cream or soap, wouldn't want it touching her body. She also would want her soap or razor to be packed in something environmentally friendly, and to be re-useable. But if I sharpen a straight razor, or her kitchen knives for that matter, on a leather strop? i don't think she would care. she loves animals but she's no foie gras hating PETA follower.

the brush is a great point though, i hadn't thought of it. i guess i could eventually add a vegan strop at some point, but it probably isn't work the investment now.

mostly, i'm looking for a razor, soap, and brush for now. i think that's all i need?

You will NEED a strop! It is imperative to keeping a shaveable edge on any straight razor! Without a strop you will be needing to use a barber hone MUCH to often...eating away the life of the razor...also without a strop you will not have a comfortable shaving edge....veterans am I correct in this?? I'm somewhat of a noob but this has been my experience so far.

Yes a strop is a must-have, no way around that.

Yup, the strop is a necessity. It is to be used just before each and every shave. Perform 50 roundtrip laps.
Your face will thank you.

You might want to edit your profile and include your location so that you can be contacted when a razor meet in your area occurs.

Hope this helps,