Thread: Hello From Maryland

Hello SRP,

I am rather new to SRP but have resourced the site and forum for my first How-to's.

Prior setup was a disposable straight razor with shark blades - Not bad to start with

New Setup-
Stainless Steel TI from The Art of Shaving (Definitely not shave ready by the way)
Travel kit from AOS (had to start somewhere price efficient)
Illinois Strop
Norton 4000/8000 stone

Love the straight razor shave!

-LT

Greetings and Welcome Ltrap.
'No surprise you enjoy the shave. Second isn't even close, in my opinion.

You're going a path I tried w/ less than stellar results. Learning honing at the same time you're learning the shave will have its affect - mostly enduring sub-standard edges. Should you find the shave harsh or unpleasant, there are many who will hone for just the cost of postage. Glen's thread on 'beginners tips' that covered honing had the oft stated and oft ignored recommendation to get the shave down for 6 mo. then to wade into honing. If I could do it over, that's what I would have done. PM me if you have any questions about getting cheap honing.

Pinklather -

Thanks for the welcome and recommendation. I wish I could tell you that you were incorrect but for the most part you are spot on. I shaved with the "Shavett" for a few months to see if it was something I would like to get into and decided to make the jump. Now I know how to use the blade but honing it and using it as my main razor makes this task very daunting. I think I am going to have someone sharpen it for me to have a good base to work with and hone on my own after that.

-LTrap

Originally Posted by pinklather

Greetings and Welcome Ltrap.
'No surprise you enjoy the shave. Second isn't even close, in my opinion.

You're going a path I tried w/ less than stellar results. Learning honing at the same time you're learning the shave will have its affect - mostly enduring sub-standard edges. Should you find the shave harsh or unpleasant, there are many who will hone for just the cost of postage. Glen's thread on 'beginners tips' that covered honing had the oft stated and oft ignored recommendation to get the shave down for 6 mo. then to wade into honing. If I could do it over, that's what I would have done. PM me if you have any questions about getting cheap honing.

Originally Posted by LTrap

Pinklather -
Now I know how to use the blade but honing it and using it as my main razor makes this task very daunting. I think I am going to have someone sharpen it for me to have a good base to work with and hone on my own after that.
-LTrap

+1 with pinklather!! Learning to hone, strop, prep, and the correct techniques of straight shaving all at the same time can really lead to some frustration! I did it that way also and almost threw my hands up and quit!

Good plan on getting it honed by a member! Eliminate all the variables you can in the beginning. Like I said above, if your trying to learn everything at once you never know what exactly the problem is when the shave doesn't work. Is my technique wrong? Is the razor not sharp? Was it my honing or did I strop wrong? Did I prep well enough? Trying to guess which and guessing wrong will keep you frustrated for a long time, and just make it not fun! Best of luck and good shaves. Take it a step at a time!!

Best Regards,

Howard