Thread: Hi! New member from Seattle - just learning the ropes

Hi guys, great site - I've been lurking for a week or two but figured I'd take the plunge and join up. I'm getting my first straight razor (an ebay purchase) honed by a local knife and blade guru here in Ballard (a neighborhood in Seattle) and can't wait to try it out. It's a lovely french point Carl Monkhouse 6/8 with a full hollow blade. I'll post results after the first attempt unless I bleed out into the sink or decapitate myself. Can't wait!

Hi and welcome.

I lived in Seattle for 10 years, mostly in the Green Lake area but I spent a lot of time at one of my uncles's place in Ballard.

Welcome Saxbe. As a newbie myself I can attest that this is a great place to glean an enormous amount of information about the art of SR shaving. Oh, if you have been lurking for the last couple of weeks you must have noticed that everyone here LOVES to see pictures of new acquisitions, because almost everyone here have extreme cases of RAD. Therefore, I think it perfectly appropriate you share pictures of you C-Mon once you have it back in hand. Again, welcome and have fun!

Hal

You found the motherload of help & info. Prepare to have some fun.

You'll learn alot, and w/ some help, get the best shaves of your life. It will no longer be a neccessary annoyance, but a daily indulgence.

Knife & blade gurus aren't always the best source for a good edge, so if you have issues w/ it - don't suffer - get help.

Maybe post a photo of your new kit. That razor has some stature - would be nice to see it.

I wanna take a few seconds to welcome you to SRP and say please attend the NW meets that we have each year the next one is in Yakima May 5-6 then we have a Fall meet in Spokane end of Sept beginning of Oct..


Also a warning, unless this knife guy shaves with a straight razor regularly then you do NOT want him touching your razor, there is a vast difference between sharp and "Shave Ready"

Hello Saxbe,
Welcome to Straight Razor Place. I echo the warnings from my colleagues about having a razor honed by a honemeister and not one who works with knives. Evaluate your first shave and, if need be, send the razor to a real honemeister for re-honing. Good luck.

Thanks Guys! I'm blown away to hear so many friendly welcomes and words of advice.

Otto, Seattle is great - and Ballard is the Norwegian hub of the northwest. My wife and I were married at the Nordic Heritage museum last year, it's only a few steps from our front door (she hates when I describe the wedding as a marriage of convenience, but it was!). We've been talking about traveling to Norway in the next few years - it's on my list of must-visit places, and since I've made it to Iceland twice now (yay cheap flights with Iceland Air), there are no more excuses.

As for the concerns with my knife guy, he seems very competent, and I actually found him on Yelp after reading a review of another Seattleite who took his straights there for servicing and was very happy. I'll let you know what I think (not that I'm an expert) and ask him what his other straight razor experiences are - especially if others here in the NW would appreciate a review. As soon as I get the razor back I'll post some shots. I do have one or two from when it arrived - it was pretty sweet looking even without much work. I'll download them now and stick one or two on this thread.

As for NW meets, gssixgun, I'll see if I can get the better half to join me in Yakima. I dunno why, but she just isn't that excited about shaving... sigh.

Thanks for the friendly welcome guys - I am so glad I joined up. A Rad community indeed!

As Promised:





I'll share the shave-ready final product when I get it back!

And a close up of the stamp. I really like the star and circle, it remind me of Newcastle Beer! Honestly that was the main reason I bought the razor (hanging my head in shame here) I hadn't done any real research till after. I like to think I lucked out!

Welcome, I am a fairly new member as well here, It is a great place to learn and chat. Have fun!