Thread: Hello from Florida!

Hey everyone! I'm pretty new to straight razor shaving and tbh I thought the craft was dead since I haven't seen a straight razor in forever. Some background on me, I'm a undergrad bio major at the University of Florida (go gators :P) and I just got a shavette recently. I've used it a bit and really enjoyed the challenge of shaving and before the shavette I hadn't shaved in over a year and a half. I'm trying to buy a real straight razor now and I'm lurking SRP to get more info and while periodically checking the classifieds for a straight razor. Hopefully I find one and maybe get a strop along the way. I'm excited to delve into this hobby and I'm sure I'm at the right place to pick it up.

Enjoy the ride !

Hey, Bio. Welcome. You found the motherload on the topic. 'Great quality help, great attitudes. 'Very Noob friendly.

If you can shave w/ a shavette, you're gonna love a well tuned str8. Recommendation: before you spend money - ask questions here FIRST. It'll save you some heartburn and get you off to a better start. At this point, ebay and antique stores are tempting - but for now, they're NOT your friend. Six months from now, this will make sense.

Its totally possible to keep it cheap and get outrageously wonderful shaves. Like many, I've spent a boatload of time and money learning that I didn't have to spend a boatload of time and money.

Hollar if I/we can be of help.

So I do have a few questions that I'd love to have answered now that you mention it .

1) Do you think the Torrey in this thread at B&B is a good blade to start if I can get it for $25 honed?
2) Is the Mr. Ugly Jr. Rolls Razor Combo Strop a good starter strop? I see it in the classifieds but I haven't found much about it otherwise?
3) Do you think I should buy any stones to try and hone or should I just send the blade out every 3-5 months and just stick to stropping for now?
4) Is one blade enough for now?
5) This isn't a question but a statement, Holy moly there is so much information here on SRP that I'm having a tough time figuring everything out

Thanks for the welcomes I hope to learn a lot and acquire a new talent/hobby!

well lets take a stab at it.
1. most people are not going to comment on ads from other sites, let alone comment on prices. we do not do valuations. sorry, but you might want to look around in our classifieds for options or try the various vendors for starter kits. ruprazor and whippeddog are quite popular vendors that have a variety of newbie offers that are rather decent.
2. NO, not unless you have a rolls razor... again try either of the vendors above for a starter kit.
3. right off the bat i would not recommend you buy any stones but if you must start with the standard Norton 4k/8k combo.
4. one is enough but 2 are better particularly if you are sending razors out for honing.
5. just ask we will give you info based on our experiences YMMV.

keep reading.

enjoy,
jim

Sorry about the B&B link etc. I didn't mean to step on any toes. On the other hand thanks for answering the questions! I am considering the whippeddog sight unseen deal because it included a razor and a strop etc. I probably wont buy stones but how long do you guys think it would take for a razor to need honing again. Considering I shave every other day and I strop before and after. Also is the shave test the end all be all to tell if I need more honing or stropping etc?