Hello to the Gang

I wanted to introduce myself. I've been shaving with a Mach3 for about 13 years now, and I'm done with its inaccurate trimming ability and its ridiculously costly blades (my facial hair grows pretty quickly). Shaving is therapeutic to me, and I've always been intrigued with the art of straight razor shaving, so why keep spending oodles of money on blades and struggle with trimming facial hair and side-burn edges? I already use a shaving mug, brush, and soap for my lather, so it made since to learn how to use a straight razor to boot!

I have my great grandfather's razor and hone, but while the hone is perfect one of the razor's schales is cracked clean through and the blade is dull. Because I have no idea what a properly sharpened blade even looks or feels like, I'd rather not try and hone this one now and damage it. Once I get honing down, I can think about refurbishing my great grandfather's blade and swapping handles if I want to use it.

So I just placed an order with Larry at Whipped Dog (thanks to suggestions from threads here) for a $25 sight-unseen shave-ready razor and a $14 leather strop. I figure if I take to straight razor, which I have no doubt I will, I can later purchase a better razor and strop after I've learned and made my stropping and honing mistakes on cheaper ones. I'll be scouring the forum and youtube for info on technique, and I'm sure I will have questions down the road. I look forward to my first shave!

Welcome to SRP!
i know full well the joy of using a grandfather's razor. one has been in my regular rotaion for over 30 years. still some of my favorite blades. while it might be nice to do the restoration yourself, it might be far easier to have one of the restoration guys do it for your they can really work wonders and most of them will restore to near original specs or whatever dream hits your fancy.
once you get that razor from Larry take your time with your first shaves even though you are used to a wet shave there is still a difference when it comes to using a straight.

enjoy,
jim

Thanks for the welcome and suggestions, Jim. If things go well with the straight razor progress, and if I even decide to start using my great grandfather's razor because it's the only heirloom of his I own, I probably will have the blade refurbished by a professional and look to do the handle myself (I'm accustomed to working with metal, wood, etc. in that kind of detail). That's great that your grandfather's razor is still shaving the same genes after all these years!

As for shaving, I definitely plan on taking it slowly. I have some swirling patterns on my neck that always irritate me with a safety razor because of all the passes I have to make at different angles, so I'm hoping the precision with a straight razor will help with this. I deal well with pain and blood and have plenty of scars on my hands to prove it, so the guaranteed nicks don't worry me as much as having no living relative who can show me the way of the old shavers. Luckily I've found SRP. Larry says the package will go out Monday, so hopefully I'm whittling at my face by next weekend.

welcome to SRP. I was in the same place as you a few years ago and am so happy with my shave routine now. I only wish I was lucky enough to get my grandfathers razor :( cherish it! have fun and feel free to pm me with any questions or concerns :)