Don't drink and shave kids! Newbie from Bristol, UK.

Hi. My name's Jon, and I've just started to get into shaving.

I bought a cheap shavette to start with. Before I used it I read a bunch of guides which said 'to start with put the blade flat against your face, then tilt it to 30 degrees.' Well as soon as I did that my face started bleeding. By the time I'd finished I'd cut myself about 10 times, but the result wasn't too bad, and as I'd prepared my face with oil and hot water etc. I didn;t get a shaving rash.

Then I went off a drunk a bottle of wine, and decided to go back and 'tidy it up' a bit. But as I was drunk I just used the razor dry on my face (no lather or water) and ended up cutting myself a bunch more times, and giving myself a shaving rash. So I won't be shaving drunk again!

The second day, I managed to shave more or less properly, and only cut myself 3 times.

I have just bought a (fairly) cheap (£20) antique straight razor from E-bay, and I intend to get someone to hone it to shave readiness. Then I'm going to buy a strop and some honing stones and hopefully by the time the blade needs sharpening a second time, I will be competent enough to do it myself.

I have heard the name Glen mentioned on here as someone who is good at honing razors. Is he one of the admins or something?

Anyway, I just wanted to say hello to everyone, and also what a great forum this seems to be! Here's to many years of straight-razor shaving!

:beer2:

nice storie jon and yess glen is a mod on and a big gun on here. i for the life more me cant remember how his uswrname is spelled so i will let someone else chime in. i highly recommend someone like glen to hone your new razor up.

RE: Don't drink and shave kids!

Shaving kids seems like a bad idea, anyway.

Glen is gssixgun, a nice fellow and he hones great.

Gotta be careful to avoid any "with the edge" direction on the razor. Even the tiniest bit and it will dig in fast.

Thanks for the replies...

Deerhunter: I am still waiting for the new razor to arrive! I checked and it says to allow a week for postage. 1 day down, 6 to go.....

Otto: Haha! Yeah... shaving kids sounds difficult... and I guess they'd put up a struggle! I guess I'll send Glen a PM when my razor arrives - thanks for the info.

LameBMX: Yeah, I think I was applying way to much pressure the first time. I slowed it right down on the second try and it seemed to go much better.

I've been reading some threads on here about razors you should avoid... so I hope I haven't bought a dud! Then again, if I have, i can just use it to practise honing maybe?

Gssixgun does a great job. as do many others. you may find it more convenient though to find a honing service on your side of the pond. i think that the invisible edge hones and restores blades in Britain. mind you you can select any of our vendors and get great service.

I was not even talking about pressure. if the blade is:

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very little bit of motion in either:

<-- or -->

will cut fast with virtually no pressure.

Probably not a good idea to practice on a dud. If you dont know if its capable of taking and holding a shaving edge, how can you know how well you did honing?

Syslight: Thanks. I didn't realise Glen is from the other side of the water. I'll check out invisible edge.

LameBMX: Ah, i see what you mean now. Keep the blade straight! Also... very valid point about not practising on the dud. I have got a lot to learn I see.

:D

I have never attempted in..and doubt I will lol. Great story though

Hi neighbour!

I'm about 15 miles south of Bristol will drop you a PM about honing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeltz

Hi neighbour!

I'm about 15 miles south of Bristol will drop you a PM about honing.

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i thought there might be other help but the invisible edge was the only shop i knew enough to reccomend.... mainly because i don't play over in your neck of the woods.

Not had anything honed by Steve at The Invisible Edge but I understand he is good, as is Neil Miller at The Strop Shop, however to get him started I've offered to hone his for free if his razor is in good condition. I'm not a pro honer but am happy that my edges compare well with others.

Thanks for the replies guys.

Jeltz: I've replied to your PM mate. It's really great of you to help me out like this.