North California

Hello.

Never used a straight razor before, but looking forward to trying it. As a boyscout, I used to really enjoy sharpening knives. Got kinda good at it too.

I almost got some junk from ebay before I discovered SRP. Now I expect to buy a shave-ready razor from the classified section here instead. And then I'll buy some junk from ebay and see if I can make it slice butter, and generally compare my efforts to that of someone who knows what they're doing.

This is an extremely informative site, BTW. Nicely done.

Welcome! The straight razor road, it is a long one. My best advice is to take one step at a time, read as much as you can and don't be afraid to ask questions.

Start in the wiki pedia and read it top to bottom. Good luck and I can tell you that I enjoy my shaves every time. Like Lynn the founder of this site would say "have fun!" Double O

Welcome Mehrune to the forum and to Straight razors. I couldnt of said it better then Double0757, research and practice are your best friends. Your shaves will get better as your technique devolops. Then you will wonder why you havent start straight razors sooner.
Good luck to you!!!

Hey, Mehrune, You're gonna like this. The decision to buy from someone who shaves daily w/ a str8 is a very sound one. Bravo. I would stick with this path for at least the next 6 mo. After you get the shave down, and have a few blades, take up honing. Its radically different from sharpening a knife. You've probably forgotten more about knife sharpening then I'll every know.

For the earliest stages, don't let all the esoterica distract or confuse you. For now, its about the shave, making lather, and stropping. That's it. The link about your first shave is on the home page of SRP and is truly excellent. For making lather, Mantic is hard to beat: How To Build And Apply Traditional Shaving Lather - YouTube
For stropping, the honorable gssixgun's thread is still excellent: http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...ch-2011-a.html and the honorable mrsell's thread: Please don't nick your strop

It won't be long until you're getting the best shaves of your life. There's some learning curve, but you're really gonna thank yourself for doing this one.

Welcome to SRP from the bay area.

Read as much as you can and try to find some reliable peoples videos.

good luck

-justin

Central CA here, a few of us in the area. There is hours of member videos out there and many are in the posts here.

Enjoy the trip and keep asking questions :)

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Originally Posted by Mehrune

Hello.

Never used a straight razor before, but looking forward to trying it. As a boyscout, I used to really enjoy sharpening knives. Got kinda good at it too.

I almost got some junk from ebay before I discovered SRP. Now I expect to buy a shave-ready razor from the classified section here instead. And then I'll buy some junk from ebay and see if I can make it slice butter, and generally compare my efforts to that of someone who knows what they're doing.

This is an extremely informative site, BTW. Nicely done.

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Welcome to the Most Friendly, Informative and Helpful Site on the Web!

Please take the time to be patient and learn to make lather, strop and shave Before you attempt to learn to hone!! This is probably the best initial advice I can give you!

Now! When the time comes to learn to hone: As pinklather has said, sharpening knives and honing razors are as different as black and white! I was a meat cutter for several years and sharpened and still do all of my knives on a Norton Tri-Stone Oil Stone. I hone razors starting on a King 1200 or a Norton 4k both of which are much, much, much finer that what I finish knives on!

With that said, your sharpening experiences should help you!

Enjoy the Ride and Enjoy being a Member of SRP!!

Again! Welcome!

Gute Rasur /glatte Rasur, mein Bruder der Klinge

(Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades)

"Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades?" That doesn't sound anywhere near as good as it does in the original Klingon.

; )

Thanks for the welcome. I ended up getting a razor from Larry whippeddog.com and I'm still sporting a fully functional face. So far, at least. My experience with knifes have helped me develop a sound & healthy respect for sharp, pointy bite-y things, so that helped. I thought I'd nicked myself on two occasions, but I was lucky. There was a slight pink tone to the lather at one point, but that was it.

It wasn't a good shave exactly, but there are a couple of areas on my face that doesn't seem as if there's anything growing there at all. No stubble, no nothing. Just smooooooooth.

This is a learning curve I welcome. Thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mehrune

"Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades?" That doesn't sound anywhere near as good as it does in the original Klingon.

; )

Thanks for the welcome. I ended up getting a razor from Larry whippeddog.com and I'm still sporting a fully functional face. So far, at least. My experience with knifes have helped me develop a sound & healthy respect for sharp, pointy bite-y things, so that helped. I thought I'd nicked myself on two occasions, but I was lucky. There was a slight pink tone to the lather at one point, but that was it.

It wasn't a good shave exactly, but there are a couple of areas on my face that doesn't seem as if there's anything growing there at all. No stubble, no nothing. Just smooooooooth.

This is a learning curve I welcome. Thanks.

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Your off to a good start :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mehrune

"Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades?" That doesn't sound anywhere near as good as it does in the original Klingon.

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Klingon? Close but no cigar! German!!:rofl2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cudarunner

Klingon? Close but no cigar! German!!:rofl2:

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Hey, just don't come complaining to me, when the ghost of Gene Roddenberry starts bothering you about the inaccuracy inherent in the translation of the bard's work from the original Klingon. :)