Complete Noob needs most help possible

Hey guys, I've been observing the razor crazy world for a few weeks now and I have decided it's time for me to join. Although I have been trying to take in as much as possible, no amount of observation can match real experience. I would love to become a part of the straight razor community but I know next to nothing (after reading the beginner's guide, I realize that I have already made the mistake of bidding on ebay for razors I know nothing about). Anyway, instead of asking a thousand questions, I have decided to give some details of my face. I have a thin face with high cheek bones and a near gaunt look. My skin is rather sensitive and I have a very angular jaw line. My neck is not an easy bit to shave, but my hair quality, I feel, is pretty thin. Given these factors and a low budget, I would love to hear from anybody who has 2 cents to throw in as far as suggestions go for a starting razor and everything else I will need to be a full fledged member or the razor community. Thanks guys.

Hello, and welcome to SRP! :)

I'd suggest you take some more time to look around the site and gather some information regarding what you might need. I can tell you straight away that your face shape, skin and hair type etc do not really impact on the kind of straight razor you may or may not need to get, at least initially. By far the biggest impact, subsuming all other factors when you start out, will be the techniques: shaving and stropping in particular. They will dominate the shaves initially, and only over time will things like razor grind, leather types for strops etc, come into play.

You will need at a bare minimum a decent razor and strop. I'd suggest you take a look at the Classifieds and Vendors sections of this forum - there should be something there for all budgets if not all tastes - remember it doesn't matter initially what things look like, just that they perform the function that they were intended for. Do not get caught up in flashy cheap razors off ebay - if they seem too cheap, they probably are not worth the money. There is a "stay away" list here somewhere - chase that down and make sure you don't buy a razor off that list.

Strops can just be a good piece of leather with something to attach it to a wall or whatever. If you are in any way handy-ish you could probably make your own fairly cheaply. If you would prefer not to, again take a look at the vendors here or the classifieds.

Lastly, it can sometimes be useful to meet up with a friendly and helpful person close to you. If you click on the Community menu and then "Find Local Help" you will be directed to a region by region list of people willing and able to provide perhaps more "hands on" help.

Good luck!

James.

Welcome to SRP. James has given you some great guidance. Enjoy and never hesitate to ask any questions.

Welcome to the forum! If you stick around a little longer it will all make sense very quickly. Great group of guys here who don't mind answering questions.

I think any quality razor and strop will work and you can easily get a quality razor from one of the online vendors or the classifieds. IMO a paddle strop is a better choice for a beginner vs a hanging strop.

BTW, If you wind up winning one of those e-bay razors, I'd be happy to hone it for you for no money. Just PM me.

Michael

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jimbo

Hello, and welcome to SRP! :)

I'd suggest you take some more time to look around the site and gather some information regarding what you might need. I can tell you straight away that your face shape, skin and hair type etc do not really impact on the kind of straight razor you may or may not need to get, at least initially. By far the biggest impact, subsuming all other factors when you start out, will be the techniques: shaving and stropping in particular. They will dominate the shaves initially, and only over time will things like razor grind, leather types for strops etc, come into play.

You will need at a bare minimum a decent razor and strop. I'd suggest you take a look at the Classifieds and Vendors sections of this forum - there should be something there for all budgets if not all tastes - remember it doesn't matter initially what things look like, just that they perform the function that they were intended for. Do not get caught up in flashy cheap razors off ebay - if they seem too cheap, they probably are not worth the money. There is a "stay away" list here somewhere - chase that down and make sure you don't buy a razor off that list.

Strops can just be a good piece of leather with something to attach it to a wall or whatever. If you are in any way handy-ish you could probably make your own fairly cheaply. If you would prefer not to, again take a look at the vendors here or the classifieds.

Lastly, it can sometimes be useful to meet up with a friendly and helpful person close to you. If you click on the Community menu and then "Find Local Help" you will be directed to a region by region list of people willing and able to provide perhaps more "hands on" help.

Good luck!

James.

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+1 on the remarks from James...

First there is the beginner Wiki page.
Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Next is my opinion that shaving depends more on the shave prep than on the blade
for most of us. So lets start with "latherin".

A decent brush and one or two good shave soaps or creams combined with some
inexpensive tossable plastic handled razors will get you going on the wet shaving
road while you shop for the more expensive razor and strop.

I just picked up a summer brush because I like a scrubby boar brush in the summer.
For $13.00 I recently found a stellar "Omega 10098" boar brush and will alternate with
my ten times more expensive badger brushes. As for soap pick up the refill puck
and keep them in empty plastic kitchen tubs. When you find one soap that totally floats
your boat spring for the logo branded special container. GREAT tubes of cream and
refill pucks of soap can be had for about $10 each.

The Van Der Hagen Premium Shave Set (Soap, Bowl, Brush) is another beginner bargain
and is often available locally at a CVS for less than $15.

There is a grand thread running now http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...ike-about.html
if you are looking for ideas. My favorites include Proraso, Cella, Cyril R Salter Shaving cream (today was French Vetiver), Mitchell's Wool Fat
and Williams (yes Williams the cheapest of the lot). I am very fond of a pea size bit of Proraso on top of Williams in a mug.

DBVulcan:
Welcome to SRP! I'm glad to see so many people joining this great site since I did a few weeks ago. I think that you will not find a finer group of wet-shaving aficionados anywhere on the web. This is truly a gentlemen's club
Jimbo (that Wonder from Down Under), mjsorkin and niftyshaving all gave you some very good info -- and the offer of a free honing! I've found that sort of behaviour is the norm here on SRP (BTW, I hereby nominate mjsorkin for this week's Silver Shaver award!).
Since you've purchased a razor, the next item you will need is a strop. If you have an old belt laying around, practice on that with a butter knife. Then head on over to whippeddog.com and check out their strops. I recommend you buy their 3-inch wide strop (with the linen side). As a rookie you WILL mar your first one. Even long-time users nick and ding their strops. Don't panic! I nicked mine earlier this week. :gaah:
Next items will be soap/creme and a brush. These items tend to be very user-particular in the sense that everyone has their own favourites and preferences. (Un)fortunately, the only sure-fire method of determining which is just right for you is via trial-and-error. That being said, VDH produces a brush/creme kit that is usually available at Walmart, Costco, etc. for approx. $15 U.S. I would recommend this for you as a place to start since you state that you are on a limited budget.
I hope this helps you out. Again, welcome to SRP. We're glad to have you!

DBVulcan,

I might suggest, that in addition to your first straight razor, you get a traditional safety razor (if you haven't got one already), either double edge (with blade sampler pack) or single edge.

They can be invaluable when you are first learning to use a straight :)

Good luck !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

Attachment 98503
Grandpa came through :D

DBVulcan:
Be happy. Be very, very happy!

I am right now, next on the list is a set of soaps and brush, also gotta get a strop together. Using Jimbo's technique and a few modifications, I think i may be able to put something useable together.

Welcome to SRP DBVulcan.
The only thing I'd be inclined to add to the great advice given above is that the search bar (top right of screen) is your friend - and so are we.
Hang on and enjoy the ride

Ok guys, I've gotten all of the basic supplies together. I even halfway made a leather strop (It's an unfinished prototype. I'll have it completed asap). I'll make a tutorial for it too if anyone lets me know if it's worth one. Below is a pic of my supplies. I'll have a before and after pic when I'm done.Attachment 98530

Wow you are really coming along!! Fantastic.

I'll give a big + 1 to everything everyone else has said and encourage you to read till you bleed... so to speak lol. : )

That, and I'll add this - for "me" mindset is huge. Remember straight shaving (well) is not something that comes overnight. It takes a certain amount of determination and passion. Sometimes it takes seeing past the setbacks.

The rewards are enormous though. Moreover, as it's a lifelong endeavor you need never find it mundane unless you desire that.

As i said - it looks like you are well on your way! I wish you all the best of luck and hope your passion never dies.

p.s. cool scuttle : )

One thing that may be been glossed over, send that puppy out to a pro for the first couple honing. Preferably before that first attempt. While its away, practice lathering. Start slow, stick with the cheeks to get the hang of things and build up the comfort level just handling the razor and putting it to your face. Lastly, again a re-iteration, be mentally prepared for things to not go as smooth or as well as planned. When you start you have like 3 learning curves, a few months later of consistently shaving it will be going much smoother. Here is a long but good read about the process:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...xperience.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by LameBMX

One thing that may be been glossed over, send that puppy out to a pro for the first couple honing.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...xperience.html

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Alas, my blade wasn't near shave ready. I'll have to take it to get honed asap. I really do want to get that first shave in. All I managed to do tonight was get excited and rub dull blade across my face with no result, good or bad. :( Thanks, I love my scuttle. Still not too sure im using it properly, but that will come with reading.

If you take it someplace to get it honed, MAKE SURE they know how to hone a razor, some knife sharpeners have no idea how to hone a razor or the proper hones to do the correctly. If you can wait a bit, try to find a local honer on here or send it out

That VDH brush is gonna shed for a bit. Don't worry. It'll finally get where it wants to be and just lose one every now and then. ;)

I've got one just like it and use it about every day.

Take your time and enjoy the journey.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rodb

If you take it someplace to get it honed, MAKE SURE they know how to hone a razor, some knife sharpeners have no idea how to hone a razor or the proper hones to do the correctly. If you can wait a bit, try to find a local honer on here or send it out

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+1 on this.

Better for you to wait a few days for a proper job than hurry out to the first local place you can find. Whomever you choose to hone your razor, make sure it is someone who regularly uses and hones straights.

Michael

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Wullie

That VDH brush is gonna shed for a bit. Don't worry. It'll finally get where it wants to be and just lose one every now and then. ;)

I've got one just like it and use it about every day.

Take your time and enjoy the journey.

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If it just keeps shedding like crazy after a couple months, contact VDH for a replacement.

cool, thanks guys. I had my razor honed, now I'm looking for a strop for myself. I'm really excited to give it another shot.
I was out trying to kill some extra time and wandered into a couple of antique shops. while in there, i found this, It was a 3 piece set for around $130. I didn't get to see the razor, but the mug had a large chip taken out of the back and the brush (with about 4 in long bristles) was supposed to be horse hair. I thought it looked fantastic, but it was waaaay out of my price range and I only really wanted the brush because i wasn't allowed to look at the razor.Attachment 98670 I know the image isn't the best, but could anyone perhaps tell me what I was looking at?

your off to a great start. in my short time of experiance with sr shaving i have learned that you can use the cheapest of cheap soaps, creams, brushes and mugs. they will work. now when your rad kicks in you will want to buy higher end stuff. im at that point lol. i use the vdh soap , brush, and mug and they work fine. good luck and glad to see your learning alot. i have learned so much its scary and there is always room for more knowledge.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DBVulcan

cool, thanks guys. I had my razor honed, now I'm looking for a strop for myself. I'm really excited to give it another shot.
I was out trying to kill some extra time and wandered into a couple of antique shops. while in there, i found this, It was a 3 piece

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The brush is for clearing hair clippings before they fall down under your collar.
Often dusted with talcum. New ones are available... ask your barber.

The mug might be worth a lot to a guy named "Frantz" or someone with
family named "Frantz". There might be some interesting makers mark
under the mug that would change my opinion.

The razor is what it is...

Fun stuff.....

Just shaved with my straight razor for the first time, It was a fantastic experience. It was an overall success, but not a complete one. You guys were definitely right, there's a huge learning curve. Luckily I had my styptic pencil :P. I shaved 80% of my face at an acceptable level, but the rest needs to be redone. I had a really hard time with my neck and especially my chin. A few cuts, but I'm definitely proud of myself. I can't wait to try again.

Sounds like you're off to a good start! From the original description you gave of your face, I'd suggest that when you start thinking about getting another razor, you look for one with a smiling blade and a round point. Those features help me get into my own nooks and crannies without slicing myself in the process.

Your trouble spots are pretty much everyone's trouble spots.

Best wishes and good luck.

If it was Krantz instead of Frantz you wouldda had a buyer for that mug lol.