Thread: New member introducing himself

Welcome to the ST8 razor shave world. My advice....seek advice. Read and follow the advice of the experts. I would start here:

Enjoy.

Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Welcome to SRP

The best approach initially might be to break it all down into manageable chunks. Once you do that you might find that each component seems more accessible and controllable rather than the big old mass of information it probably appears to be at the moment.

It sounds as though your razor is sorted out. I assume it will come shave ready from the shop. Learning to use the razor will probably dominate for a while. Perhaps the best approach to begin with is to watch many of the excellent shaving videos available in the videos section of the forum. Pay particular attention to the angle of the razor, skin stretching, grip and the kinds of hand movements the more experienced members make. Many suggest you begin by just shaving your cheeks - I think you need to assess for yourself how confident you feel about things and work to your own timeframe.

The next component is the strop - people have put you on to good information about that, but basically you need to get a decent one and then learn how to use it properly and effectively. There are many instructional videos available, but among the best IMO are those by AFDavis11. You will find them as stickies in the stropping forum.

Soaps/creams/brushes/lathering (sometimes referred to as "software") are also important, but most people have previous experience with these if they have been a wet shaver. In terms of straight razor shaving, software is probably not the same kind of learning curve as shaving and stropping technique. If you can swirl a wet brush around on a bit of soap and then rub that on your face, you are halfway there.

I think those three things will be enough to be going on with for a while! Good luck to you, and make use of the tremendous resources available to you here both in terms of the information and the membership - you won't find better in either category.

James.

Welcome! Enjoy your new hobby!

Welcome to SRP! You'll find everything you want to know here.

And it's arrived! Should get home this evening to find my very first straight razor and strop from Vintage Blades LLC on the doorstep!

Now... to find some time away from the 2 and 4 year old to get a shower and try it out!

Here's the hardware:
Blade: Dovo Stainless Steel Ebenholz
Brush: Some pure badger Men-u brush from my wife.
Creme: "The Real Shaving Co. Traditional" + 5-6 drops glycerin + pre-loaded brush of some now-unknown shave soap.

Hmmm.
Right side only.
Sideburn to bottom of jaw only.
Light pressure.

Anything else needed in my mantra?

*chuckle*

And here it is!

Quite a beauty there! Enjoy your shaves, and welcome!