Hello from So. Cal!

Good afternoon everyone!

First off, I'll tell you a story about where I was in the world of shaving and work myself up to the present.

From when I was old enough to shave (15 years old) I looked at those Mach 3 commercials and thought "Three blades? And here I am using a cheap BIC disposable. I'll definitely get a better shave with three blades! So I bought one and for a time I was pretty content with my shaves, until it started to become a chore over time, then finally it became a pain in the ass. I then switched to the Gillette Fusion when I was in the Coast Guard. Shaving still pretty much sucked since I would get a good case of razor burn and acne. So instead I just grew my beard out when I got out of the military. For the longest time I wore my lumberjack beard, but then straight razor shaving entered my mind. I became interested enough to where I played around with the idea, but then decided to do some research.

In late 2011 I decided that I wanted to change a lot of things about myself, sort of a self-improvement project to change a lot of bad habits and my image for the better. By this time I was looking very deeply into straight razor shaving, and in Mar 2012 I bought my very first razor from classicshaving.com; a professionally honed Thiers-Issard 5/8 razor, a super badger brush, and a 3" wide strop, and the anticipation was killing me. While waiting for my razor I researched how to use it properly by watching numerous Youtube videos made by Geofatboy, and stalking the forums of numerous website (but ended up coming here the most). In 4/4/2012 I finally got my razor, and I decided to try it out. I admit I was pretty nervous, holding it properly was a bit of a chore, but I finally got it. I lathered up and started shaving with the grain; no cuts. I then proceeded to shave against the grain and cut myself from overangling the blade. I wasn't comfortable shaving from side to side so I stopped there. I did receive a cut, but from the first pass alone I never received such a close shave ever, and my face is as smooth as it was when I was a kid. I was estatic.

Today I'm pretty confident on how I shave, but I still need to perfect shaving side to side on my neck. For now I know my face better than I ever did before, which directions my hair grows, and my muscle memory is much more developed. When I talk about straight razor shaving most of the people I work scoff at the idea, and a very few talk about how it was the best shave they ever had. Personally I don't really care about other people shave, but for me this was an excellent decision to switch from a cartridge to a straight razor; a decision I will definitely not regret!


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My shaving gear; I'm absolutely happy with them.

Welcome to SRP, Stones! We're glad to have you aboard! It's really refreshing to hear from a new guy who has already learned some of the variables of cutthroat shaving. It sounds like you've got a great foundation of basic skills. The only thing you didn't mention is your soap/creme of choice. Oh well, it's food for another post from you. See you in the trenches, buddy! :D

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you on the forums!

Thanks everyone, glad to be here. :)

To respond to your question, maple, I like the vanilla scented classic shaving brand shaving soap. Though I will be moving on to ther creams here whenever I'm finished with the soap I currently have (which is the same brand but sandalwood scented). For my after shave balm I swear by Pre de Provence. It's smells absolutely wonderful and doesn't have a strong scent at all. I'll buy another tube but at the same time branch out and try other brands of soaps, creams, and balms. I currently have my eye on Castle Forbes, and I'll be trying them pretty soon.