Hello from Brooklyn!

Hi everyone!

I've been interested in SR shaving for a couple years now. I read some articles on artofmanliness.com which lead me to a bunch of sites including this one. Right now I'm the shopping stage, so any and all advice is appreciated.

I grew up with the Mach 3, and last year moved on to a DE razor with the ultimate goal of going the SR route. Down the line I'd be interested in learning to hone, and maybe even go as far as making custom scales and/or forging a blade of my own.

But first thing's first: what to start with? Thanks to DE shaving, I've got a mug and brush and soap. A razor, a strop and I should be good to go. I've been looking at razoremporium.com, classicshaving.com, vintagebladesllc.com and now I have a problem: buy old or buy new? I hope to pass a razor or two down to my son (when I have one).

I shave only once every 3 days (Irish, Polish mix), so learning takes a while for me only because I don't get to practice as often as I'd like. With the Mach 3 (which I still use when I'm in a hurry) I only shave ATG once and I'm good to go. No cuts, no irritation. With the DE, I shave WTG, XTG, and ATG, and do almost as good a job as with the DE. Still no cuts or nicks, and very little irritation.

Artofmanliness.com suggested a beginner start out with a 5/8" razor, with a curved edge. I'm open to suggestions. Right now I'm leaning towards a Dovo razor.

Looking forward to joining the community!

Welcome aboard..a round point makes it a little easier on new people just starting out..less likely to catch yourself with the pointed tip. A 5/8 is also a good managing size to start off with as well...a little easier to manipulate.
If you look at the a advertising for this forum you will see, SRD a well. The prices are really good..great selection and Lynn Abrams hones the razor so you know you will be ready to go when it arrives..

Good luck and read up as much as you can!
Where in Brooklyn are you?

+1 For SRP Classifieds. I picked up my razor for half of a Ben Franklin. I haven't received it yet, and am giddy as a school girl headed to recess every time I revisit the classifieds archives to look at it… I'm also very new here and a virgin straight shaver.

Welcome aboard. It's nice to know I'm not alone in learning. Shopping for the necessities can be a chore, but quite enjoyable too! It's great that you're already half way there.

Welcome, My roommate had a Dove and its great little shaver. For his last birthday i got him a new Thiers Issard off of fendrihan.com and right out of the box it shaved like a dream, i mean it was one of the smoothest shaves i'v ever had, So it's swayed me to pick one up my self in the near future. but what i'm using at the moment is an old boker king cutter i found at my local antique shop i took it to a norton 1k to set the bevel and then a norton 4/8 and its on par with the Thiers in my books, The problem i'v found with Dovo's are ( and this is just in my opinion ) is they have a tendency to lose their edge faster then any other razor i'v owned, there good when there honed and stroped properly but if your new to straights i'd go with something a little different. New or vintage is of littler consequence if you go with a good brand. In the end if its good quality it will last a life time and then some, if you do however decide to go vintage the senior members of this site are an invaluable resource to learn the craft of honing.

Hey Aespo!

I'm in Windsor Terrace. I'm fine with buying online, but if you know of anyplace in the city that sells razors, I'd love to take a look. Also, knowing there are some knowledgeable folks in the area will come in handy when I finally start putting blade to skin.

Last time I was in Manhattan the Art of Shaving had em.

The city is hard to find hardware since as you know things are expensive here..soap and cream and such is not the problem. Razors i buy online..either here in the classifieds are i got a couple of Ebay and going to get them honed and cleaned through the members services listed here..all these guys here well help big time and trust me when i say that there won't be a lack of answers to almost any questions you have.

Just to stress it Bit though use the search feature because there are so many threads already here that the answers might be out there already.

There are some of us that are looking to get a meet up going for the NYC and NJ, maybe even CT people together..check checking the calendar to see if it happens and when and where it will be.
If i can possibly answer anything i will be more than happy to.

Anthony

The Pasteur Pharmacy (two locations in Manhattan) _might_ have straight razors. I'm sure they have DE's and blades.

. Charles

PS -- if you buy a straight razor with the "factory edge", you will probably want to get it honed. That's one advantage of buying from Straight Razor Designs, or somebody on this forum -- they've done a final hand-honing before shipping the razor out.