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Thread: Aloha from Hawaii!
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12-10-2012, 08:01 AM #1
Aloha from Hawaii!
Greetings, gentlemen, and aloha from the beautiful island of Oahu. I'm very new to the straight razor world. I started on Fusions once Gillette sent me that 18th birthday gift. They worked fine for a while, but recently they just haven't been cutting it on my chin and such. I really like a nice, close shave. Also, they can ring up quite a tab over time. It wasn't that bad because I tend to wear a light beard, but this Movember had my chin screaming in agony when I took off his protective coat. It was in this state, bumpy, burnt, and broke, that I saw Skyfall. That's right, I'm not too proud to admit that scene really got me thinking about straights. I'd amused the idea now and again before, but seeing that every time you shaved a beautiful woman walked in to finish the job for you? Well, that was something I just could not overlook.
Straddled with this new-found passion, I worked my way to the friendly confines of my good friend the Internet. Luckily, SRP is impossiblenot to find on Google. I lurked some beginner forums for a while, a little research able to help me avoid some of beginning pitfalls that I have seen many a brother tell. I settled on a beginner's set from SRD: 5/8" Dovo, honed by the Honemeister himself (Thanks, Lynn), soap, strop, brush, mug, and the all-important DVD (once again, Thanks, Lynn!). The first shave was... alright. Nothing if not headstrong and foolish, I disregarded the overwhelming device of not shaving my whole face, figuring it'd be worth it to get as much weirdness out as possible all at once. I think I may have overdone the brushing on my face. Added to the Nivea Pre-Shave wash I did before, my face felt a little sensitive before I even put blade to skin. All in all, it went better than I'd expected. I definitely put some red in the sink, but at no point was an IV needed. I'm very pleased that I decided not to run away from a slightly higher up-front cost and get product I knew was good from a guy I knew I could trust.
A practical question: does anybody have advice for a beginner that doesn't like to be fully-shaven? I usually like to sport a light beard like in my profile picture. Any good tips on how to define jaw lines, clean up soul patches without hitting the handlebars, etc...?
I'm really looking forward to being a member of this community. I've been lurking for a week and you dudes seem pretty rad. Hopefully I can fight off the power of RAD for a while. That being said, I do need to pick up a second from Whipped Dog for when mine is out for honing...
Aloha, and thanks for reading this unnecessarily long introduction.
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12-10-2012, 11:13 AM #2
- Join Date
- Jun 2010
- Location
- Brisbane/Redcliffe, Australia
- Posts
- 6,380
Thanked: 983G'day Supernats and welscome to the forum. I sport a moustache and Goatee, Van Dyke I think is the name given to my style, with a few minor differences. I keep my facial hair (the stuff I want to keep) trimmed to preferred length with clippers. You probably already have something that you use for that. Manual or electric/battery, whatever does it for you there. For the rest of the face and defining the edges of the facial hair, the best tool is a nicely honed cut-throat razor. You can get into and out of the tight spots with one easily and do a better job than any other razor I've had the (mis) fortune of using. You can pick off individual stray hairs wih the deadly accuracy of a sniper on a perfectly calm day at point blank range All it will take is just time and practice, building your confidence as you go.
Good luck and feel free to ask for advice again. I've always got an opinion on whatever it is you want to talk about .
Mick
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Supernats (12-11-2012)
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12-10-2012, 04:50 PM #3
Aloha back at ya bra welcome to SRP! Sounds like you are off to a good start. I don't know if you bought a round or square point Dovo I am betting it is a round point, square points are good for the close in sniping of whiskers that Mick mentioned. With the square point you have a defined point that you know exactly where it is, unlike a round point. I might suggest that razor #2 is a square point. If you do get it from Larry at Whipped Dog if you tell him your intent for the razor he should be able to find something that suits your needs.
We have had quite a few new members from the Islands lately, gotta have a meet up when I get home.Aloha,
ED
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Supernats (12-11-2012)
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12-11-2012, 04:21 AM #4
Thanks for the advice on the spike point sniping. The Dovo was indeed a round point. I just finished shave #2, and, it was definitely less than stellar. I think I need to listen to what my face is telling me and leave the ATG and XTG strokes for when my hand is more comfortable holding the razor. I think I'll also let my face go to pasture a bit, just beard trimming, until the beard is more filled out. Stubble is a less than stellar indicator of where I want my lines to go, especially with an alien piece of deadly cutlery in my hands.
Ed, love the idea of the meetup. Incidentally, do you have any issues with the tropical humidity on your blades? I deliver in Waianae every day, so I know it stays pretty dry out there. I'm in Ewa, so what works for you should be the same.