Thread: Greetings from Costa Rica

Welcome to it Bluesman09,

the VDH soap is very serviceable, I still keep a puck around.

I have found I like a few drops of glycerin in it when I use it.

I will also second Catrentshaving's question about the strop?

Welcome to SRP.
There are a lot of members here and a lot of experience to draw from.
i'm at the same stage as you so it should be interesting how we progress.
Enjoy the ride......

Hello All, Thank you for the warm welcome.

Yes, I do have the 3 inches wide Strop from Vintage Blades, I would have bought a thinner one, but I thought that instead of saving money, I would prefer to develop my tecnique.

Its interesting to redevelop this lost art from Costa Rica, the products avaiable are scarse, I can only buy the VdH Soap or the L'Occitane Soap in order to shave.

Also, today was my first shave, feels strange to learn something that our ancestors did everyday. Got 3 cuts, not to deep, and I had to learn that the technique requires the blade to be almost parallel to your skin.

If I look up close, I do have some spots I could not shave properly, the blade is straight, sections of my face are not, so I will have to develop a technique to shave.

I have pure mineral oil, I have used it after the shave to avoid rusting.

I am only missing the Norton Stone, I will purchase on the next months.

Sounds like you're all set then Congrats on your first shave with no major harm done. There's a learning curve to shaving with a straight as you already seem to be learning so good on ya. Enjoy the journey.

Awesome to see this thread. I live in Tamarindo and have been reading up on straights for the last few months. At this point it all still feels like Pandora's box. Originally, a good friend in L.A. turned me on to the idea of shaving old school, and I decided it would suit my lifestyle perfectly. Nothing happens quickly in CR.

Anyway, I am curious to know how this has been going for you. It looks like I am not going to find any blades here in Guanacaste. Right now I have a strop, and brush in my Amazon cart. I'm stuck a little on which blade. 5/8 sounds right, and I would rather go vintage for my first blade, but the honing needs to hold. I seriously doubt I will find a honemeister I can trust here. I will have to learn the hard way: Youtube.

I'll probably start a new thread once I decide what my exact question is. Glad to know I'm not totally alone here.

-Damon

Damon,
If you want vintage for your first razor, check the classified section on the forum here. There is always a nice selection with a wide range of prices. You can also PM the sellers if you have any questions about the razors offered there. 5/8 is usually recommended for new wet shavers, but you could learn on a 6/8 as well, I think. Welcome to SRP and enjoy your new journey!!!

Hi and welcome. The better question is where are you buying the razor and will it be truly shave ready. No point buying if not otherwise you will never know what shave ready is for when you start honing yourself.