Thread: Greetings from Costa Rica

Hello,

I just joined since I wanted to understand better the world of Straight Razor Shaving.

Just to give a little info on myself, I like classical stuff (English Shoes, Single Malt Scotch, etc), Play guitar and Study Kyokushin Karate.

Ok, with that done, I got interested in Straight Shaving since I see three benefits:

1) The finish is better
2) Saves money on the long run (Straight Shaving vs. Gillete Business Model)
3) Is classical, and I do prefer the Old World.

At least, on this country, most opinions are those from popular views, ergo Straight Razor shaving is no longer used, as far as I can remember, both my Grandfathers never used Straight Razor.

Mostly, people fear 2 factors:

1) Cutting yourself in an accidental or tragic way
2) AIDS and other blood transfused diseases.

I have a peculiarity regarding the Soap, I only have two options, literally:

1) Van der Hagen Soap
2) L'Occitan de Providence (which costs 3x times what the above costs)

Importing beauty products to Costa Rica requires TONS of paperwork and cash, therefore, I think I will stick to the Van Der Hagen soap.

So far, I also need to buy my starter kit, DOVO Best Quality is obviously the first option that comes to mind and I would buy from Straight Razor designs. (BTW, just asking, the DOVO's are New or Previously Used?)

The Amazon prime shipping is tempting me to buy the rest there, the Strops seem low quality though.

The brush on the VdH is poorly done, if you see pics from the kit, youll notice they fused the plastic with the Brushes, so I have a Parker Silvertip brush on mind.

Any bowl can suffice, I also have a Silver Edwin Jaeger on mind and a Muehle Toirtoise shell imitation stand for the Brush.

Ok, this part is very important.

I will obviously need to Hone and Sharpen the blade eventually.

As to Honing, I was thinking about the Norton 4000/8000 on amazon.

And for Sharpening, I was planning on taking it to a normal Knife sharpening place.

I also have one question, since Costa Rica had strong spanish influence until mid 60s, I might find a Spanish Razor on a antiques place.

If I find a razor, can I sandblast it to remove any impurities? I also come from a Car forum, and this is what we did to Valve Covers before painting them.

Thanks for reading, your opinion and any help are much appreciated.

Hola y Bienbenido! I love Costa Rica! Always have good memories of the place. I go to Costa Rica regularly on business travel. If you're near San Jose, I'll give you a call and we can meet at the hotel Marriot (where the company puts us). I'll send you a PM when schedule to go.

1st, I don't recommend to give your razor to a knife place to sharpen. You may not get a pleasant experience shaving with it. Recommend you send it to someone in the classifieds that's a honemeister.

You are missing on the soaps! If I'm correct you have $2000.00 of imports tax free every year, you can order it from a store in the US and have it send to a freight forwarder (casillero) in Miami and pay just the extra on shipping cost. Paperwork, yes, but worth it IMO!

As far as sandblasting? I'm also curious. If you don't take much metal out and you sandblast evenly, I would say it may work, just my opinion, never tried it on a razor. The library section here have links on how to restore a razor to its former glory.

Welcome and good luck hunting for old straights! Double O

Got my set ready:

Dovo Best Quality 6/8 Straight Razor
Straight Razor and Brush Stand.
Semogue 830 Boar Brush
Van de Heuven kit.
Nivea Aftershave kit.

Looks like you're all set to go except for one important part...do you have a strop?

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!!!