Thread: Hello to all

Hello all. I have spent some time looking for a friendly forum in which to engage. Being a soldier, shaving is very much an every day routine, which I have loathed for years. Until, that is, I came across a gift my wife gave me years ago. It was her great uncles kropp 5/6 straight razor. Whilst in the uk i found it difficult to get the necessary tools to bring it back to life as I hate Internet shopping, but now I'm in Germany it's a very common thing and haven't looked back I have slowly gotten better at using my blade and would welcome some advice from the more advanced and also any info on the blade would be nice too.

Hey Jonny,

Welcome to SRP!!! Glad to have you on board!!

The Kropp is a quality razor and you can find many posts at this link, http://straightrazorpalace.com/googl...=1813j952707j5 derived from the search function at the top right of the page. It's easy to overlook it, but it is a quick path to lots of info on the forum.

Also there's great information on straights, shaving, and well, everything to do with our chosen endeavor in the wiki, linked below, and the "Beginner's Tips" by Glen, (gssixgun) which are full of useful and helpful items.

Usually razors are measured in 8th's, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8 & 8/8 th's. Some are under 5/8 and some over, but most fall into the first list. When honed down and falling between 8th's, 16th's.

On advice, that's hard without knowing what is giving you trouble. A good read through the links provided will answer a lot of your questions and help narrow down what you may need to ask specifically. Lots of members here to answer any questions you may have and offer any help we can!

Thanks for your service!!! And enjoy the forum!!

Best Regards,

Howard

Welcome to the forum Jonny. I think Howard has covered it quite well.


Mick

Thank you gents, much appreciated. I thought that about the sizes of the razor as all I found was the 5/8 but the box is old and worn, or my eyes are, and i thought it was a 6 so thank you for clearing it up. I will be going through a lot of the posts, hints and tips as for once in my life I enjoy the act of shaving and I am sure with practice it can only get better.
I have found an overwhelming amount of creams, soaps, oils and balms and at the moment went for th first one I saw, tabac rasierseife, so if anything my first problem lies here, any recommendations?
Thanks again
Jonny

Hi. Have found the original box for my razor, and it does say 5/6. The whole box reads 'our celebrated magnetised razor 5/6 set ready for use' I have taken a picture but the box is old, will try to upload it later
Many thanks
Jonny

Jonny,

Your first pick was right on point. Tabac is an excellent soap....in my top two, and see's more use than any other of my soaps or creams.

The key to getting good performance from a soap or cream really lies in the soap/water ratio, and all have their own sweet spot when it comes to the water. Loading the brush, though, is 90% of the challenge, IMO. Briefly, with Tabac, and most will be the same, soak the brush and then shake out the loose water. You want the brush good and damp, but not dripping water. The Tabac likes to set with a little water on the puck, maybe 1/2 tsp. or so. I usually let it set while I wash my face, and I swirl the little bit of water around on it a few times. Then, swirl the tip of the brush around on the soap, not crushing it down, until you have built a layer of soap, looks like cream, on the tip of the brush. It usually will come up in the bristles a 1/4 of an inch, or a little more. I then add a little water to the bristles above the loaded tip, and then face lather. I used to bowl lather, but found I got much better results, less clean up, and more consistent lathers face lathering. I also use less soap or cream.

After saying all that, below is a video by Lynn Abrams showing what I described. He's using a different soap, but it's the same with Tabac.

YouTube

I look forward to the pic of the razor coffin, I'm not familiar with a 5/6, but they did a lot of unusual things back in the day to pump up sales, i.e. "magnetized" razor. There are some members here that are literally walking encyclopedias of razors and they'll have info if you post in the razor forum.



Howard

Hopefully should be able to see the picture properly. Am also going to post it in razor thread to see how much info i can get you have been a great help howard, true gentleman,
thank you
jonny

Hello, Johnny, and welcome to Straight Razor Place. Indeed, my friend Howard has said plenty. We're delighted to have you with us.