Thread: New to Straight Razors with a few questions

Welcome! You can probably find answers to most of your questions in the Beginner's Guide section of the wiki.

Yes, that is a lot of questions. Welcome to SRP. I think your on the right track. I like the razor you are considering. A 5/8 is another consideration, of course. You'll want to learn to hone, but you might go two months between honings at the most. Shavettes are disposable. They are sharp and a little rough compared to a traditional straight.

The first shave is a no stropper, the second, yes, before each shave.

You are definitely on the right track. There are no hard and fast rules that say what size or grind razor you need to start with. The 6/8 half hollow is just in the middle of the road... Think of it as the "medium" razor. The only way to eventually know which suits you best is to try a few different razors and see what you do or don't like.

The kit that you're looking at purchasing from SRD would be a fantastic starter kit, and you'll know that the razor you're getting is truly shave ready.
Add in some soap and a brush (I'm assuming you'll already have after-shave), and you'll be set to go!

Welcome, heres some quick answers but, as the other people said just wandering on the wiki you can find alot of answers, also alot of the answers are just preference, what you like better, no one thing is better then the other
1) 6/8 or 5/8 for beginners, i used 5/8 when i started, and honestly like it better then 6/8 however there are many people on here that love 6/8 better then 5/8
2) i would go with half hollow ground but either one again preference
3)If u bought a truly "shave ready" razor, then you shouldn't need to strop it before shaving, and i recommend you dont, because you want to know what a truly sharp razor feels like against your skin, so u can judge whats sharp or not , if u end up dulling your razor, via stropping
4) If you buy some balsa wood and CRox (about 6 bucks total) you should be able to refresh your razor each time it needs a tune up and shouldnt need to send it out really at all( all though after refresh x amount of times, each person is different, u need to send it get get it rehoned, ) maybe once a year,?everyone is different though, soo...
5) Nope
6) preference but i wouldnt. go for the real thing!
7) Just stick with a razor and strop, good shave brush and decent soap, then youll be set!
8) great set!!! Extremely reputable vendor( Lynn the godfather of SRP co owns the store)
9) nope that set you have there is a great starter kit and should be more then enough for you initial journey

Hope this helped, Again Welcome!!!!!!

being relitavly new my self, maybe I can help. maybe. since you say your beard growth is slow or light maybe the heavier razors arent for you. also a full hollow may have a little too much flex for a beginner not to mention they seem to be a little more fragile. perhaps half hollow is best which is "middle of road" as to size maybe the 5/8 may again be the choice for you due to the lighter weight. I know this may be a little off but I like to think as the 6/8 or bigger as a van and the 5/8 as the sprots car(also based on grind) I like the big boys when I let it go for a few days and the smaller when I shave often.

one other tip dont spent too much on your first razor, make sure this is for you and you dont want to mishandle or damage an expensive or rare razor just because of inexperiance.

anyway the set you have in mind would be a great starter kit, and welcome!

Welcome!

Just to answer your questions:

1) 5/8 or 6/8 is fine. I started on a 5/8, but either size is good!

2) It really doesnt matter, as long as its sharp.

3) Exactly right. Just strop and go.

4) The price of the razor wont make any difference to how long there is between honings, assuming you buy a good make. A poor make wont take/hold an edge for long.

How long you get between honings depends on your beard toughness, the care you take of the razor (drying it etc...) and whether you damage the edge with incorrect stropping or by dinking it on something.

5) Nope, not at all. Just get a good make and ensure its shave ready!

6) No. If you're going to learn with a straight razor, get a straight razor and use it. Shavettes and straights are subtley different, and theres no point in sinking the cash into a shavette if what you really want is a straight.

7) All you need is a razor, strop, brush and soap. All the other stuff like shaving mugs and balms can come later, but those four things are all you need to get going.

8) That SRD set is a great starter kit! It'll be a good way to go.

9) The SRD kit is a great place to kick off. The only other advice I'll add is stay away from eBay for now until you know a bit more about the various pitfalls involved. And dont worry about hones and honing yet; Learn to shave, then learn to hone later!

Good luck and keep us posted!

Sustain,

++1 on the previous posts. They have sufficiently addressed your questions. My only recommendation would be for you to upgrade your choice of a strop to the 3" wide width as part of your starter set. It costs a little more, but I think it will make the process of learning how to strop your razor easier.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

Originally Posted by Sustain

6) Looking on non-razor sites like Amazon comes up with shavettes, are these replaceable straight razors? Should I start with a replaceable straight razor and then purchase a straight razor?

7) As an initial investment should I purchase a full 5 or 7 piece shaving kit, or just stick with a razor and strop?

Welcome!! As a relative newcomer myself, this is definitely the right place to find some answers. Lots of opinions, and almost all of them are correct! (Well, at least when it comes to the important stuff . . .)

So to answer at least 6 and 7 above, DO NOT bother with the shavette. Waste of time and money, and you'll end up enjoying the shave you get from a real straight razor much better.

As for a kit, I would buy a kit if (1) the kit contains just exactly what I would want to have if I was buying the pieces separately and (2) the price of the kit represented a real savings over buying the pieces separately. The problem with some kits is that they rope you into buying a few pieces that you don't really want or need, and then the price doesn't represent as much of a bargain as buying what you do want in the first place.

Anyway, SRD is a fantastic site to purchase from, and they sell very, very high quality goods, so you can't really go wrong buying there.

Good luck and great to have a new member!! --Jeff