Thread: Taking the plunge for real

Greetings all. So, for the past 6 weeks, Ive been shaving with a Feather Artist Club SS and its been a good experience. Im able to get very good shaves with it and all has been well.
Lately though, Id been thinking that I want to try a real straight razor, so I picked up a shave ready Gold Dollar 800 and travel strop for WSP. I figured the GD was a way for me to dip a toe in without going all out. I thought about going Whipped Dog but he appears to be sold out right now.
Thus far, I like the GD and it doesnt seem to be as much of a hassle as I thought it would be. Stropping isnt rocket science, although I dont think Im going to try my hand at honing right now. I decided to pick up a second GD from WSP, since the first one they sent me is just about perfect. I decided to pick up a 208 this time, just to try something different from what I have. Supposedly, the 800 is stainless carbon steel and the 208 is carbon steel; but I dont anticipate there being much difference. I wanted a 2nd one so that when it comes time to send my 1st one out to be rehoned, I can just use my extra one and just rotate them out as need be.
I like the fact that WSP sends them shave ready and quality inspects them; which is nice because Ive heard that buying factory GDs can be hit or miss. I like that WSP straightens the scales if they arrive bent and repins them.
As much as I love my Feather AC, I wanted to get the real experience of a straight. For those of you who golf, Id compare it to hitting a forged iron vs a a cast one. Both do the job but the feel is different.

Only use the linen for a while. Get the muscle memory down before using the leather

Lee at WSP does a decent job of honing GD razors. Like you, that was my first razor. I was not sure whether I would like shaving with a straight. However, I love them. I now have a collection of about 25 razors of varying descriptions.

Developing the skill of stropping a razor is absolutely necessary for maintenance of a razor. It is not rocket science; it is more of an art. You strop with a musical rhythm. You watch the bow of the fabric or leather. You listen to the music the blade makes as it glides across the strop. Watch (and listen) to several stropping videos. There are a few videos, unfortunately, that show improper technique. The spine of the blade should never leave the strop. When you get to the end of each stroke, you have to flip the blade just as you reverse the direction of the stroke. If you flip the blade too soon, you will damage your strop and may damage your edge. If you flip the blade too late, the same thing happens. My first strop has a number of nicks as proof of the difficulty of learning the proper timing. So Rolodave's advice about learning to strop on fabric first is worthwhile. Even then, you first leather strop should be inexpensive. Wait until you develop skill before getting a really nice strop.

Yes. As Ray said, dont vo out and zpend 300+ on your first strop. You will hate yourself for doing it in a couple months. A few places.sell the replacable lether part so if you dont go real cheap as in a whippeddog strop, the other option with replacable leather is smart. Cut it up, and after 4 to 6 months buy a replacement and your good to go. Im not a fan of the GD. I do own one that i customized so im not going to comment on your choice of razors.

Enjoy the long trip into learning the art of straight razor shaving. Hide your credit card!

Ive got the WSP starter strop. At $12, I figure its good to learn on and then when I get better, I can get a better strop. Maggards has one that has a leather strop and a nylon strop, 3" wide, not to mention its made in Ohio, which is kind of cool but is like $70.
I figure why not tear up this $12 one while Im learning and then get a better one when I get more experience.

Originally Posted by Gasman

Yes. As Ray said, dont vo out and zpend 300+ on your first strop. You will hate yourself for doing it in a couple months. A few places.sell the replacable lether part so if you dont go real cheap as in a whippeddog strop, the other option with replacable leather is smart. Cut it up, and after 4 to 6 months buy a replacement and your good to go. Im not a fan of the GD. I do own one that i customized so im not going to comment on your choice of razors.

Enjoy the long trip into learning the art of straight razor shaving. Hide your credit card!

I think that if I were buying a factory GD, Id be with you buy WSP goes through these razors and fixes any issues that they come with from the factory. If that werent the case, Id probably spend a bit more for a Dovo or a Boker.

12 dollar strop. Thats a great starter. Its a piece of leather so it should do the job just fine. Good luck

First shave with the GD last night and Im not sure how I feel about it. The Feather AC is smoother. I kind of felt like the GD was more scraping the hair off my face instead of slicing it. I even tried being really aware of my angle and it still felt kind of tuggy.
I was watching some straight razor shave videos on Youtube and those razors sound kind of choppy too. Are traditional straight razors just not as sharp as the Feather AC blade are?

PM me your address, I'll send ya a real razor.

Originally Posted by outback

PM me your address, I'll send ya a real razor.

Damn! I must be getting old! Ya beat me to it Mike!