Thread: So What's Your Story?

I wish my start had a more "family" setting but alas it was just dumb drunken luck. I was in Vegas in the Venetian for a week of meetings. One night I won repeatedly at the blackjack table (no such luck here online) and decided after about a dozen straight wins that my luck couldn't hold, so I gave up and cashed out. Being somewhat buzzed - OK quite hammered from the free scotches at the tables - I wandered up to the shops on the second floor to poke around. I wound up in The Apothecary store that has an Art of Shaving section in the back. Having a pocket full of $100 bills I decided a straight razor shave would be nice. After the shave and more than a little talk about straight razor shaving I left with a new TI, brush, pre-shave oil, and shave cream. The next evening in my suite I decided to shave with it (no strop) and managed to get a fairly good shave - until I got to my chin and upper lip area. Lots of blood and some explanations to my coworkers the next morning. Someone in the group was online as I was explaining that I had not been in a knife fight and he found SRP. Later that night I started reading articles and posts here and continued to read and lurk for a few months while still practicing on my face and buying strops, soaps, brushes, and more blades. Sometime later I finally signed up here. The start was easy, getting good at it took time, practice, reading, asking questions here, and some large amount of cash (well, I guess the outgoing cash was just RAD, HAD, and a few other ADs....

My (late) great grandfather had been a barber. As a kid every so often my dad would get a shave while we were out for a visit (actually only lived about 20someodd miles from them). I can remember watching the whole process and thinking "why bother?". Any way got older & pretty much forgot about that but I had grown a set of sideburns that I just couldn't keep the edges square on. I started looking for a straight just for that reason. I poked around a bit but most of what I found in the antique shops were either way too expensive or just junk, sometimes both. Move along again to where I chopped the burns off. I was talking with my kid sister and she said that mom was looking for a picture she had in storage somewhere from when our G-grandfather was at the barber school in L.A. and it had him lathering a guy up for *da-ding* a straight shave. She still hasn't found the pic but that got me going. Wasn't sure where to pick up the necessities so just went to amazon and got a shavette, Fredmeyer groceries had the soap & VDH brush so I was off. I had actually come across the forum a few times but thought why bother? So here I am. Haven't used anything else since that first shave.

I've always been interested in knives and sharpening, so about a month ago someone in the blade forum sent me over here from something and I was just fascinated. Kind of combines good grooming with an element of danger.

I asked a bunch of questions, bought the minimum I needed (still quality) and today was my third "partial" shave with a straight.

I don't think it's too hard to turn a knife nut into a straight razor shaver.

I got tired of paying for cartridges and the multiblade razors getting clogged with gunk while shaving in the field. I recalled seeing a double edge razor in my grandfather's medicine cabinet about 10 years ago. Though not a straight it led my mind down the different routes other than cartridges. Since I didn't want to pay for cartridges I ruled out the double edge and decided that I would go with a straight, no replacement blades or electricity necessary, plus it can't get clogged. It was also economic after conducting a net present value analysis the initial outlay will pay for itself in about three years...that is, if I don't buy scads of soaps and razors

On vacation with the family I was walking through this little town called Carpenteria, CA. I walked by a barber shop and saw some writing on the window that showed prices for a haircut and prices for a shave. I thought to myself, getting a shave with a straight razor sounds nice.

I didn't get a chance to get a shave from that barber but I started to wonder if it was still possible to get supplies to shave with a straight razor, it just seemed like something interesting to do.

Well I'd never even heard of anyone straight razor shaving at this point so I looked it up on line to find out how it all works and eventually came across this site. It was all downhill from there, somehow from the moment the idea popped into my head, for some reason, I had already decided this was something I was just going to do.

I was really happy and surprised to find an entire community of people with the same inclination.

It is interesting how something that seems as insignificant as a sign in a window can lead you down a new path sometimes. Although I still have yet to get a shave from a barber, maybe next vacation.

Hated (but hated) shaving from the first time I had to. From DE to electric to disposable to multi-blade. Always hankered after a better way and figured that straight was it, liked the aspect of a reusable tool too. Was put off by silly stories for years, but one day, took the plunge. Spent far too much money but knew from the first that I'd found a technique that I respected. After a short time, I was enjoying it, and, it didn't hurt to shave every day.

It got better, and continues to do so, from there on in.

I was getting bad razor burn and ingrowns from the "Mach one million" that I was using so I started reading on the net to find a way or getting rid of them.

That turned me on to DE shaving (and SRP!) and I found I got much better results and much less irritation with my Merkur DE. So I umm-ed and ahh-ed about getting a straight razor and saw a whole bunch of different websites and razors and mentioned my growing interest to my girlfriend.

She got me a straight shave at Trumpers in London to celebrate the end of some exams and I bought my first straight from them right after! Joined SRP not long after that and I've been using straights pretty much exclusively since that fateful day..!

I've now got 3 razors (a DOVO Bismarck and a Black Star, plus a Boker Edelweisse) and a restored no namer, a brush, GFT soaps and creams and a DOVO strop. Plus a set of Shaptons, a DMT 325 and a denim flatbed hone with diamond spray. I've got a list as long as my arm of things I want to add to my collection! Just need more money..!

Nice topic.

About two and a half years ago I was surfing the net and for no explainable reason other than the fact that I'm a guy and sharp things are cool, I typed in "straight razor" in Wikipedia. I found it interesting. I found SRP probably that same night and found it even more interesting. I lurked for some time, bought a TI Super Gnome from Classic which was honed by Lynn. I think I bought Lynn's DVD from Classic at the same time. I was off to the races and never looked back.

I'd been shaving for about 18 years prior to straight razor shaving and in that time tried disposables, electrics and DEs. My problem area like a lot of guys was my neck area. Terrible ingrowns. I grew to live with it and considered the time spent freeing ingrown hairs with a pointed tweezers a necessary part of hygeine. When I was younger I would have a girlfriend who was not squeemish dig the ingrowns out for me. How romantic!

Since I've been shaving with straight razors, I can go weeks to months without an ingrown hair. I still have a patch on my neck that can be irritated if I'm not careful, but that amount of improvement over all other shaving methods is dramatic.

Chris L

Hello gentlemen. I have been lurking here for about three months, and John Crowley talked me into registering today while I talked about purchasing some Wackers. I figured I would say hi and say what got me into straight shaving.
I started buying straights to cut up and regrind into woodcarving knives. I did this to about ten razors until I had one that was just too nice to destroy.
I have always been fanatic about sharp knives so I gave sharpening a straight a shot. The first shave was not pretty so I searching the web for more info. Some new stones and strops later the shaves got better. I then purchased Lynn's video and am not turning back.
Shaving had always hurt pretty bad, and until I shaved with my straight I had not shaved for about three years. I am also in the process of converting some guys at work, and my wife is letting me shave her legs. This is now a lifestyle change to me.
Thanks for all the info
Christopher