Thread: If you could start all over again, what would you do differently?

Gentlemen:

If I were to start all over again, I would pay more attention to my needs rather than impulses to buy razors, brushes and shave products.

To many of us, the straight razor breaks the cuff and chain of fast and easy conveniences modern society forces upon us: Is a plastic safety razor that vibrates and boasts five blades really necessary? Does it make sense? Is it even good for us?

The straight razor, therefore, gives those of us who carve our own path in life a new sense of freedom that, understandably, comes with waves of impulses to buy everything we can get our hands on. In addition, for me, I had wanted to shave with the straight razor since my twenties, but life got in the way.

I started with the Dovo best quality and the Dovo "perlex." That I would not change. I think I made the right choices there. Eventually I ended up with 15 beautiful razors (some gentlemen have far more than I do) even though I think I should have kept to my promise of owning only seven, one for each day of the week, plus one for travel.

In addition to those two in my current lineup, I should have settled on the Filarmonica 13, Le Grelot 1/4 hollow (on a trade), Thiers-Issard "Dos Festonne" with bone scales, Wacker 6/8" 1st Sheffield steel, and Thiers-Issard 5/8" with kingwood scales (one of my best shavers).

With one exception, a 4/8" George Wostenholm hollow point, for travel, I especially should have avoided razors from flea markets and antique shops. I have five restored razors I don't particularly like and never use, and one Heljestrand, in perfect condition, I can't stand.

I went so far as stocking up on a small sampling of restoration equipment. With my busy schedule, however, I doubt I will use them that much, although when I dig into my stash of about 20 flea market razors in a box, I might find something I would want to work on just for my own enjoyment.

I bought a set of Norton 4000 and 8000, which I am glad I did, as I am learning to hone. Also last week, a barber friend gave me four barber hones of various size in pretty good shape. I am happy with these acquisitions and would change nothing.

I have 12 badger brushes and 3 boar. I should have settled on a Thater silver tip (to which Robin introduced me) and one of my sweet Edwin Jaggers.

For soaps, I should have settled on Provence Sante Verlaine, L'Occitaine and Truefitt & Hill instead of a dozen variety. On creams, Castle Forbes would have been fine for now, instead of the half a dozen that I use. As a rule, I prefer soaps to creams — because, to me, they represent tradition more.

So yes, I would have done many things differently.

Regards,
Obie

The only thing I'd do differently is to start 30 years earlier, when I first became interested in the idea of usinga straight. I could have bought a brand new razor locally then for $45.00 (as small fortune for me at the time). But then, I wouldn't have had this great online community to help me throught the learning process. I wonder if I would even have stuck with it. .....hell yeah, I would!

Great post Robin
my fist razor was a 5/8 Spanish blade bought from a shop that has long since disappeared on Southampton U.K.
In the 1970s ,I couldn't afford a strop so I tried enthusiasticly withvery poor results .
Move on to about 1985 & I got myself a razor & strop from shop in Bristol & tried all over again with varying results. .
It wasn't until ai discoverd this great forum that it all came together thanks to the help & advice I got here &especially Lynns amazing DVD that it all came together & all I use is a straight or a shavette for all my shaves now
iam continually on the search for the perfect razor , my soaps & shaving brush do not change much nor does my post shave favorite of Trumper Sandalwood skin food,though I somtimes use something else after the skin food depending on my mood . My shaving brush is a chrome handled Varilix badger brush that my wife bought me 13 years ago . & I have developed a taste for. 3/8 , 4/8 blades that my recent aqusition of 2 amazing thiers issard 5/8. Razors has not diminished.
Istill on the lookout for the ultimate 4/8 blade so if I ever find this my search may be over but it is alot of fun finding out.
If I had todo itover again it would be spyderco hones (theyworkfor me) A 4/8half hollow razor &a Tony Miller strop. A MUST is Lynns DVD this is as important to me as the rest of the set up ,it is truly a short cut IMO to mastering the straight .
A word of caution the RAD is never truly cured cheers . Any one wanting a straight to get started can contact me as I have a couple to pass on to anyone that wants them theywill be free &shave ready .
Cheers guys Paul

If I could do it all again... I'd send out PM's to all my current friends, telling them that we will become great friends and should start meeting up ASAP. I've learned so much at meets and visits to other's homes - it was really the face to face interactions that taught me most of what I know and showed me how much I don't yet know.

Great post, Robin. I'm another one who would have to say shave ready razor would be the biggest change. Though thinking about it, had I just have found this place before jumping, that would have have solved that problem. It's only relatively recently that I started trying out after shaves again, having been convinced that I couldn't tolerate them. Seems when using the proper tools/techniques, I can and they do enhance my pleasure.

Well, if I could do it over again I would have started robbing banks before I started straight shaving that way I could have gotten the best stuff in the world from the getgo and by now I would be the worlds greatest shaver, honer, stropper,etc, right?

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Well, if I could do it over again I would have started robbing banks before I started straight shaving that way I could have gotten the best stuff in the world from the getgo and by now I would be the worlds greatest shaver, honer, stropper,etc, right?

Probably not...They don't allow residents in the "Big House" to have access to straight razors. They can be used as weapons.

Found SRP early on, learned a lot, and was able to get the things I needed at bargain prices from good people.

Wouldn't change a thing!

Like most new guys I was pretty cautious about spending a ton of money.

Razor- first shave ready razor I bought was from an idiot who wrote "im no honemeister, but I honed it up and this razor shaves me just fine, so I consider it shave ready"
It was a piece of junk that had a tremendous amount of honewear and I still paid around 45 for it.

If I did it over, I would go with a dovo best or dovo special honed by Lynn.
Nice new razor, and guaranteed shave ready

Strop- Illinois 827 that served with just fine until it started warping and had to send it back for a refund. I think I made a good decision choosing that strop to start with so I probably wouldn't change that.

Touch ups- bought a Pike Ezy Edge and Swaty- didn't care for them too much and sold them. I wish I had just bought a 12k Naniwa which would of been cheaper than the 2 barber hones I got

Hones- I'm using a coticule and vintage thuringian, and Chinese 12k. I know its not advised to learn honing on a coticule, but I find them to be amazing stones and set my mind to learn how to use it. I am far from being great, but making progress day by day

I don't think I could have done it any better than I did. Being one that has to do thing first to learn (hard time learning from just reading), I jumped in with both feet and got a set up that I could afford (dirt cheap ) and started pushing through it. I was new here and was getting great advice to my trials and observations and in short order was shaving like a crazed indiviual

No regrets, but I may have jumped on a Takeda/Livi when they where still available... bugger...