Thread: Reflecting: How did we get here?

Since it is the first week in the new year i found myself reflecting back on many things including why i started wet shaving. Upon thinking of how and why i got started wetshaving i thought i would love to know what inspired my friends on SRP to start wet shaving too! Heres my story, start to finish. I hope to hear your story too! Happy New Year!

When i was a kid lets say 8-10 years of age i always wondere what it would be like to shave. I think all boys wonder this prior to the first time they actually need to shave and if many of you were like me as a kid i know i was getting in to shaving cream and wiping it off my face with my finger. When my fuzz started to turn to whiskers my father baught me a gillette disposable and put it in my christmas stocking with a can of barbasol. The next day after christmas i remember asking my dad to teach me how to shave. The 'talk' lasted all of 2 mins. My father sprayed some barbasol in his hand, took my hand and gave it to me and said "now out it on your face and take the razor and go at it untill the creams gone." "dont go at it too much or youll end up like swiss cheese." So i said thanks. shortly then after i grew a goatee, shaved about once a month and wore a goatee for the next 15 years.

During those 15 years of shaving with an old dull disposable my face hated the idea of having my whiskers removed in any fashion- except one.
*the barber*. when i would get a hair cut i would also get lined up in the back, i would also get a hot towel, hot lather a straight razor shave and some nice after shave. At that time i had never thought to shave with a straight razor. I would have gathered that such a thing would have been reserved for barber's use only. The beard growth continued to adorn my face.

One day, not even too long ago, i lost my job. I had been working at the same place for 8 years and i knew that i was about to be subject to finding another job and therfore interacting with the judging eye of john Q public. I knew i had to keep a good shave to go on interviews, and i had no more barbasol left. Being jobless i could not afford to go the barber and get shaven to get the clean look i was going after so i did what any other american man in his late 20's would do.... Go off to the drug store.

At the drug store i found the usual products, but one in particular caught my eye. It was a shaving brush next to a puck of williams mug shave soap. I figured what the heck, looks better then the stuff in a can! So i bought it, brought it home and tried to make a lather.

Now i didnt know this at the time, but i had no idea how to make a good lather, but i tried, and i let the mach3 with the old blade do its job. Now i cant say that this was a good shave, but it did stick out in my head. The shaving brush felt nice on my face and the shave soap was a nice change from the goop in a can. The next day my skjin was irratated as usual and then it occured to me..... If a barber can shave with a straight razor and people in the last century could shave with a straight razor than why cant I? So i looked in to straights. It was very expensive to get started but then i got to reading.

I found that Wetshaving is what i was yerning to do and that a DE can give a prettyy darm good shave over any old cartridge razor. So i picked on up with some blade and started to learn. What i learned is shaving prep, how to build a lather, how to NOT use so much pressure as you don need to and how the hair direction of growth on my face was an importent element of a great shave. Armed with a little bit of expieriance i splurged and baught a shave ready (thanks lynn) dovo 5/8 pearlex, strop and some srd soap. It had been more then a year and i now get supreme shaves. no irritation and bbs almost each and every time, thanks to forum and months, days and hours of lerking. i now have a bad case of RAD/SAD/BAD and do restorations, custom scales and brush resorations. I have also learned so much history on the sheffield blades i collect.

Sorry for the typos i just posted it wioth out proof reading. bc i have run out of time and my wife want me to do chore rather than sit on the lap top.

Happy new year!!!!

For me ever since I started shaving at 17 my face would be left irritated especially my neck and I would frequently get ingrown hairs. I tried everything the big companies had out for sensitive skin and all that and none of it made any difference. A couple of months ago at the age of 23 I was doing more reserch and found lots of people saying traditional wet shaving had helped them with the kind of problems I had been having, so I looked it up and went for a straight razor as it's pretty manly shaving with something you could cut your nose off with.
I'm now about 6 shaves in with a nice razor from Larry and my face is loving me for it, no ingrown hairs, no irritated neck and no more spots it's a revalation. I'm already in early stages of RAD and after I get the shaving down I would like to learn to hone.

Well, you see. My mum and my dad got together and had themselves a little fun, and nine months later the little miracle that is Mick was born. And the world became a better place for it.
Now to go back and read past the title of this thread.

Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

Well, you see. My mum and my dad got together and had themselves a little fun, and nine months later the little miracle that is Mick was born. And the world became a better place for it.
Now to go back and read past the title of this thread.

Mick

Damn boss, you got me on the one... hahahha

Ahhh, wetshaving! Well that I've been doing from day dot in shaving speak. Usually in the shower with a puck of body soap and a cart head razor, but these days over the sink with either a cut-throat or DE and the puck of body soap has been swapped out for shaving soap, as well the shower has been swapped out for a shaving brush...After I've had a shower .


Mick

No nostalgia or sentimentality of years gone by with me I am afraid.
The simple truth is that I was sick and tired of reaching into my cupboard looking for a new cartridge to finish my daily head shave, only to find it empty for the millionth time.
Having to go out with a half-shaven head and face kinda got me looking for alternatives eventually, and straights seemed to be what I was looking for.
So, I bought a shavette and a Dovo and never looked back

I started out with the standard Trac II in the 70's. I quickly learned to hate shaving so I stopped and started using scissors to trim my beard. When I started going grey(beard long before hair) I was getting nagged at to look young again. So, I went back to good old TracII and proceeded the love hate relationship with my face. Then a few years ago Trac II started getting hard to find so I went to 3 blades. Gawd more clogging than before and I broke about 3 razors banging the snot out of them. Took it to the shower which helped with the blade cleaning but did nothing for the detail work. Lived with that small misery until Sept. last year. Saw a guy using a straight on You Tube and don't even remember how that happened but sure glad I did. No need to go any further with this story as I am sure you know how it ends. :<0)

Started straight razor shaving last spring simply for the fun of learning something new. Had been shaving for over 40 years with no real problems that would otherwise have lead me to straights. Found I liked straights and stayed with it. Still use DEs, SEs and disposables where and when it suits me.

Bob

I started shaving regularly about a year and a half ago with the bic disposable razors. On a quest to lose the irritation I read about using a single blade so started looking into DE razors, the thought of a straight never crossed my mind until I came across this site. Plucked up the courage and bought a shavette thinking it was good way to see if i like using a straight. Then about a year ago I found a straight that looked in good condition in an antique store. Bought it, got it honed up and I've had irritation free shaves since. And I can't see any reason why I'll ever go back to the shavette never mind multi blade pain inducers!

Many years ago my dad had a DE that I tried, used it and then new newfangled multiblade razors that came along the way. Finally this new invention called the internet came out and I saw a video of a straight razor shave. I went back to my dad and asked for his 2 DE razors he has (he was using those newfangled multiblades). He said by all means you can have them I don't use them. I have shaved with them for almost 6 months and then became curious about straight razors. I have now grown into 4 straights and 5 DE razors as well as a brush and non-canned shave cream and soap. I switch back and forth but find the straights even more enjoyable than the DE. Needless to say I won't go back, although my wife says I take to long in the bathroom now (the tables have turned).