Thread: Neophyte | 1st straight razor ever | Ralf Aust

Brand new to the incredible world of straight razors and wet shaving. Was fed up with cartridge razors and the price tags associated. Did a lot of reading on these threads and made the jump into the straight razor world with my first straight razor purchase. Decided on a:

Ralf Aust | 6/8 shoulderless French point | cocobolo scales | engraved spine | carbon steel



It wasn't offered on his site, but a few emails and he basically said he could do any combination I wanted.

First shave ever with a straight razor today (WTG and XTG) and it went GREAT (only a small nick when I got a little too greedy)! Very satisfied with the purchase so thanks to everyone's world class advice on these forums. Nothing to compare to, but seemed like the factory edge did a great job straight out the box from Germany. I took it to the strop for 50 passes or so (also first time using strop)

Let me know what ya'll think!

Wow, that is a gorgeous RA-shoulderless AND cocobolo scales!! I'm glad your 1st shave went well. Careful on the strop until you get "the flip" muscle memory down pat; the shave will tell you if you are doing it (stropping) right. Also, there's no shame in cleaning up with a final pass from a Gillette or DE if things aren't perfect while you're learning. Welcome to SRP, and keep us informed of your progress. Any questions-ask away. Guys here are very friendly and knowledgeable! Aaron

Looks as if you have started out in fine fashion. Beautiful razor and a great maker. Go very slowly with the stropping at first. It isn't a race and can do damage to the edge or to the strop. I know someone who cut most of the fabric portion of his strop into two pieces...He shall remain nameless, but is well known to me. You might also consider taking a look at some of the members here who hone razors just to be sure that you are experiencing a really good edge, then you will know better how it should feel and be able to detect any issues as they occur. Enjoy!

A lot of folks start out with straight razors by purchasing a cheap razor that is far from shave ready. Then when they get a poor shave they give up. You did not make that mistake. Ralf Aust makes some great shavers and they are normally shave ready. Great start.

When starting out with a straight razor, you have a lot of new skills to learn. Take your time learning those skills. When shaving, practice shaving with the grain (WTG) until you feel comfortable doing it. Then complete your shave with a DE razor. Once you feel comfortable WTG, then start shaving across the grain (XTG) or against the grain (ATG). When shaving, go slow: precision is more important than speed.

Remember that the goal of shaving is beard reduction, not beard removal. Use a light touch. Shave the lather off your face and let the sharp edge do its magic on your beard.

That is a high quality, beautiful first razor. It's exactly what you need to make learning successful. You should have it looked at by someone that hones just to make sure that it is indeed shave ready.
Watch a lot of videos, practice new strokes that you might think will work for you with a butter knife, shave slow and deliberate and most importantly, stay in your comfort zone.
You'll be shaving like an old pro in no time at all.

Pete <:-}

That's a great looking razor. Brave starting out with a French point, you have to be weary of where that point is too.

It sounds like you are off to a flying start, you did the right thing lurking around here first. It seems as though you heeded the right advice and went straight for the right thing.

Congrats, and enjoy the journey.

just remember also that your technique in the beginning can give you the impression of the razor not up to the task, but if that's right on, then stropping is the biggest issue with most new guys,, it takes a long time at stropping to get to where you actually can improve and edge. times will fix all of these issues, like maybe even 100 shaves. so if your edge needs work get it fixed, cause you cant really learn very well with dull tools Tc

What a beautiful piece! Congratulations!

Wish I had that sort of an option in Bangladesh. Got a Dovo Silver Prima Steel myself as my debut starter last week off Amazon.

That a nice razor for sure. I think you have gotten a lot of good info given. Take your time. Learning the strop will make the edge last longer. Maybe practice stropping with a butter knife daily would help you to keep the edge on that razor. Go slow and enjoy the trip.

And Welcome to SRP!

Beautiful razor. I love the spine work. Have you tried it yet?