Hi Everyone.
Had my very fisrt straight shave today, thanks to Larry at whipped dog. It went absolutely great. Much better than I would of ever imagined. If you are thinking about entering this "religion" of staright razor shaving, go to this man, do not pass go, do not collect 200 bucks. I sent him the two straights for a free hone, and picked up a strop kit. In the time of about 4 working days, I had one honed, and returned, along with the strop kit. This kit contained great information for someone just starting out. This man is there for us newbies, and has a passion for straight razors.
Some things that I would love to add if your thinking of starting:
1.) Read, Read, You Tube, Read More, and use the members here. I cant thank you all enough. Many of you dont know me. I didn't ask you directly. But I can say that I have read just about every straight shaving post that has been on this forum for the last 2 months, just to prepare myself for this experience. The people here will bend over backward to help someone just starting out.
2.) I prepared myself for the last 2 months for this by using my Mach 3. What I did was "strech" my skin as you do in straight shaving, just to get used to it. See how the cart. blade reacted. That gave me an idea of which way my hair was growing, and what ways I needed to pull when I eventually got my straight razor.
3.) For the past month, I have used great products on my skin. I bought some C.O. Bigelow shaving cream,and have been using it for the past two months. Smell is ridiculous, as I feel like I am 9 years old watching grandpa shave. Have bought Cella, and C&E Nomad. Both great items. Have a 10048 Boar Brush. This didnt cost me much at all, especially getting some of these items off of B/S/T. I have bought into witch hazel. Cheapest/ best aftershave you will ever find. I use Thayers unscented alcohol free w/aloe.
4.) Read, Read, Read more.
5.) Do I have razor burn now... a little...Would I have it anyways with a Mach 3, you bet. The reason I mention this is because it wasn't the perfect shave, but it gave me a starting point that I will be able to climb from. Heck, both my ears are still attached, and my nose only has a small nich on the bottom that will be healed tonight!
6.) Lets talk about coolness factor. I shave with a 8.00 razor that I found on ebay, that will last me a lifetime. It just says "Solingen" on the tang. I also am the proud owner of a Wade and Butcher wedge. How freakin' cool is it to know that one day I will be shaving with something from the late 1800's...no Planned obsolescence back then my friends. Next time you are hanging out with your buddy's, look at their faces when you tell them you use a straight razor. They will think you are a cross between Chuck Norris, John Wayne, an Astronaut, and Evel Knievel...
7.) I do have a strop on order from Ambrose. I am glad that I have my 19 dollar strop kit from whipped dog. I used it for the first time, and gave it a small nick. It is much better to nick a 19 dollar strop than a "more expensive than 19 dollar strop". I didn't believe this would happen, but thanks to this place, I have a "practice" strop to get me thru until im confident enough to use my Ambrose Creation.
Well, That is my story, and I am sticking to it. I hope this post may help some people on the fence about straight razor shaving. Little did my wife know, that day she dragged me to this flea market, and I bought this old, rusty straight razor for 6.50, that I would Google, Bing, and Yahoo myself all the way to Badger and Blade, and be bitten by the wetshaving bug!!!!
Thanks to all of you here at B&B, that got me to today. The day that I can say I started str8 shaving....
Please have a Safe and Happy Holiday weekend, and if your not from the USA, and it isn't a holiday for you, Go ahead and celebrate anyways...
Thanks for listening....
Had my very fisrt straight shave today, thanks to Larry at whipped dog. It went absolutely great. Much better than I would of ever imagined. If you are thinking about entering this "religion" of staright razor shaving, go to this man, do not pass go, do not collect 200 bucks. I sent him the two straights for a free hone, and picked up a strop kit. In the time of about 4 working days, I had one honed, and returned, along with the strop kit. This kit contained great information for someone just starting out. This man is there for us newbies, and has a passion for straight razors.
Some things that I would love to add if your thinking of starting:
1.) Read, Read, You Tube, Read More, and use the members here. I cant thank you all enough. Many of you dont know me. I didn't ask you directly. But I can say that I have read just about every straight shaving post that has been on this forum for the last 2 months, just to prepare myself for this experience. The people here will bend over backward to help someone just starting out.
2.) I prepared myself for the last 2 months for this by using my Mach 3. What I did was "strech" my skin as you do in straight shaving, just to get used to it. See how the cart. blade reacted. That gave me an idea of which way my hair was growing, and what ways I needed to pull when I eventually got my straight razor.
3.) For the past month, I have used great products on my skin. I bought some C.O. Bigelow shaving cream,and have been using it for the past two months. Smell is ridiculous, as I feel like I am 9 years old watching grandpa shave. Have bought Cella, and C&E Nomad. Both great items. Have a 10048 Boar Brush. This didnt cost me much at all, especially getting some of these items off of B/S/T. I have bought into witch hazel. Cheapest/ best aftershave you will ever find. I use Thayers unscented alcohol free w/aloe.
4.) Read, Read, Read more.
5.) Do I have razor burn now... a little...Would I have it anyways with a Mach 3, you bet. The reason I mention this is because it wasn't the perfect shave, but it gave me a starting point that I will be able to climb from. Heck, both my ears are still attached, and my nose only has a small nich on the bottom that will be healed tonight!
6.) Lets talk about coolness factor. I shave with a 8.00 razor that I found on ebay, that will last me a lifetime. It just says "Solingen" on the tang. I also am the proud owner of a Wade and Butcher wedge. How freakin' cool is it to know that one day I will be shaving with something from the late 1800's...no Planned obsolescence back then my friends. Next time you are hanging out with your buddy's, look at their faces when you tell them you use a straight razor. They will think you are a cross between Chuck Norris, John Wayne, an Astronaut, and Evel Knievel...
7.) I do have a strop on order from Ambrose. I am glad that I have my 19 dollar strop kit from whipped dog. I used it for the first time, and gave it a small nick. It is much better to nick a 19 dollar strop than a "more expensive than 19 dollar strop". I didn't believe this would happen, but thanks to this place, I have a "practice" strop to get me thru until im confident enough to use my Ambrose Creation.
Well, That is my story, and I am sticking to it. I hope this post may help some people on the fence about straight razor shaving. Little did my wife know, that day she dragged me to this flea market, and I bought this old, rusty straight razor for 6.50, that I would Google, Bing, and Yahoo myself all the way to Badger and Blade, and be bitten by the wetshaving bug!!!!
Thanks to all of you here at B&B, that got me to today. The day that I can say I started str8 shaving....
Please have a Safe and Happy Holiday weekend, and if your not from the USA, and it isn't a holiday for you, Go ahead and celebrate anyways...
Thanks for listening....
