1st straight purchase with story

[dieselfuel79]

I have been thinking about a straight for a long time now. Even bought one about 2 years ago from a member (used) and never had the nerve to try it. So, I sold it. Bought a Feather SS kamisori style razor...nicked my face a dozen times, and decided it wasn't for me. Sold it. Even bought a sanguine shavette, which I do ok with...but something just didn't feel right.

For the next year, I sat around reading and wondering why I just didn't have the patience to learn the craft and try and enjoy it. "I won't have time to strop, or go get the razor honed"... and any other excuse I could think of. I kept reading about how nothing compared to a straight...even though some of the Japanese shavettes out there were very sharp, but not as forgiving. I realized that was the key point for me.

My wife and I found out 2 weeks ago we have our second child on the way. To celebrate, I picked up some items from Italian barber....and got to thinking about straight razors again.

I always like to see whats available here at B&B (As I would prefer to support my online brothers if possible) and have always found myself staring at Seraphim's work. I left my web browser opened to the picture below. Later in the morning, my wife asked me "Are you going to buy this? You should". I was in shock.

I thought about how little time I have to myself, and the whole point of getting into classic shaving was to learn the craft and ENJOY the time it took. So, after a couple of PM's and some hockey talk with Seraphim, I took the plunge. Now I just have to get myself a starter strop in preparation for this new shaving journey I am about to embark on. Any tips and hints are appreciated. I'll be sure to read thoroughly through the threads in this section for more info.

Thanks for reading,

Regards,

Brad

View attachment 374931

 

[Lmarkow]

First, congrats on your second baby. Second congrats on your first straight. Third, Gook luck with the first and second.

 

[wolfsvein]

Is that a Gold Dollar Custom? Or a Custom made razor?

 

[dieselfuel79]

Is that a Gold Dollar Custom? Or a Custom made razor?

Not 100% sure, but I think Seraphim makes all of his own razors.

 

[rockviper]

Go with a Star Shaving Big Daddy to start and through in their cheapie strop as well. Psst, use the cheaper one to get the nicks out of your system on.
Read those journals (mine is for comic relief only), especially global_devs.

 

[jrp316]

Not 100% sure, but I think Seraphim makes all of his own razors.

They're Gold Dollar customs unless stated otherwise IIRC. The one that dieselfuel79 has is definitely a Gold Dollar custom. Seraphim puts out good razors, so you'll be satisfied I'm sure. (If not, my mailbox is always open )

 

[Seraphim]

They're Gold Dollar customs unless stated otherwise IIRC. The one that dieselfuel79 has is definitely a Gold Dollar custom. Seraphim puts out good razors, so you'll be satisfied I'm sure. (If not, my mailbox is always open )

This.

If I made my own from scratch, they'd cost $300-400 like all the rest of the custom razors out there.

 

[Chaloney]

Brad,
you seem to have made a mistake. You see, it was MY name that razor was calling, not yours (Matt, not Brad, but I can see how you misunderstood). When it arrives, just send it my way, where it wants to go.

In all seriousness, congrats on the new baby and the new razor. Make sure to set aside some time pre-baby to learn to use it, as your free time will seem to vanish after he or she arrives. With babies, 1+1 = ~7, or so it feels at first.

Tips:
Get the starter strop from star shaving or go to whippeddog.com and get the poor mans strop kit. Whichever you get, take it slow at first. You can even use a full sheet of newspaper folded into a 3" strip. Loop it over a towel bar, grab both ends and strop on it. If you slice it up, there's loads more where it came from. Once you get the movement down, move on to the leather strop. Speed is not important.

Also, don't worry about limiting you first few weeks to just the flatter parts of your cheeks and neck and finishing with whatever you use now. Get comfortable with the strokes before going around the mouth and nose.

Don't forget to stretch your skin.

Remember light pressure.

He who hesitates is cut and bleeding.

That's all I can think of right now.

 

[KW Driver]

You will only get good at using a straight by using a straight. You'll beat the learning curve through immersion.

 

[Member357]

If I ever get the hang of shaving with a real straight (which seems a million miles away from me due to various reasons) then I want to get a Seraphim razor someday!

Enjoy, and congratulations on the second baby. We're struggling through the early days (well, he's 4 and a half months) of our first and probably only baby now, but I wouldn't change it for the world (well, more sleep would be nice!)

 

[dieselfuel79]

Thanks for the well wishes and suggestions everyone. I looked at the star shaving website, and it appears the "cheapy" strop and the "Big daddy" strops are on back order. Anyone know when they might have anything in stock? Should I just stick to newspaper?

 

[CanonSterVa]

Good luck with both new adventures and truly find the time to really enjoy both.
I have been at the straights for only a year and find it very enjoyable.

Myron

 

[Obiwan]

Congrats on both fronts Brad.

 

[Meemai]

Nice scales, I like them.