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Hello - new to SR

Decide to give SR shaving a try and so far have been pleasantly surprised with no major cuts so far after a couple weeks. I am shaving around a beard though so I haven't tackled some of the harder spots. Enjoying the overall experience.

I will admit that honing and how to maintain blades is something I'm still trying to figure out. I tried a couple of different razors, and one of the needs a hone I think. I'm still trying to make sense of different advice on how to approach this, and I'm also having trouble telling what a reliable vendor would be to send it to. Eventually I'd like to do it myself, but I want to get a better sense for what a good edge truly is first so I know it when I get there.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Welcome to B&B. you have not told us your location. Perhaps this may help:
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
Welcome to the forum from Australia and thanks for taking the time to check in with us and introduce yourself.
 
Welcome to the forum! I recently started SR shaving too and have found the people here friendly and knowledgeable. Once you manage to get someone reputable to hone your razor, there’s a wealth of information on the straight razor forum to help you maintain its edge. See you there!
 
@Stygo welcome to B&B!

It sounds like you and I are in a similar learning spot for straight razors, but you are a couple of weeks ahead.

Glad to hear of your early success.

I’m too new to straight razors to provide any technical advice. So, I’ll just tell you what works for me…have fun, don’t be afraid to experiment, and enjoy learning and your shaves.

I’m learning honing too, with one caveat. I have two shave ready razors as benchmarks and that I can grab at anytime when I find the razor I’m learning to hone on is insufficient to perform the task. I think your goal of getting a benchmark honed razor is a great idea.

There are some amazing and well respected B&B members that can either provide honing and/or point you in the right direction.

Lots of information and very helpful folks here. Glad to have you and looking forward to following your progress.
 
Thank you all for the welcome. I like that going through the shaving process, brush and all, forces you to slow down and focus on the moment. Sometimes it is hard to slow down and be patient when learning, I'm especially finding this with creating good lather. Works well when I take time and focus on it, otherwise not so much! It is a bit easier to slow down when working with a sharp blade near your face, but I've found slowing down the other steps is just as important - warming skin and good lather.
 
Welcome to B&B where the people are amazing and the information is limited only by the Rabbit holes we tend to explore. 🐰 🕳️.
 
Just going to relate a couple of things from my own experience, so take from that what you will.

It is easy to get complacent when you have gone a few months without cuts. This can be dangerous. I still have the scar to prove complacency is a bad idea.

When starting you might notice your shaved rapidly improve for a while then seems to plateau. This can be frustrating as you read about people getting great shaves but yours haven't reached levels you are used to. This is normal. Carry on with the straight. You are still learning and consolidating lessons already learned. I went through a few of these phases. Even after a number of years I notice slight improvement over time.

Good luck and keep at it.
 
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