( I apologize in advance for this being VERY LONG. I have a lot of questions and I will truly be indebted to anyone who reads all of this and tries to help me out with answers )
Hello Gentlemen ( and ladies?? )
Greetings from wherever I may be at the moment. So, here's a little about my shaving past and present, and hopefully future.
I am not brand new to the wetshaving world, just new to the discussion. I currently have a Merkur Futur and an nice little vintage Gillette Slant that is super aggressive and that I have to be super careful with. I did have a Merkur Vision, but found it to be way too bulky and just not to my liking. I do enjoy my Futur, but I love the agile feel and aggressive shave of the slant. I kinda wish I could find another small, lightweight DE that gives an aggressive close shave, not quite as aggressive as the Slant ( the corners of the blade are really dangerous on it ), but that has the comfort of my Futur on about the 4 1/2 height setting.
I am just now getting into straight razors, and I would probably like to convert over to mostly straight raqzor shaving. I am a huge knife collector and it kinda makes sense for a blade collector who likes wetshaving to make the obvious progression to straight razors.
I have a couple of super cheap straights that I got on ebay and at local antique stores. I have used them to practice honing and stropping ( on a homemade paddle strop that I made and coated with Chrome Ox ) and to work on improving my technique for straight shaving. I recently tried to buy a Tosuke Japanese Straight on ebay because I really find the kamisori to be a beautiful bladed implement, but the seller ran into some difficulties and I never got the item. After that, I tried to buy a Dovo Bergischer Lowe, but after I made payment, the website found out they were out of stock and my payment was refunded. I hope this isn't a sign that the world doesn't want me shaving with a straight razor.
So, as of right now, I just have my Double Edges, and a couple of super cheap straights.
As far as accessories go, I have a super nice Silvertip Badger Brush that I got as a gift before I even got into DE and Straights. I have a pretty wide assortment of Shaving Creams from Truefitt and Hill, Penhaligons, Casswell-Massey, Bronnley, and others.
For Creams, I particularly like my Bronnley, Taylor's Avocado, Casswell-Massey Greenbriar, and Crabtree and Evelyn Sweet Almond Oil..............I also really like Pre de Provence soap in the little metal tin, as well as a little stick shaving soap that I came across at my wife's grandfather's house called Valobra that I think may be one of my all time favorite's and that I often use underneath one of my others.
I recently had my wedding at the Ritz Carlton New Orleans and happened to find a shaving cream at their spa called Boticario de Havana Formula No 312. Its more of a pre-shave cream than a true shaving cream, but I find that I can actually use it instead of a thickly lathered cream. It apparently has Orange Oil, Coffee, and Pineapple Extracts, and its awesome. I love the smell. In fact, I bought the hand lotion, too.....and the cologne, which smells a little bit different. Apparently it is Orange Blossom, Patchouli ( which I normally hate ), Bergamot, and Honeysuckle. Its a really nice maasculine, but clean and fresh smelling scent. Highly recommended.
The only aftershave that I can't live without is Trumper's Lime Skin Food. Its absolutely awesome.
As far as cologne's go, I always have some 4711 nearby, but I am a big fragrance collector, as well. Creed Silver Mountain Water and Millisime Imperial are my two top picks........along with Original Vetiver and Green Irish Tweed. I really like Tom Ford's Neroli & Art of Shaving Lemon EdT and wear them often. As I said, I wear my Boticario de Havana cologne frequently, as well. I am a big fan of D.R. Harris Arlington, but I ran out a while back and haven't gotten a new bottle.
I'm hoping you gentlemen can help me out with some questions. Obviously, by browsing the forums, I will be able to find out a lot of information that should help me out, but maybe someone can answer a few quick questions for me.
First off, as I seek to dive into straight razors, I would really like to get 2 or 3 more cheap razors so that I can 1. get some more practice honing and stropping 2. get some more practice straight shaving and 3. learn what types of straight razors I prefer i.e. size, blade shape, etc. I think that I prefer Square Point ( I think that is what its called ), but I would really like to try a French Point. Also, I've never tried a Kamisori before, but I've heard they take a super wicked sharp edge and are great shavers if you get a good one and hone it correctly.
So, is ebay really the best place to get old user straights. You know, I'm not looking for something with rusty pitted blades and an edge that looks like the grill of a hockey player from the 1920's. I'd like to get a few blades for under $30-$40 that I can practice sharpening with and that will actually give me a decent shave one I'm done. Is there a good website to find that kind of thing?
Secondly, when it comes to honing. I have a Dia-Sharp Extra Extra Fine 8000 mesh 3 micron Diamond Hone. Its one of those all metal ones that supposedly has the diamonds embedded in the metal. I also have an antique John Primble Hone. Its a small grayish colored stone that is super smooth, like ceramic. Do I need any more than this to get a good edge on a straight? I've been able to get good shaving edges on the cheap razors I've had, but I've heard about people who are able to get an edge that glides just butter smooth ( in fact, the girl that gave me the straight razor shave at the Ritz on my wedding day had a razor that was that sharp ) So, if I need something more, where is the best place to find it. I've heard all about Coticules, and Norton 4K/8K's, and Naniwa 10K's and 12K's, and super expensive Japanese Waterstones, but do I need all of that?
Also, I don't have a quality strop right now. Here's where another aspect of my hobbies comes in however. I have recently begun using a strop for my knives. I've started putting convex grind on a large number of my knives. Due to the extra support of the metal behind the edge, the convex grind cuts super well ( especially on Full Flat Ground blades ) but also stays sharp nearly twice as long in my experience. You have to have a strop with paste on it to keep a convex grind sharp. So, I'm actually planning to get 2 strops. So, if you were going to get 2 strops and pastes that you could use ( preferably different kinds ) so that you could go progressively smaller.......for example, maybe 1 micron paste or spray on the cloth side of one strop, 0.5 micron spray on the leather side of the first strop, then 0.25 on the cloth side of the 2nd strop, then plain leather on the 2nd strop second side............which two strops would you pick?
I really do want to buy a couple of straight razors. I definitely want to get a Kamisori, but I don't really know enough about them to pick out the best one. I was going to get a Tosuke because that is the only name I recognize, but I have also heard that there are a lot of fakes out there and that there are also better name brands of Japanese Straight Razors. As far as traditional western straights, I was going to get a Dovo, as I said, but I would really like to get a Dubl Duck and a Filarmonica. the two people that I know who seem to know alot about straights have both raved about those two brands. They just seem kinda hard to come by, and also look to be quite expensive. I'd love to hear some folks thoughts on those, as well.
Anyway, I'm sure you fine folks will see me around the forums, asking questions here and there. Maybe one day I'll be one of the old timers who can help out newbies like myself..
Have a great weekend, all, and thanks for providing info for guys like me!
BladedOne
Hello Gentlemen ( and ladies?? )
Greetings from wherever I may be at the moment. So, here's a little about my shaving past and present, and hopefully future.
I am not brand new to the wetshaving world, just new to the discussion. I currently have a Merkur Futur and an nice little vintage Gillette Slant that is super aggressive and that I have to be super careful with. I did have a Merkur Vision, but found it to be way too bulky and just not to my liking. I do enjoy my Futur, but I love the agile feel and aggressive shave of the slant. I kinda wish I could find another small, lightweight DE that gives an aggressive close shave, not quite as aggressive as the Slant ( the corners of the blade are really dangerous on it ), but that has the comfort of my Futur on about the 4 1/2 height setting.
I am just now getting into straight razors, and I would probably like to convert over to mostly straight raqzor shaving. I am a huge knife collector and it kinda makes sense for a blade collector who likes wetshaving to make the obvious progression to straight razors.
I have a couple of super cheap straights that I got on ebay and at local antique stores. I have used them to practice honing and stropping ( on a homemade paddle strop that I made and coated with Chrome Ox ) and to work on improving my technique for straight shaving. I recently tried to buy a Tosuke Japanese Straight on ebay because I really find the kamisori to be a beautiful bladed implement, but the seller ran into some difficulties and I never got the item. After that, I tried to buy a Dovo Bergischer Lowe, but after I made payment, the website found out they were out of stock and my payment was refunded. I hope this isn't a sign that the world doesn't want me shaving with a straight razor.
So, as of right now, I just have my Double Edges, and a couple of super cheap straights.
As far as accessories go, I have a super nice Silvertip Badger Brush that I got as a gift before I even got into DE and Straights. I have a pretty wide assortment of Shaving Creams from Truefitt and Hill, Penhaligons, Casswell-Massey, Bronnley, and others.
For Creams, I particularly like my Bronnley, Taylor's Avocado, Casswell-Massey Greenbriar, and Crabtree and Evelyn Sweet Almond Oil..............I also really like Pre de Provence soap in the little metal tin, as well as a little stick shaving soap that I came across at my wife's grandfather's house called Valobra that I think may be one of my all time favorite's and that I often use underneath one of my others.
I recently had my wedding at the Ritz Carlton New Orleans and happened to find a shaving cream at their spa called Boticario de Havana Formula No 312. Its more of a pre-shave cream than a true shaving cream, but I find that I can actually use it instead of a thickly lathered cream. It apparently has Orange Oil, Coffee, and Pineapple Extracts, and its awesome. I love the smell. In fact, I bought the hand lotion, too.....and the cologne, which smells a little bit different. Apparently it is Orange Blossom, Patchouli ( which I normally hate ), Bergamot, and Honeysuckle. Its a really nice maasculine, but clean and fresh smelling scent. Highly recommended.
The only aftershave that I can't live without is Trumper's Lime Skin Food. Its absolutely awesome.
As far as cologne's go, I always have some 4711 nearby, but I am a big fragrance collector, as well. Creed Silver Mountain Water and Millisime Imperial are my two top picks........along with Original Vetiver and Green Irish Tweed. I really like Tom Ford's Neroli & Art of Shaving Lemon EdT and wear them often. As I said, I wear my Boticario de Havana cologne frequently, as well. I am a big fan of D.R. Harris Arlington, but I ran out a while back and haven't gotten a new bottle.
I'm hoping you gentlemen can help me out with some questions. Obviously, by browsing the forums, I will be able to find out a lot of information that should help me out, but maybe someone can answer a few quick questions for me.
First off, as I seek to dive into straight razors, I would really like to get 2 or 3 more cheap razors so that I can 1. get some more practice honing and stropping 2. get some more practice straight shaving and 3. learn what types of straight razors I prefer i.e. size, blade shape, etc. I think that I prefer Square Point ( I think that is what its called ), but I would really like to try a French Point. Also, I've never tried a Kamisori before, but I've heard they take a super wicked sharp edge and are great shavers if you get a good one and hone it correctly.
So, is ebay really the best place to get old user straights. You know, I'm not looking for something with rusty pitted blades and an edge that looks like the grill of a hockey player from the 1920's. I'd like to get a few blades for under $30-$40 that I can practice sharpening with and that will actually give me a decent shave one I'm done. Is there a good website to find that kind of thing?
Secondly, when it comes to honing. I have a Dia-Sharp Extra Extra Fine 8000 mesh 3 micron Diamond Hone. Its one of those all metal ones that supposedly has the diamonds embedded in the metal. I also have an antique John Primble Hone. Its a small grayish colored stone that is super smooth, like ceramic. Do I need any more than this to get a good edge on a straight? I've been able to get good shaving edges on the cheap razors I've had, but I've heard about people who are able to get an edge that glides just butter smooth ( in fact, the girl that gave me the straight razor shave at the Ritz on my wedding day had a razor that was that sharp ) So, if I need something more, where is the best place to find it. I've heard all about Coticules, and Norton 4K/8K's, and Naniwa 10K's and 12K's, and super expensive Japanese Waterstones, but do I need all of that?
Also, I don't have a quality strop right now. Here's where another aspect of my hobbies comes in however. I have recently begun using a strop for my knives. I've started putting convex grind on a large number of my knives. Due to the extra support of the metal behind the edge, the convex grind cuts super well ( especially on Full Flat Ground blades ) but also stays sharp nearly twice as long in my experience. You have to have a strop with paste on it to keep a convex grind sharp. So, I'm actually planning to get 2 strops. So, if you were going to get 2 strops and pastes that you could use ( preferably different kinds ) so that you could go progressively smaller.......for example, maybe 1 micron paste or spray on the cloth side of one strop, 0.5 micron spray on the leather side of the first strop, then 0.25 on the cloth side of the 2nd strop, then plain leather on the 2nd strop second side............which two strops would you pick?
I really do want to buy a couple of straight razors. I definitely want to get a Kamisori, but I don't really know enough about them to pick out the best one. I was going to get a Tosuke because that is the only name I recognize, but I have also heard that there are a lot of fakes out there and that there are also better name brands of Japanese Straight Razors. As far as traditional western straights, I was going to get a Dovo, as I said, but I would really like to get a Dubl Duck and a Filarmonica. the two people that I know who seem to know alot about straights have both raved about those two brands. They just seem kinda hard to come by, and also look to be quite expensive. I'd love to hear some folks thoughts on those, as well.
Anyway, I'm sure you fine folks will see me around the forums, asking questions here and there. Maybe one day I'll be one of the old timers who can help out newbies like myself..
Have a great weekend, all, and thanks for providing info for guys like me!
BladedOne
