****Note****
Sorry, but this is going to be a bit of a long post. I just want to make a formal introduction and get to know the community.
Hey everyone! my name is Mitch and I just joined this forum after lurking for a while and I must say, it is by far the best collection of knowledge I have seen yet and this forum is highly reccomended everywhere else. One of the main reasons I joined is the atmosphere and quality of people posting here. Some of the other forums I looked at had a bunch of existing members beating up on newbies and/or were unhelpful in nearly every regard in addition to lacking a bunch of information. I have read the stickies and like the policies that are enforced here as well. If you have any questions of me I will do my best to answer them. I look foward to spending time on this forum and as always, happy shaving!
A few things I should probably put out. I have never personally used a DE or straight razor but I have paid many times at babershops all over the world for the service and have found it to be one of the most enjoyable experiences on trips. after reading through much of this forum I decided to take the plunge and invest in the equipment to do it myself. I am active duty military (please, hold your applause until the end) so I would say I have more of a "hate" relationship with shaving after several years of disposables and electrics. Whether it is my daily shave at home, or cold shaving using a water bottle and a truck mirror I have experienced both ends of the spectrum. So, as I draw near to the end of my current trip away from home, I have been purchasing some supplies and now eagerly await my return. After much reading on this forum as well as my research I feel that I have managed to put together a fairly decent starter set. (please let me know of any other reccomendations you may have)
Here is what I have so far.
A Lion brand Yankee cutlery no. 601 straight razor (decent shape but will need restoration. )
A DF8 custom HRC cutlery damascus straight razor (the price was very suspicious but they have a return policy)
Proraso Shaving Soap
3 in. x 21 in. leather shaving strop
razor and brush stand
Bellus badger hair brush
Stainless steel insulated shave cup
Barberry Shave Co. bay rum aftershave.
All this was just under 150.00 ( just wanted to mention this, as most complete starter sets I saw for sale were slightly higher than what I paid purchasing everything individually)
Now, a disclaimer. After reading around, I know how much you all hate EBAY (yes, I said it) but, I did my research and feel that I made a fairly good choice. (if not, please let me know before I begin!) as stated previously, the Yankee seems good and the reviews were positive on the web. I followed the advice on this forum for purchasing old blades and looked over the many pictures very very carefully. plus, it was 12 bucks so the restoration cost wont be so hard to swallow and I already have a company lined up to do the work. The other one I am very suspicious about. If the description is an accurate representation of what I recieve, then it should be a good blade. But call me crazy, 50 bucks for a hand forged damascus blade seems too good to be true. But, with a bulletproof return policy I decided to take a chance. I will be sure to let you know how it works out. I also have a line on a company that specializes in straight razor hones so hopefully my wife can have them done before I get back. (we will see) I cannot wait to see how this turns out and I will be keeping a journal over on the newbie page to track my progress.
Mitch
Sorry, but this is going to be a bit of a long post. I just want to make a formal introduction and get to know the community.
Hey everyone! my name is Mitch and I just joined this forum after lurking for a while and I must say, it is by far the best collection of knowledge I have seen yet and this forum is highly reccomended everywhere else. One of the main reasons I joined is the atmosphere and quality of people posting here. Some of the other forums I looked at had a bunch of existing members beating up on newbies and/or were unhelpful in nearly every regard in addition to lacking a bunch of information. I have read the stickies and like the policies that are enforced here as well. If you have any questions of me I will do my best to answer them. I look foward to spending time on this forum and as always, happy shaving!
A few things I should probably put out. I have never personally used a DE or straight razor but I have paid many times at babershops all over the world for the service and have found it to be one of the most enjoyable experiences on trips. after reading through much of this forum I decided to take the plunge and invest in the equipment to do it myself. I am active duty military (please, hold your applause until the end) so I would say I have more of a "hate" relationship with shaving after several years of disposables and electrics. Whether it is my daily shave at home, or cold shaving using a water bottle and a truck mirror I have experienced both ends of the spectrum. So, as I draw near to the end of my current trip away from home, I have been purchasing some supplies and now eagerly await my return. After much reading on this forum as well as my research I feel that I have managed to put together a fairly decent starter set. (please let me know of any other reccomendations you may have)
Here is what I have so far.
A Lion brand Yankee cutlery no. 601 straight razor (decent shape but will need restoration. )
A DF8 custom HRC cutlery damascus straight razor (the price was very suspicious but they have a return policy)
Proraso Shaving Soap
3 in. x 21 in. leather shaving strop
razor and brush stand
Bellus badger hair brush
Stainless steel insulated shave cup
Barberry Shave Co. bay rum aftershave.
All this was just under 150.00 ( just wanted to mention this, as most complete starter sets I saw for sale were slightly higher than what I paid purchasing everything individually)
Now, a disclaimer. After reading around, I know how much you all hate EBAY (yes, I said it) but, I did my research and feel that I made a fairly good choice. (if not, please let me know before I begin!) as stated previously, the Yankee seems good and the reviews were positive on the web. I followed the advice on this forum for purchasing old blades and looked over the many pictures very very carefully. plus, it was 12 bucks so the restoration cost wont be so hard to swallow and I already have a company lined up to do the work. The other one I am very suspicious about. If the description is an accurate representation of what I recieve, then it should be a good blade. But call me crazy, 50 bucks for a hand forged damascus blade seems too good to be true. But, with a bulletproof return policy I decided to take a chance. I will be sure to let you know how it works out. I also have a line on a company that specializes in straight razor hones so hopefully my wife can have them done before I get back. (we will see) I cannot wait to see how this turns out and I will be keeping a journal over on the newbie page to track my progress.
Mitch
