If I were starting SR today... with the knowledge I have now

[Bob L.]

I've enjoyed every step of this journey.

• The mistakes taught me valuable lessons. "Don't shave when you have the hiccups" comes immediately to mind...
• The search for vintage razors is as much fun as finding them...
• The successes are worth far more than the failures...
• Being willing to try new ideas, new techniques, etc... expands horizons
• The failures in technique can be epic. I've learned to make sure not to try new techniques when facing a time issues. That and having some handy first-aid material right by the sink...
• The comfort level of a good straight razor shave is well-worth the learning curve...
• New razors cost far less then a new bike, a new Teleboard and boots
  , a new phone, etc... AND... they take up far less space...

 

[kingfisher]

I think I did most everything correctly. I bought my first straight from Whipped Dog, along with a cheap paddle strop. I started slowly, with cheeks only and WTG only for a while, until I gained more proficiency. I suffered very few mistakes/cuts.

What would I change?

1) My first razor would preferably have been a round point.
2) I would have bought fewer razors, maybe just 2 or 3 total
3) I would have switched to a Feather shavette system sooner

Ultimately, although I enjoyed straight razor shaving, I wasn't really on board with maintenance. The Feather SS shavette has allowed me to shave with an open blade and using techniques I learned while straight razor shaving without having to be concerned at all about blade maintenance, edge wear, honing, stropping, etc., etc. This works for ME. I really enjoy the SS shavette and, at this point, feel like it's the best razor system for me and for my face/stubble.

Straight razors are great, but they are not for everybody.

 

[rbscebu]

I am still very much a beginner with the SR. I bought my first "SR" and strop before I discovered B&B. With Slash's guidance I eventually reailsed that that SR really was a RSO.

I don't regret the RSO. It was only $5 and it taught me the basic stropping technique and the technicals of edge bevel. It ended up making a very good letter opener.

My first real SR is a Titan ACRM-2 that arrived almost shave ready. It only needed a good stopping on the demin and leather strops it came with to be shave useable.

So far, with what little I know now, I would not change anything (expect wishing I had found B&B sooner).

 

[jholen]

Skip the mystery.

Get lapping film, balsa and join the Method way.

Resistance is futile. I learned the hard way.

 

[luv2shave]

Bumping this thread, it needs more love.

Chanced upon this thread when searching for threads on dealing with slightly warped blades.

Fascinating share and wisdom. This thread needs to have many more posts by straight shavers. It's like a wiki share.

I am lucky to have B&B and youtube for searching anything under the sun including how to deal with straight razor geometry. Shaving with straight razors has been so easy thanks to the internet.

If I was to start straight shaving again, I would advise my younger self to start much much earlier, maybe 2008 (when I discovered B&B) when I got in to wet shaving. No regrets for my DE and SE journey, they add a lot of value to my wet shaving adventures, but I wish I had indulged in straight shaving much earlier.

 

[Ice-Man]

Bumping this thread, it needs more love.

Chanced upon this thread when searching for threads on dealing with slightly warped blades.

Fascinating share and wisdom. This thread needs to have many more posts by straight shavers. It's like a wiki share.

I am lucky to have B&B and youtube for searching anything under the sun including how to deal with straight razor geometry. Shaving with straight razors has been so easy thanks to the internet.

If I was to start straight shaving again, I would advise my younger self to start much much earlier, maybe 2008 (when I discovered B&B) when I got in to wet shaving. No regrets for my DE and SE journey, they add a lot of value to my wet shaving adventures, but I wish I had indulged in straight shaving much earlier.

+1 Same wish I had started sooner as I'm enjoying using a straight razor.

 

[rbscebu]

It is now 21 months since I started my SR shaving journey. In that time, I have learnt a lot from B&B and through my own experience. My advice now to a n00bie thinking of learning the gentlemanly art of SR shaving would be:

• Get a SR that is comfortably within your budget. Have it professional honed shave-ready by an experienced SR shaver.
• Set yourself up with 0.5μm, 0.25μm and 0.1μm diamond pasted balsa strops and use them to maintain your razor's shave-ready edge.
• SR shave daily, keep at it and, when shaving, give it your total concentration.

 

[Tomo]

This is a great idea for a thread. Thanks for posting @macintoshBR.

I have B&B to thank for getting me into straight razors. I also have B&B and @Slash McCoy to thank for a near perfect start.

I was all set up for DE but the shaves were less than perfect. I kept seeing shave of the day photos of beautiful straight razors. I was in lockdown and had no need to shave but was shaving daily just for the fun of it. There was plenty of unspent beer money laying around waiting to be spent. It was the perfect time to play around and learn a new skill so long as it didn’t involve leaving the house. Straight razor shaving was added to the bucket list and I started researching the topic. A LOT.

After much research, I decided to grab the following:
1. Ralph Aust 5/8” round tip razor in African Blackwood scales
2. 3” Tony Miller Old No. 2 in horse hide and flax linen
3. A Method honing set up of acrylic, lapping film, balsa and diamond paste

I read A LOT of posts and watched A LOT of videos as I waiting for my equipment to arrive. I spent several hours stropping butter knives on an old belt to practice.

Once my razor, strop and films arrived I couldn’t wait any longer and I had a crack. The razor was sold as shave ready from Ralph Aust. HHT tick. Tree topping test tick. I didn’t want to break the razor by stropping so I used it straight out of the box. A full face shave to start. Lots of stubble removed, not very close, a fair bit of irritation but no blood! Success! I packed up the DE for the rest and of the month. All or nothing.

The next shaves were much the same. I started stropping. Slowly and carefully… No nicks! Success!

I gave the lapping film a try. On my first attempt I killed the edge... Fail… I tried again and brought it back! Success!

I started wondering where the close comfortable shaves were hiding. The balsa strop materials arrived in the post and I set up the balsa strops. I followed the instructions as closely as possible and shaved. My first eureka moment! Around shave ten. Ok wow! So this is what they mean by shave ready…

Since then it’s been constant learning, improving, buying and trying. I kept the same set up for about 100 shaves until the honing threads got the better of me. Naturals were my second eureka moment. So comfortable and smooth. The films were easier though. I’m glad that I started there.

If I could do it all again I wouldn’t change much. Maybe I would have started with narrower naturals and strops. I prefer 2” to 3” now and I could have bought more earlier. Maybe I should have started with a Thüringian rather than a Jnat… That’s debatable. I definitely should have waited for the diamond paste to arrive. And I DEFINITELY should have started earlier!

 

[macintoshBR]

Nearly 2 years later and I wouldn’t change a thing. That’s good! My SR journey can be considered completed

 

[Legion]

I feel like, even though I have been doing this for quite a while, I am still learning new things all the time. I would probably start the way I started, but I still feel like I am on the journey

 

[Kyle89]

Thanks to the forum I feel like I was set up pretty well from the get-go. My only wasted purchase was one of those cheap 20 3000/8000 grit 2" honing stones. I did use it with success initially on a pair of Rolls Razor blades but it's been collecting dust since I purchased a better quality option. I can still use it on my knives though so all is not lost.

When honing, I would tell my "newbie" self (still feel like one though) to not be shy on the stones. Hone wear is meant to be. I did make the mistake of not refreshing the edge on my T.I. when I should have initially, but that was only because I was afraid of ruining the edge and was not confident enough to be able to bring the edge back in case I messed up. I could have avoided a little bit of irritation/aftershave burn, but that's okay.

 

[Steve56]

Some things you can only learn by experience, so if I was starting over I would lose that knowledge that I obtained over many years. If I keep that knowledge, I am not starting over!

Some changes that have come with experience:

I don’t buy many user grade razors except to keep wear off really pricey ones. I’ve transitioned from many cheap razors to a few nicer but more expensive razors. Note: don’t learn to hone on expensive razors. You will need a few inexpensive ones to learn with and an inexpensive strop to learn with.

I don’t recommend JNats and cotis much anymore except if you want to make JNats and cotis a part of the hobby. The chances of getting a stellar razor finisher are fairly small, but hey, the chase is fun! Thuris and Arks are less variable and less risky, price-wise.

For soaps and creams, start at the top (price wise) and work your way down, selling off the duds as you go. Soap is a relatively cheap part of the experience compared to straight razors and brushes, even the most expensive ones. If you start at the top, you’ll have much less cruft drying out in the shelf or having to sell off, and you’ll save a ton of money in the long run. BTW, your complexion (dry, oily) and nose are far more important than any list of ingredients or who made it.

For fragrances - and soaps - visit foreign forums for a different perspective. Many American forums revere drugstore soaps and fragrances that barely get a mention overseas. Somehow drugstore products are elevated to the top tier here. Powder and menthol with a few kibbles and bits aren’t usually a top tier smell for me. That said, the vintage drugstore players did a far better job than current artisans, JMO.

For SR honing, begin with a nice conventional synth set - Naniwa Superstones or the new Naniwa series is great. Once you have learned to set a bevel along every millimeter, manage pressure and hone without wearing your razors excessively, go with Shapton Glass. Keep the Naniwa 12k around though, it’s useful.

In short, don’t fool around with the bottom end products or rusty razors.