Welcome to B&B!
New to forum, introduction, and a little advice would be appreciated
- Thread starter HV_Medic
- Start date
Yes. Click on the person's name to the left of a post of theirs, and then click on the "Start conversation" button.
- Thread starter
- #23
I believe you need 10 posts to send users direct/private messages.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
That is correct. Helps to reduce spam PM's (private messages). The ten-post limit can be overridden by a moddie, if you are nice to him.
- Thread starter
- #26
Okay, shouldn't be too tough to rack up 10 posts.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Only if the posts have some quality. Not like your last four posts that were obviously just trying to increase your post count.
Ah, I wasn't aware of that restriction. Thank you.
- Thread starter
- #29
Boy, a lot of rules I wasn't aware of, I looked, I can't seem to find any sort of guide for this forum in regards to rules governing what counts as a quality post and what activities grant certain privileges on the forum though I might not know where to look for such things. That is a little frustrating! Again new here, and I'm just trying to get my new razor to effectively shave me before I get frustrated with the thing, throw it in a drawer, and never use it again, you can't blame me for being excited about this. There are a handful of stores in the Hudson Valley that do sell knives, I am going to call them and see if they do razor honing (I know, tread carefully with that plan). Another option is to see if my father can do it, he is very skilled at sharpening knives but he doesn't have any experience with razors so I'm hesitant to ask him. If I cannot find anybody, I will reach out to the moderators and see if they would have the magnanimity to grant me the privilege of DM'ing the member that was mentioned above before I have 10 'quality' posts under my belt. In the meantime, I did order one of the $20 razors from Maggard's that somebody else mentioned as a means to find out what a true shave ready blade feels like. I've seen quite a few vendors online that offer honing services, I may wind up sending it to one of them. There do seem to be options. We will see. Sorry if I sounded frustrated, it is just difficult for me taking something I've been so enthusiastic about and feeling like I'm hitting a brick wall. I guess I sort didn't realize what exactly I was getting myself into.
You’re at 11 posts now. Should be good. Welcome to B&B!
- Thread starter
- #31
I am also absolutely stunned that companies (even ones that have good reputations) are able to sell products that aren't ready to use. I mean, imagine buying a very expensive car and then finding out that it doesn't come with tires, and being told, well the car will technically get you from point a to point b but in order to effectively use your car you will need to take the car elsewhere and have somebody put tires on the car. Maybe the analogy is flawed, but it feels a little like I was sold an incomplete product. Sorry for venting.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
@HV_Medic do not use a knife sharpener person to hone your razor. Not even your father, unless he regularly shaves with a traditional straight razor and hones his own. Many a knife sharpener has ruined a good straight razor. Sharpening a knife and a straight razor are two different ballgames.
Contact @Doc226 as previously suggested.
Contact @Doc226 as previously suggested.
Welcome to the forum, brother! Don't lose the enthusiasm! We love it. Maybe shift her down a gear til you get the hang of straight shaving though. 
As far as "quality" posts, don't worry! I haven't made one yet!
As far as "quality" posts, don't worry! I haven't made one yet!Definitely keep the enthusiasm! Perhaps browse the straight razor threads and maybe there is someone local or some options listed on who can hone the razlr for you. Lots of fun on the journey and learning a new skill.
@KeenDogg, c'mon you have to have 2 or 3 quality posts in nearly 15,000. Probably not double digit quality though
@KeenDogg, c'mon you have to have 2 or 3 quality posts in nearly 15,000. Probably not double digit quality though
Don't worry about it, HV, you are doing just fine. There are more than enough brick walls to hit with the actual shaving, we don't try to stick too much micro-management about posts in the way of guys here for good purposes.
Hopefully your messaging function is "on" now.
I get the frustration - I think we were all there at the beginning. I mentioned the "magic numbers" of 30 and 100 as the times you'll be thinking "I'm getting the hang of this" and "I can do this now", but that "is it me or is it the edge?" feeling stays with you (at least, it still sometimes comes up with me at around two years in).
The car analogy is a good one. Best to have someone else change the oil filter and brake pads (or even drive the thing) until you know what you're doing. It's maintenance. It doesn't hurt to think of that last fraction of a millimetre of steel as a consumable item (like a replaceable blade).
Welcome to B&B.
I would also reccomend reading through the Wiki which covers blade angle and lather preparation. Check the straight razor section too.
I would also reccomend reading through the Wiki which covers blade angle and lather preparation. Check the straight razor section too.
- Thread starter
- #38
So, today I took another look at what I was doing. I certainly agree that my razor needs to be professionally honed and in the next few days I will be sending it out to do this. But, I noticed something interesting. I decided to retry stropping my razor and as I was doing it, I noticed that my strop (IRC 127) has a slight concavity to it and as I was stropping the middle part of the razor was not making contact with the strop. This might explain why the extreme ends of the razor are sharp enough to pass the standing hair test but the center isn't. I tried flexing the strop ever so slightly so that all of the razor came in contact with the strop and then gave it like 30 passes. I tried shaving a small area of my face with it and it was a vast improvement but it still wasn't great. With this new bit of information, I am going to see if I can sand the strop so that it is flat, I may also consider getting a new strop, the IRC 127 seemed like it was pretty highly recommended on this forum, is there another strop that others would recommend that might be better out of the box?
- Thread starter
- #39
My razor is out for honing.
In the meantime, my Artist Club shavette razor came in and gave it a try tonight. The positive: the shave experience was much smoother and less painful and I managed to get a close shave. The bad: I think I cut myself more during this shave than any other shave I've ever given myself, seriously, all I can think of is that scene in Looney Toons when Bugs Bunny says after shaving Elmer Fudd: "there, you're nice and clean, although it looks like your face went through a machine", complete with Rossini's music playing in the background. Anyways, now that I know what a sharp razor feels like, I'm putting the shavette away until I get my Dovo back and I'm going to use my safety razor until then.
In the meantime, my Artist Club shavette razor came in and gave it a try tonight. The positive: the shave experience was much smoother and less painful and I managed to get a close shave. The bad: I think I cut myself more during this shave than any other shave I've ever given myself, seriously, all I can think of is that scene in Looney Toons when Bugs Bunny says after shaving Elmer Fudd: "there, you're nice and clean, although it looks like your face went through a machine", complete with Rossini's music playing in the background. Anyways, now that I know what a sharp razor feels like, I'm putting the shavette away until I get my Dovo back and I'm going to use my safety razor until then.
I believe shavettes are as unforgiving as they get. I've heard that straights are more manageable.
Enjoy some DE shaves.
Enjoy some DE shaves.
