New to Straights

[Bshell]

I am seriously considering taking the plunge on straights. I have been looking and have no idea what I would like, but I can tell you that the T-I razors look absolutely beautiful.

http://www.thiers-issard.co.uk/page79.html
http://www.thiers-issard.co.uk/page82.html
http://www.thiers-issard.co.uk/spartacusramshorn.html

IMO, these are absolutely gorgeous, but are they for a noob like me?

I will definitely continue my due diligence, but I am also having a hard time making this decision. Shaving with a straight is terrifying!

 

[Doc226]

Are they for a new straight shaver, sure why not. Nothing wrong starting out with a beauty, you will always cherish.

I would NOT attempt to hone it yourself when it comes to that.

 

[25or6to4]

Conquer your fears! Maybe start shaving the hairs off your arm with a knife, then progress to gently gliding it against a small portion of your whiskers to get a feel and sound of what's supposed to happen. Even if nothing gets shaved off at all you will have experienced blade on skin (gently!) and hopefully have that aha moment. If and when you do begin straight razor shaving, those very fine razors and a great many more await you on your journey. Good Luck and Good Shaves to you!

 

[Krodor]

Are you CONUS? if so, PM me and gimme a week and I'll send you one of the GD's I just got in the mail. I'll deshoulderize it (will be my first time to do so, but should be fine), and will be honed-up, stropped, and ready to go. If you're ok with that, maybe you could use that as a "do I like this shaving method or not?" without spending the $$$ on one of those you linked. you game? are ya? ARE YA?!?!?!?

if it turns out you don't like it, send it back to me, and I'll PIF it to another potential straight-noob -- otherwise keep it as a PIF.

 

[Wid]

Are you CONUS? if so, PM me and gimme a week and I'll send you one of the GD's I just got in the mail. I'll deshoulderize it (will be my first time to do so, but should be fine), and will be honed-up, stropped, and ready to go. If you're ok with that, maybe you could use that as a "do I like this shaving method or not?" without spending the $$$ on one of those you linked. you game? are ya? ARE YA?!?!?!?

if it turns out you don't like it, send it back to me, and I'll PIF it to another potential straight-noob -- otherwise keep it as a PIF.

 

[Bshell]

Are you CONUS? if so, PM me and gimme a week and I'll send you one of the GD's I just got in the mail. I'll deshoulderize it (will be my first time to do so, but should be fine), and will be honed-up, stropped, and ready to go. If you're ok with that, maybe you could use that as a "do I like this shaving method or not?" without spending the $$$ on one of those you linked. you game? are ya? ARE YA?!?!?!?

if it turns out you don't like it, send it back to me, and I'll PIF it to another potential straight-noob -- otherwise keep it as a PIF.

This is one of the most generous things I've seen/been offered on these boards. Thank you very much for the offer. PM inbound.

 

[ouch]

That's a pretty hard offer to top.

In general, it's best to start with a simple razor with a competently prepared edge. Learn to shave, strop, and hone (at the very least how to touch up the edge) before getting that dream razor.

 

[Kentos]

It is always better to start off cheap(or free) IMO. Later on spend the big dollars on your dream razor .

 

[BJJ]

My first sr was http://www.straightrazordesigns.com...ck-5-8?zenid=e9466fa1fc40bf2bfa09f69bc3e58a7c


Good price and good razor to begin with IMO

 

[Krodor]

Ok, so she ain't pretty (it's essentially a stock GD), but she's now got an HHT-3-4ish post-stropping coticule edge on it. Test shave in the morning. If all goes well, I'll box it up and get it in the mail early next week, and you'll be the first recipient of my 1000th-post PIF GD giveaway spree. I'm still figuring out my own rules, but I plan on giving away several over a couple months, we'll see. Enjoy!

You'll note that the shoulders are still mostly there, I just honed around them. I got tired of trying to dremel them away (lots to do tonight). Other than that, it will come stropped, Lysoled and let air-dried, UV-C lit for a minute or so on each side, and mineral-oiled....ready to rock.

Edit: one last thing, full disclosure -- the last 1/16" or so at the tip may not be perfect, it looks like there was a little grinding boo-boo that didn't quite make that even. I could spend the time to fix it, but decided not to.

Requests:

• thou shalt read Larry's straight razor usage manual beforehand: www.whippeddog.com/app/webroot/userfiles/StraightRazorShaving_Manual(5).pdf
• thou shalt carefully wipe the oil off the blade and tang with a tissue, being careful not to drag the tissue along the cutting edge.
• thou shalt not allow the edge to touch anything other than strop, hair/whiskers, or skin (delicately)
• thou shalt keep instrument away from young kids
• thou shalt use a slightly wetter lather than you would with a DE
• thou shalt enjoy thyself and be proud for even trying The Way of The Straight.

 

[ricardo9505]

IMHO, best to start with a cheap vintage straight that is shave ready. someone on here recently posted, (around 4pm) about a great ebay seller of shave ready vintage blades that are great and not over-honed. keep looking in todays recent posts. it was a specific seller on ebay I saw on my phone while checking out the new posts earlier today

 

[Wid]

A shave ready "FREE" razor is hard to beat.

 

[Doc226]

A shave ready "FREE" razor is hard to beat.

Very true.

But if he likes it, it will be the most expensive free thing he has ever gotten.

 

[tomjr]

welcome brother, just jump right in the water is fine!! whipped dog has beginner straights, that is my advice.

 

[deezyrocks]

Welcome to straight razor shaving Bshell! Thats an awesome PiF I love the 6 PiF commandments!

 

[Bshell]

Requests:

• thou shalt read Larry's straight razor usage manual beforehand: printed and read last night. www.whippeddog.com/app/webroot/userfiles/StraightRazorShaving_Manual(5).pdf
• thou shalt carefully wipe the oil off the blade and tang with a tissue, being careful not to drag the tissue along the cutting edge. Will do.
• thou shalt not allow the edge to touch anything other than strop, hair/whiskers, or skin (delicately) Purchasing a strop ASAP.
• thou shalt keep instrument away from young kids 6 and 3 year old. Everything has been bubble wrapped since the first born.
• thou shalt use a slightly wetter lather than you would with a DE Will do.
• thou shalt enjoy thyself and be proud for even trying The Way of The Straight. I will do my best. Still scared to death.

[/QUOTE]

 

[Monsieur Blaireau]

The amazing KRODOR continues to give for the cause. He honed my grandfather's Boker for me a while back, and it's been a dream. Definitely a standup shaveangelist for the way of the straight razor. I'm back to DE for a spell, until I get a proper strop and steel my nerve again, but I'll be back to the straight for sure.

I believe shaving with a straight, if nothing else, improves your DE technique - lots.

And fear not, that last on Krodor's list of requests pretty much fulfills itself.

What's a GD, though??

 

[Krodor]

The amazing KRODOR continues to give for the cause. He honed my grandfather's Boker for me a while back, and it's been a dream. Definitely a standup shaveangelist for the way of the straight razor. I'm back to DE for a spell, until I get a proper strop and steel my nerve again, but I'll be back to the straight for sure.


What's a GD, though??

Monsieur, my friend! Glad to see you're still around this neck of the woods.

What's a GD? GD = Gold Dollar (typically the model 66, but they do offer others) = cheapest quality steel you can get. Everything else about it is sub-par. Scales, grind, screen printing on the blade, etc are kinda iffy, but in general, if you do it right, the edge can be pretty top notch. (though I must say the cheap scales on this one are fairly well-centered and nice and tight!) So, the price on these things is now sub $3.50 on ebay shipped from China. I figure 3.50 + shipping to a noob is a small price to pay for my own personal enjoyment of seeing their cheesy grin in my head when they take that first stroke on their face..."I really did it!".

Yeah, you'll want to get yourself a better razor in the future so you don't have to lower your eyes and mumble that your only razor is a GD 66, but if you can take the comaraderic(?) chuckles, they can give a fantastic shave, and I wouldn't mind shaving with one daily, but my other vintage razors would start complaining. This one below gave me a 3-pass DFS this morning with hardly any sting with my Brut AS.

I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as a "beginner straight razor". That being said, these things have fantastic features for new straight razor users:

• super cheap. If you can get it honed by someone to start with, they are great for learning maintenance.
• jimps on the bottom
• ~6/8, so not too small, not too big
• round point, so you are less likely to slice yourself with a square point
• most hold an edge just fine once honed

lots of reasons not to just go buy one if you are a noob, though, as the grind typically leaves the shoulders sticking out so far it is hard to hone comfortably.

So here she is. It currently has a coti edge on it, but I think I'll give it a hundred laps on my Chinese Natural (= "CHUG" = "chinese hone of unknown grit" = "PHIG" = "peoples hone of indeterminate grit" = "C12K" = "chinese waterhone") tonight, as I like that edge better (heaven forbid). I tried to elegantify the razor a bit to make it feel better, so I took the photos on my piano, and the 2nd one is on my piano AND on some old plastic flowers to make it sooper elegant:

 

[BigBull]

Are they for a new straight shaver, sure why not. Nothing wrong starting out with a beauty, you will always cherish.

I would NOT attempt to hone it yourself when it comes to that.

+1 This is exactly what I would tell you as well. I started looking, and looking, and looking. It became overwhelming. Just go with one thats shave ready and you like and go for it. I'm not going to mention exact names, they know who they are, but there are plenty of gents on this site that are willing to help you - and if you choose to go the used route you'll be in good hands. If you go new, just take it slow and steady.

I'm glad I made the plunge. Beware, it's a slippery slope. Enjoy the ride, it's very, very rewarding!

 

[Slash McCoy]

I was going to recommend having a look at www.whippeddog.com until I saw Krodor's most generous PIF. A GD66 deshouldered and honed by someone who knows what he is doing is the equal of the average $100 razor. Yes a TI would be somewhat better but that GD will gitter done. I mostly shave with modded GDs these days, myself. I find that with the spine thinned down, the edge straightened, and the heel completely removed, those things hone and shave beautifully and are hard to beat with any razor. Your "Gold Krodor" will be excellent to learn to shave with, I am sure.

After a few weeks, if you decide straight shaving is for you, you will probably want another razor. By that time your GD will probably be ready for re-honing. You will want another shave-ready razor to shave with while you send your GD to someone to hone, or try to teach yourself to hone it. At that time, you COULD go for the TI or another new razor from a reputable vendor who will hone it for you, or you could go with a vintage blade for a fraction of the cost. Larry at the site mentioned in the previous paragraph is one good source and I list him because he always has a bunch of razors ready to sell cheap and ready to rock your face.

Oh, before you start shaving you will also want a strop. Larry's Poor Man Strop Kit is a good cheap expendable setup for learning on. You are likely to ruin your first strop while learning to use it, so a more expensive one could be rather a waste of money. In fact, even if you get the Poor Man, you might wish to strop on newspaper the first half dozen attempts. To do that, just fold a page of newspaper lengthwise over and over until it is 2-3/4" to 3" wide. Pass one end over your towel rod or rack. Pinch both ends together and pull it tight, and you have a disposable strop that will work nearly as well as leather, and if you hack and slice it up, no big loss.

If you start out on newspaper, you might want to skip the Poor Man and go right for a better strop such as the popular, HYOOOOGE, and very cheap "Big Daddy" from www.starshaving.com. It is what I use as my everyday strop. I actually have two of them and I can't praise them enough, considering the price. If you start with the Poor Man, then a Big Daddy is still a good future upgrade. If the Poor Man survives your learning stage, you can keep it for a travel or backup strop.

Another good tool to have is a pasted balsa strop. This will help you to maintain your edge so it doesn't need honing so often. In fact is is possible to maintain the edge indefinitely with the balsa, if used correctly. The balsa piece should be about 12" long, about 3" wide, and 3/4" to 1" thick. The paste should be 1u (one micron) diamond paste on one side, .25u on the other. The balsa can be found at any hobby shop or online and shouldn't cost you more than about $6 for a nice piece. I think I bought a 36" piece for $7 recently. Carefully sand it flat on 1000 grit sandpaper lightly glued to a countertop with LocTite spray adhesive for best results. Apply a couple of bb's worth of each paste to separate sides so you have a coarse and a fine side. I get my paste from www.tedpella.com but there are plenty of other sources. To use, after each shave give the razor a dozen laps, spine leading just like on a leather strop., on the 1u side, then wipe the blade carefully and give it a dozen on the fine side. If your technique is spot-on you might never have to hone the razor again, though realistically a newbie can probably expect to get a couple of months out of it.

The Poor Man kit comes with a pasted balsa strop, though it is not pasted with diamond. It will still work, though, and there are many former Poor Man users who still use Larry's pasted balsa for maintenance of their edges.

It would be a good idea to read as many of the straight shaving and stropping threads as you can manage over the next couple of weeks before actually having your first straight shave. There is a lot to learn if your first shave is to be a successful one. You might also consider getting a junk razor to go through the motions with, one that is not sharp at all, and it doesn't matter if the quality is so poor that it can't be honed, for this purpose. Getting familiar with holding and stroking the razor will help get you through that first scary shave. You should lather up as normal, and just concentrate on keeping the blade angle low with the spine nearly touching the face, as you sweep the lather away with the junk blade. Practice your stropping, as well, if you like, on newspaper. This step is of course totally optional but I thought I would throw that out there. The reading part is NOT optional, unless you just want to filet your face. The HHT 3-4 edge that Krodor has put on that GD is sharp enough to eat you alive if you just grab it and go for it without a knowledge base.

Post if you have any questions. Someone will definitely answer and likely you will get multiple viewpoints and get all the bases covered. Good luck and happy shaves!