- Thread starter
- #21
That is such a beautiful razor and it is certainly the one that I truly want to get out of all the ones I've seen so far.
Newbie needs help choosing straight razor.
- Thread starter JLaneGreen
- Start date
When the razors arrive, don’t strop them. They will be shave ready as is to apply to your whiskers. Just wipe off the thin film of oil if there is any on the blades.
Don’t spend a lot for your first strop until you get the mechanics of stropping down because you’ll feel bad when you put your first nick in your strop. I think you made 2 good choices. I noticed last night the Kastor was sold so was wondering if you jumped on it or someone bought it out from under you.
Be mindful of the point on the Grelot! Good luck and take it slowly.
One more piece of advice, when shaving with a straight you want a slicker wetter lather(not runny or soupy)instead of a thick cushiony lather.
- Thread starter
- #23
Thanks. Good advice. I keep reading about lap film now and am starting to wonder if I even need a strop and am becoming even more confused. Talk about information overload! This is all so overwhelming.
You definitely need a strop! Lapping film can replace stones but not a strop. When you strop you align the edge, not actually sharpen it. You can get a hanging strop or paddle strop but I think most straight users here will concur you need a strop. I know it seems overwhelming at first but eventually the light bulb will go off and the fog will clear and you’ll get it.
First learn how to use the straight razor without donating too much blood. Worry about honing at some point later on. But get some kind of strop so you’re ready to go when the goodies arrive.
In case nobody has warned you yet, you’re getting very close to entering a super sized rabbit hole and the bottom of said hole is very difficult to find. So fasten your seat belt tightly and don’t say you weren’t warned! Happy Landings!
- Thread starter
- #27
Hahaha. Thank you sir. Warning acknowledged. I'm a collector of various other higher end accoutrements and paraphernalia and find that I'm often giving similar advice to newcomers in those groups. (Those communities are mostly on fb rather than forums). I'm currently retiring one such obsession due to the, well.. toxicity of some of the members and the drama they bring to the hobby (I'm just trying to buy a vintage Rubik's cube, not listen to your endless, profanity-laden political/ religious/ cheating spouse rant) and find that I simply can't sleep at night until I replace it with another. Wet shaving seemed to fit the bill nicely, as it were. Indeed, if I were to stop buying nice and relatively unnecessary things altogether, I might put some hard working delivery driver out of a job. Now none of us want that. After all, unlike myself, he probably has a family to think about and saves money wisely and, well, I just couldn't live with myself. Therefore, may the rabbit hole be deep and wide and may we all endeavor to search for the bottom together!
Before you pull the trigger, here are my 0.2 cents. I think it is perfect for beginners, in any respect.
Look at it this way, you’re probably shaving anyway so you might as well enjoy it instead of viewing it as a daily chore.
This is one I am looking at myself, Ralf Aust come shave ready as well. Started with a Boker 'King Cutter' 5/8 round, did not want to make a large leap to start. Now that I have, I see exactly what @sanookd was warning about the 'Rabbit Hole'.
My first new razor was an Aust from Maggards (the 6/8 snakewood with the thumbnotch). It remains one of my favorites.
