This one hasn't been done before...

[Tedolph]

I've ordered your recommendation, Tedolph. I'll learn on the GD208 6/8 half hollow. I can spend 6 months with that and go from there. I ordered it shave ready from Wet Shaving Products, cost about $35.

Got some inexpensive stuff off Amazon as I'm now taking advantage of Amazon Student Prime. Got a double sided strop block for $30, A&E St Barts for $21, some synthetic brush for $15, and an alum block and styptic just in case. Here we go!

Congratulations Speak. Please visit us in the SR forum if you need advice or get frustrated. Take baby steps: first just do your cheeks with the grain and finish up with the razor you use now; then after you have mastered that your cheeks, jaw and chin; then your whole face and neck; then all of that plus a second pass against the grain on your neck and across the grain on your face. Don't move from one step to the next until you have mastered the previous step. This is how I was taught and it worked great for increasing my confidence and reducing fear.

Always watch your angle and don't push!

Finally, right from the start force yourself to use both hands-you will thank me for it later.

 

[SpeakWithMichael]

Finally, right from the start force yourself to use both hands-you will thank me for it later.

I shall do my best.

 

[Tedolph]

I shall do my best.

One more piece of advice some here may not agree with: don't buff. Buffing leads to razor burn. Go for long straight strokes only stopping where you need to change your angle. When you get to the end of a stroke, lift the blade off your face, set the correct new angle, put the blade down and go. Don't go back over areas where there is no cream! With experience you will be able to change angle on the fly without lifting up the blade. Make your strokes deliberate but go slow and easy (little to no pressure) while learning. Angle can be up to 30 degrees where your skin is thick like your cheeks, to as little as ten degrees (spine almost resting on your skin) where your skin is thin like on your neck.

 

[Slash McCoy]

A polished marble or granite (not ceramic!) floor tile and some red resin type wet/dry sandpaper stuck to it with spray adhesive is all you need to keep a stone flat. Works much better than so called flattening stones that are barely bigger than the stone to be lapped. Of course, with film on acrylic, you never have to lap anything because the plate doesn't get any wear so the film will always be flat if properly applied.

You really really really need a hanging strop. Doesn't have to be super high quality. A simple cowhide strop, well made, is fine. Anything between 2-1/2" to 3" wide is good.

A second razor is a good thing, too. Especially since you are going cheap. When one gets dull, you still got the other to shave with, while you attempt to refresh the other or send it out for honing. You should take a look and see what's available for sale by forum members on the BST forum. A second 208 would be fine, if you don't find a shave ready vintage razor that catches your eye. There are other Gold Dollar models that are pretty decent, such as the P81 (AKA "1996") but having shaved with most of their models I would rate the 208 as my current favorite.

You have a brush? Soap? I highly recommend a silvertip badger brush. It won't be scritchy and it will hold a lot more lather than a boar, too. Larry at www.whippeddog.com sells some pretty decent ones for cheap, only a buck or two more than what you would pay for a Chinese brush, without the wait. I have three of his 30mm monsters so obviously I like that brush. You may find a 26mm knot to be easier to use in a mug, if you go that route, but it still holds a lot of product. For soap, C.O. Bigelow or Proraso is a good pick. They are the same, just different brand name for different markets. They sell several formulas. Cheapest decently usable soap is probably Arko, a little over a buck per stick if you buy in quantity online. Some guys don't like the smell but it fades in minutes. Smell don't shave, anyway. Purty don't shave. Sharp shaves.

Finally, you might have a look into the use of the lapped and pasted balsa strop for your edge maintenance needs. See this thread:
(1) How To Use a Pasted Balsa Strop | Badger & Blade
You will need the full three stage progression initially, because the jump between 12k finisher and 200k diamond is too big of a jump, but once the edge is dialed in, you will have an enviously sharp edge that needs only the fine grit balsa to maintain it indefinitely. No stone required. No film required. Read the whole thread because the collective experience of the thread participants and their contributions refined The Method considerably from its inception.

 

[SpeakWithMichael]

Could an Imperia La Roccia (12k-15) be my one and only stone for maintaining straights? I watched a Youtube video claiming an 8k and an ILR would be the only stones you ever need. But I'm thinking if the straight comes shave ready, then an ILR and a strop would be more than enough to bring out some whisker popping sharpness? Don't see the need for an 8k at this time unless the razor was NOT shave ready, was vintage and worn, etc.

 

[SpeakWithMichael]

One more piece of advice some here may not agree with: don't buff. Buffing leads to razor burn. Go for long straight strokes only stopping where you need to change your angle. When you get to the end of a stroke, lift the blade off your face, set the correct new angle, put the blade down and go. Don't go back over areas where there is no cream! With experience you will be able to change angle on the fly without lifting up the blade. Make your strokes deliberate but go slow and easy (little to no pressure) while learning. Angle can be up to 30 degrees where your skin is thick like your cheeks, to as little as ten degrees (spine almost resting on your skin) where your skin is thin like on your neck.

What is buffing?

 

[SpeakWithMichael]

A polished marble or granite (not ceramic!) floor tile and some red resin type wet/dry sandpaper stuck to it with spray adhesive is all you need to keep a stone flat. Works much better than so called flattening stones that are barely bigger than the stone to be lapped. Of course, with film on acrylic, you never have to lap anything because the plate doesn't get any wear so the film will always be flat if properly applied.

Saw that on a Youtube video today. I like the idea but for the space and trouble, I'll get a $20 flattening stone.

You really really really need a hanging strop. Doesn't have to be super high quality.

Okay with a flat strop block, double-sided? Got one in yesterday called The Viking Edge. Real nice packaging, by the way. My logical mind says flat block strop will be better than a hanging strop.

You will need the full three stage progression

How would you feel about an Imperia La Roccia which is 12k-15k as a one and only?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Saw that on a Youtube video today. I like the idea but for the space and trouble, I'll get a $20 flattening stone.

The problem with a flattening stone is it must be lapped, and also it is not any bigger than the stone to be flattened. Overrun causes dishing.

Okay with a flat strop block, double-sided? Got one in yesterday called The Viking Edge. Real nice packaging, by the way. My logical mind says flat block strop will be better than a hanging strop.

No, it is not better. A normal hanging leather strop is better.

How would you feel about an Imperia La Roccia which is 12k-15k as a one and only?

Just as good as a 12k Naniwa. But it does not take the place of pasted balsa progression to 200k.

But, it is your razor. Do it like you feel it. Just know that what I have recommended, works best. Ask anyone who has learned to use The Method.

 

[Tedolph]

What is buffing?

Going over and over the same spot with short strokes. Make your strokes long and steady. Also don't go overboard with the stones. If you start with a properly honed razor and don't abuse it you will never need to reset the bevel (4k stone) and thus you will never need to polish out the scratches in the new bevel (8k stone). So you don't need a progression of stones. All you need to maintain your edge is a two sided strop and an Arkansas or barber's stone. The only people who need a full progression of stones are people restoring old razors or people repairing damaged razors.

Also as a beginner you don't need, and really don't want a super fine edge. So you can ignore films and pastes and all that stuff until your technique gets a lot better.

 

[JoeShaves]

Beginner to straights looking for hardware recommendations to be good to go for a long time (until I buy even better SR's down the road).

I think I'd like a quarter hollow, but it seems Hart Steel (one of the few who make new and not-too-expensive quarter hollows) isn't what it used to be, according to what I'm reading here and there.

Why do I think I want quarter hollow? Because heavy and less noise seems preferable to me than light and noisy. I want that blade to glide and cut like it's a hot knife through butter. And last I checked, butter doesn't make much noise. Haha! And less passes. I would think a heavier blade would allow for less passes, and thus less irritation. I do one pass with a Gillette Mach 3 and I've got it pretty baby smooth.

Seeing as I can't seem to find anything of the top brands in quarter hollow variety for less than $150, I found a 5/8 Thiers Issard 1937 Special Coiffeur half-hollow. Thoughts on this one?

Then for sharpening... should I get a Naniwa 10 or 12k and a strop? Should I get something called a coticule? What would you recommend in the wedge to half hollow territory and what sharpening/honing tools would make sure I have a very sharp edge all the time for the next 10 years without having to buy anything more?

Thank you!

OK.. So owning four TIs I can tell you that they are almost perfect out of the box. My standard process is run it on Naniwa 12k about 20 laps (gently) and strop as usual. I have done this on al four and they shave exactly like you expect (but they do sing).

You are correct about the the Hart razors they are now officially junk razors as I bought one Dec 2020 and cannot hone it at 16 degrees without microchips and it still won't shave well or hold an edge. Classic no longer cares they don't even bother to answer customers anymore.