Top Five for a Noob?

[DM.Aelis]

Hello all; new to the forum! I'm Isaiah, a college sophomore and a jaded shaver who's mad as hell at my electric shaving ***. : ) I came to B&B for some culture and a window into what shaving SHOULD be.

My Grandpa is an old-school straight razor kind of guy, but he never bothered to teach my Dad. I'm away at college and can't really consult him unfortunately; hopefully he wills me his Dovo if I get into this!

My Dad struggles with cartridge razors and really dislikes shaving in general. He never really taught me the shaving rite of passage (learned on my own) but long story short, I'd like to get back to basics.

I want to give this straight razor thing a go.

I'm hounding eBay for shave ready, quality razors, and have read the "interactive SR guide" front to back.

I'm thinking I'll pick up a basic shave-ready razor, good soap, a cup, a brush, etc. hopefully for $50-70 if I'm a good bargain hunter. Beyond that, my plan is to get a paddle strop as my "do-it-all" strop...well-shaved gentleman has one like that.

Any top five tips for someone who's never pressed a SR to his face before? Any funny first-time stories? Can I make it a long time with said gear or am I asking for trouble? (I don't really want to invest $100+ in a hone, diamond plate for flattening, etc.)

Thanks for the help, looking forward to being an involved B&B member!

 

[leighton]

Scour the classifieds for deals on razors. I'm about to put up a few for under $60. You can find one for under $25 every now and then too.

Contact Gugi if you want a starter set, he seems to put one together once a month or so.

edit:
For new razors, straight razor designs is the way to go. Lynn and Don are great.

 

[gregs656]

My top 5 tips would be

1. Check if it's a good deal before you buy, not after.
2. The more you read, the easier it is to spot the good stuff from the bad. so read.
3. Don't expect great things after 2 shaves, there's a lot to learn, give it time.
4. No pressure!
5. There is no such thing as the perfect razor.

Enjoy.

 

[SavantStrike]

When you say hounding ebay for shave ready razors, dont! An ebay razor should be treated as decidedly not shave ready, even if the seller claims it is, unless you personally know the seller and believe his/her claims.

 

[DM.Aelis]

When you say hounding ebay for shave ready razors, dont! An ebay razor should be treated as decidedly not shave ready, even if the seller claims it is, unless you personally know the seller and believe his/her claims.

This is a very good point, and I will keep that in mind! It certainly is making me lean towards purchasing something from guys off this forum/straight razor designs/etc.

Keep the good advice flowing!

 

[leighton]

If your still thinking about ebay, don't do it. Learn from our mistakes. Ebay is for the sharks, let the sharks have their ocean. I rarely sell on ebay, and when I do its because I need a quick sale or the razor is for "collector's."

 

[norman931]

Welcome, D.M.! For starters, pick up the soap/brush/cup set found at most Wal-Marts, made by Van Der Hagen. The soap and cup are great, and the brush will do fine until you get the itch for a badger brush.

 

[gugi]

if you don't damage it really bad a straight razor will last you for generations.
and, yes you should be able to keep it sharp with a paddle strop or a finishing hone such as a barber hone which are inexpensive. just don't let it get dull, keeping it sharp is fairly easy, making it sharp is much harder.

 

[scottish steve]

+1 on all the coments so far. IMHO the most important thing is to get a razor you know for a fact is set up right. There are a recognised few honemeisters around (Lynn and Steve spring to mind) and I think its worth the extra expense to have a realistic starting-point and most importantly, an idea of just how sharp and smooth it needs to be.
2ndly- don't give up if you find it difficult/scary, even for a long time. I think I was the most inept beginner in the history of B&B, having palpitations when I went ATG and looking like someone-d tried to stuff a chicken thru my face, even after 45 mins "shaving". I'm now bordering on competent and can get a pretty good straight-shave in +/- 10 mins and DFS-BBS if I take more time.

 

[Crouse229]

All good comments so far. I bought my first straight from ambrose here on the forum for a good deal, and it worked great. The only advice i have is probably avoid a spike point for your first razor. It adds a whole other level of "interesting" when you have no clue what you're really doing.

 

[bassguy]

don't use alcohol pads to clean your razor. I sliced my thumb very smartly that way.

 

[professorchaos]

When you say hounding ebay for shave ready razors, dont! An ebay razor should be treated as decidedly not shave ready, even if the seller claims it is, unless you personally know the seller and believe his/her claims.

I expect that any razor I pick up off of Ebay will need to be honed, at a minimum. 90% of them also require some time with polish. With that in mind, one of the b/s/t forums is your best bet. You will likely get a good razor at a good price from a guy who shaves with a straight and has an opinion on what shave ready is and is not.

 

[dpm802]

If I were you, I wouldn't jump straight to straight razors ... they are expensive to purchase and hard to maintain, the learning curve is steep.

Get yourself a good DE razor (Merkur HD,) a sampler pack of blades, a VDH bowl/brush/soap kit as mentioned elsewhere, and go at it. (These brands are common, but there are dozens of other choices and options out there.)

Whatever you do, don't make the common newbie mistake (like I did,) of doing too much research before you jump in and start wet-shaving ... having ANY BRAND or MODEL of razor / soap / blade / cream / ASB is better than having none at all.

You will learn far more about wet-shaving in the first week of putting a blade to your face than you will in a year of reading forums and asking questions.

And drop some hints to Grandpa next time you talk to him ... you may find yourself being gifted a straight set-up.