Want to try straight razor shaving

[Zephyr]

The more I read about straight razor shaving, the more i want to give it a try, but this is a field I know nothing about, so I'm seeking some advice from you more experienced straight shavers.

- What do I need to get started? Do I HAVE to get a strop, or can I use a leather belt?
- What would you recommend as a good starter razor?
- Technique, and more or less everything that can help me to get a best start as possible.

Thanks

 

[lamontqsanford]

I would go to ruprazor and purchase one of his filly stops and a gold dollar razor. For about $70 you have exactly what you need. Don't buy an expensive stop because you will cut it while you are learning to strop. If you want more than a gold dollar razor post a WTB here at the B but make sure you get a shave ready razor. Ken at Rup razor sells his GD razors shave ready.

As far as technique goes you should read thru the Wiki here and look at Joel's tutorial under the straight razor forum. For your first shave I would recommend only trying to shave your cheeks. Once you feel comfortable with your angles and handling of the razor try your neck, etc.

For me, straight razor shaving was a breeze to pick up and I get much better shaves with a straight than a DE.

 

[haagiboy]

Yo zephyr. Siden du har vært så snill mot meg, så har jeg vunnet en gold dollar i en pif. Jeg skal ta å prøve den i en ukes tid, og hvis jeg liker den jeg allerede har bedre enn denne, så kan jeg, om ikke gi den til deg, men vertfall la den gå ekstremt bilig Og for teknikk etc... Ta å les min tråd på straight razor forumet

EDIT: Sorry for writing in Norwegian! :O

 

[gull]

Whippeddog.com is where I got my razor from. You might want to start there. Ruprazor.com is also a good place to get a razor. Ruprazor's strops are considered to be very good.

You can use a leather belt, but make sure the surface is nice and smooth, no stitches, no fancy engravings, or inlays, or anything. If your belt is just a simple piece of leather, I think it'll be fine.

 

[ouch]

A Møøse once bit my sister ...

No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse
with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given
her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and
star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo
Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst
Nordfink".

Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti...

 

[Zephyr]

A Møøse once bit my sister ...

No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse
with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given
her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and
star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo
Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst
Nordfink".

Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti...

How much time did you spend to come up with that?

 

[lamontqsanford]

How much time did you spend to come up with that?

This stuff comes naturally to Ouch

 

[johnmrson]

You will need a shave ready straight and a strop. A good starter straight is a 5/8 - 6/8 with a round point. The make of the straight isn't that important at this stage but make sure it is truely shave ready.
The best tip I can give you is play around with the angle of the blade. Finding the right angle for the different parts of your face is key to getting a good result.

 

[RF1963]

The Invisible Edge have some good starter kits here

http://www.theinvisibleedge.co.uk/starterkits.html

I've bought from them in the past and always found their service to be of the highest standard. Your razor will arrive shave ready.

When you get your starter kit I suggest you start by shaving slowly, the angle of the blade should be about twice the width of the spine (which will seem very close but it works) and be prepared for your shaves to be of a lower finish than you can manage with your DE. There's a whole new learning curve here! I committed to straight shaving for a month and toward the end of the second week the technique was starting to "come in". I suggest you don't shave one weekend and really get to know the growth patterns of your whiskers. I find keeping the skin taut is important. I'm right handed so I shave with my right and use my left to pull the skin taut. This means I reach over my head with my left hand and pull up at the base of my side boards as I shave the right cheek.

Most important of all, enjoy it! I get closer shaves than I did with my DE and a greater sense of satisfaction. It just took a little time to get there.

 

[Luc]

This page should help: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Straight_Razor_FAQs

 

[Gustav]

I have nothing much to add to all the solid advice the others have given you except that it really is worth getting a cheap strop. During the summer, I lent my only strop to a relative and it was nearly 6 weeks before I got my new one. During that time I stropped on my belt, on newspaper and on an old paddle strop and whilst the latter was alright, belt and newspaper are very sub-standard. My first strop was a cheap Dovo linen/leather which I filled with nicks in no time. It cost me 40€ so it was not a big loss. I now have a Ruprazor Paladin of superb quality so if you want to buy his Filly you will have a great beginners strop.

Apart from that, as so many others have said, learning to shave with a straight takes time and dedication but it is worth it even when the shaves are not so good because it is just so much more fun compared to DE. Most importantly, go slow and never do anything that does not feel right. Finishing up the first shaves with a DE is quite alright.

Lycka till and keep us posted on your progress

 

[Shangas]

Hi there!

Yes, you CAN use a leather belt as a strop (I did when I first started). But the belt must be perfectly smooth - No nicks, no bumps, engravings, embossings, stitching that's going to get in the way or anything like that. If the belt isn't smooth leather, then the razor won't travel along it properly and it won't strop the blade. You can just loop the belt around a towel-rail and use it as a hanging-strop. It's easy.

A belt isn't wide enough to cover the whole blade at once, though. So if you do use a belt as a strop, you'll need to strop in the 'X' pattern, going diagonally across the belt as you strop, to cover the whole length of the razor.

 

[Mr. Scruffy]

A Møøse once bit my sister ...

No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse
with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given
her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and
star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo
Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst
Nordfink".

Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti...

• Møøse trained by YUTTE HERMSGERVØRDENBRØTBØRDA
• Special Møøse Effects OLAF PROT
• Møøse Costumes SIGGI CHURCHILL
• Møøse Choreographed by HORST PROT III
• Miss Taylor's Møøses by HENGST DOUGLAS-HOME
• Møøse trained to mix concrete and sign com plicated insurance forms by JURGEN WIGG
• Møøses' noses wiped by BJØRN IRKESTØM-SLATER WALKER
• Large møøse on the left hand side of the screen in the third scene from the end, given a thorough grounding in Latin, French and "O" Level Geography by BO BENN
• Suggestive poses for the Møøse suggested by VIC ROTTER
• Antler-care by LIV THATCHER

 

[ouch]

Mr. Scruffy always gets it.

 

[Gustav]

Mr. Scruffy always gets it.

"I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."

 

[honed]

A Møøse once bit my sister ...

No realli! She was Karving her initials on the møøse
with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given
her by Svenge - her brother-in-law - an Oslo dentist and
star of many Norwegian møvies: "The Høt Hands of an Oslo
Dentist", "Fillings of Passion", "The Huge Mølars of Horst
Nordfink".

Mynd you, møøse bites Kan be pretty nasti...

• Møøse trained by YUTTE HERMSGERVØRDENBRØTBØRDA
• Special Møøse Effects OLAF PROT
• Møøse Costumes SIGGI CHURCHILL
• Møøse Choreographed by HORST PROT III
• Miss Taylor's Møøses by HENGST DOUGLAS-HOME
• Møøse trained to mix concrete and sign com plicated insurance forms by JURGEN WIGG
• Møøses' noses wiped by BJØRN IRKESTØM-SLATER WALKER
• Large møøse on the left hand side of the screen in the third scene from the end, given a thorough grounding in Latin, French and "O" Level Geography by BO BENN
• Suggestive poses for the Møøse suggested by VIC ROTTER
• Antler-care by LIV THATCHER

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=172632


The Filly is a great beginner strop.

Neil Miller @ strop shop in UK has some great beginner strops as well.

As for a beginner razor, it's hard to beat Larry's Whipped Dog.com

 

[Zephyr]

Thanks for both help and laugher so far, I bought a shave ready straight from BST this morning that hopefully can get me started, for now I have a thick smooth leather belt I think will work for stropping to start with.
Now I will spend the days till I get the razor reading and get as much info as possible.

I'll keep you posted!

 

[W_B_K]

Good luck! Straight shaving can be such a joy... I look forward to it every day


That is one of my all time favorites.... the killer bunny scene gets me every time. "Look at the bones!!" I think we have all been in a situation where you try and try and try to explain something and people just don't listen!!

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg[/YOUTUBE]