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yet another new guy

A few months ago I stumbled upon a article on how to shave like your grandfather on the website artofmanliness.com. crear site bu the way. it made me instantly want to pick up straight razor shaving. Long story short my buddy didn't know what to get me this Christmas and birthday so he spent a couple hundred, 2 I think, on a straight razor for me. He's horrible at keeping secrets so he had to tell me. Do to a mess up with the company he bought the razor from he ended up getting a cheap strope and brush, a 50 dollar value I believe he said, for free for his inconvenience. I was wondering what kinds of soaps you guys enjoy, feels, smells textures, etc. Super excited to learn this art and throw away my Gillette fusion for ever. Thanks for all the help.


Adam
 
Welcome. Soaps and scents are a matter of personal preference. If you've only used the goo that squirts from a can there's a whole world of classic and artisan soaps and creams that smell fantastic and perform wonderfully for a straight razor shave. These soaps and creams are very different than the canned junk, which is good because the lather required for a straight razor shave is very different. Many folks start "wet shaving" with Proraso or Cella soaps. Both are readily available on-line and are easy to learn to lather properly.

Good luck. There's a ton to learn along the way. Don't hesitate to ask questions. None of them will be dumb. Can't vouch for the answers though, including this one.
 

rockviper

I got moves like Jagger
Welcome aboard! That sounds like a half-decent buddy you have there!

First off, check out all the information that exists here, you'll have around 2 years of reading to tie you over through Christmas :lol: There's some REALLY good shaving journals (mine is just for comic relief). Reading through them and starting your own should help out quite a bit.

Soap-wise, just about anything will do as long as you're able to generate a slick lather.

My advice on taking up straights: Don't force the blade. (trust me on this one!)
 
Sounds like a great friend! I would definitely start with learning to lather a good shaving cream/soap using a brush. Try that with your normal razor for a week or so. Trust me, you dont want to be learning how to lather and how to shave with a straight at the same time. A bad lather can make the shave that much harder. Also I highly recommend the videos on youtube for learning proper technique. Specifically geofatboy, mantic59, and Lynn Abrams
 
You don't mention where the razor is from so I thought I'd mention that there are plenty of places selling straight razors that are nice razors but don't come with a sharp enough edge for a comfortable shave.
 
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