Thread: Greetings from Oregon

Hello everyone

Brand new to the forum and straight razor shaving

A little bit of background, I have a face, sometimes that face is hairy and usually after shaving it is terribly irritated. I have been using a DE razor for the last few years and I dont shave that often but am fascinated with the idea of learning this new skill and possibly how to shave correctly in general.

A coworker was generous enough to loan me a few razors to help me get better acquainted with this. So Dennis if you are on here....Thanks man!

I am still doing a lot of reading and wow, I never knew there was so much to it all. So I wont be "diving in" until I feel comfortable. But in the meanwhile is there one of these razors that you would recommend as a good starter? And if not, then what would you recommend? I am in the market so if there is something for sale here that you guys think would be a good fit then please do let me know.

I imagine many of you here will know 10x more about these razors then I, by just a photo but, here is the info I have

Dubl Duck, Satinedge
Filarmonica, Doble Temple
Wade & Buthcer, Sheffield

Thanks for having me and I look forward to this new hobby

Cheers!

Hello from Portland, welcome to SRP.

If you haven't already, please look at Lynn Abrams video on how to shave with a straight. At least for me, his video was a good starting point. Go slow, as he recommends, meaning start by shaving downward on one cheek, then use your DE for the rest of the shave, and then slowly progress day by day from there.

I'm assuming that your coworker gave you razors in shave ready condition, and also loaned you a strop, as you'll need to strop the razors before (or after) each shave. If he's an experienced straight razor shaver, perhaps you could ask him to mentor you, probably the most important thing someone can do when first starting out. There is nothing like hands on instruction on how to strop, and having someone walk you through your first few shaves. All three razors are well known, high quality razors. If they are shave ready, I would start with one of the smaller razors, perhaps the Dubl Duck. It's just easier to maneuver a smaller razor around your face when first starting out. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find which sized razor and which grind you prefer. I'd focus on learning how to use a straight and how to properly strop first, and not even think of honing until you get that down.

I'm sure far wiser and more experienced shavers will have a lot to add. This is a very friendly forum, with many experienced people who are willing to help, so please ask questions. There are many Oregon shavers here, so if your coworker can't mentor, perhaps another member would be able to.

Welcome to srp! Like evnpar said, size/grind of the razor is mostly just preference. If you have a particularly thick or coarse beard you might be better off with something on the heavy end of the spectrum. Again, that's just preference. It's far more important to have a sharp razor than it is to worry about size.

I'm sure Dennis can coach you on stropping. It's very important for maintaining a straight razor & more than one new person has damaged their's by using bad stropping technique.

Having used a DE, you're already familiar with the idea of using little or no pressure. Try to keep the blade pretty flat, you can play with the angles to find your sweet spot. It can sometimes be different, depending on the razor, the whiskers, and even the direction your shaving, whether you're shaving with, across, or against the grain. I typically have to hold the blade flatter going against the grain.

And now for the most important part... what's up with that 7-day set in the box? We need more pics when you're sporting eye candy like that!

Welcome to SRP and jump in and have fun. There's a lot of great folks here and information too.
As said take it slow and have fun, that's what this is supposed to be is fun.

And yeah as Ken said, we want pics of that 7day set

Your friend gave you a nice selection for experimenting. Start in the middle and see where it goes? I would suggest sticking to 1 to learn with until you get comfortable using it. The more variables you throw into the mix the harder it will be for us or your friend to resolve the problems you have along the way. I would say skin irritation is going to be the first thing to over come. The amount of pressure you use and the angle of the blade is what your going to have to concentrate on most at first. Do watch some vids and read up on other fellows problems with irritation. Learn the strop. That's about all I can say focus on for beginners. A little patience goes a long way and you can do this and I suspect your going to love it :<0)

The 2 key things you need to master right out of the gate is, first, and the most obvious is shaving. Start with the easiest parts, cheeks. Shave those spots only for the first couple weeks until you're comfortable. Then expand from there until you feel comfortable doing the rest of your face.

The 2nd key thing is stropping. If you can't properly maintain that edge, your going to become frustrated because the razor will become dull and cease to shave properly.

There's plenty of guys in Oregon. If you need help from a mentor hands on, check the members list, under community, at the top to find some that lives close to you for help.

I won't kid you and say that there isn't some skill that will need to be fostered in order to get good shaves with a SR. But as you read through the site, keep in mind that this group would make striking a match sound fairly complicated. Somewhere in the middle is where its at. You're gonna make some mistakes. Its inevitable. So don't sweat it when you do. Set reasonable and attainable short-term goals. And accept that your shaves will be sub-par for a while during the learning phase. With a little persistence you'll be up and running.

Thanks guys, yeah there is certainly a lot to read and learn but as a man with many hobbies I know that it always sound a lot harder in the beginning.

I guess what I have questions about most is actually post treatment, assuming that a lot of the overall comfort (so long as you got a good shave) will be in the aftercare. I have never been a high maintenance guy so I haven't looked into it much. Would you recommend witch hazel followed by a treatment?

OK, ok, now that all the boring stuff is out of the way I will share with the razor porn. I know little about the set, but he got them from a friend and wanted me to see if I could get him some more info, value, age, material etc.. I dont actually plan to use those. So they are a Harrison Bros, 7 day set. Pretty neat little kit. pics attached

And the only other shave porn I own. Is a cool set my girlfriend had made for me from a guy on Etsy as a birthday present last year. Hot Shave scuttle, with a soap dish and Badger hair brush

Hot rinse to get lather remnants off my face, then a cold rinse, then rub it over with an alum block & pat dry. Works for me, but everybody has their own post shave routine

Hi and welcome. Can't give valuations on the site but looks like a nice set that would come up well with a little restoration. As for the history cant help but better pics showing all the tang markings would help others.

Best place to start with irritation is a good quality soap. Lite pressure while shaving and learning what your face can and cant handle. After I use alum, witch hazel and aftershave but depending on your face depends what is best for you. Try not to change more than 1 thing at a time as it makes it hard to tell what's working and what isn't.