Newbie to the forum, couple of questions :-)

tok said:
Great forum, have been scouring through a lot of useful info on here and great to have a UK forum which shows or talks about products more readily available in the UK. I have read through the stickys and watched a lot of youtube.

I switched to DE shaving a couple years ago and loved the transition to real shaving, and now have recently tried using a straight razor. I got one from billyji1 on ebay who seems to have a lot of good reviews. I started with the cheeks to get used to it (initially started with a shavette) and got the straight razor a week ago. I got used to the cheek area, and found it hard to get to the neck and chin. My hair is quite thick. Yesterday I stropped the razor for the first time and I am not sure if I did this wrong or my lather wasnt up to scratch but it wasnt a smooth experience. The razor felt like it kept getting caught on the hair. On the cheeks I thought I had the angle right and first few times I felt good like I was getting somewhere and today it just kept catching (on 2 days growth). I followed instructions on stropping and the Gold Dollar razor came in shave ready and out the box the first time was really smooth. This was the second shave with it so I assume I couldnt have messed the blade up that much from stropping. It is a good strop from a London shaving shop and I followed the videos on X pattern. The guy in the shop said to strop it after the shave once the blade is dry which I did. I have also read it should be done before a shave instead. I was actually looking forward to shaves to see how much further I can get each time as I am sue most beginners are. I am taking the experience with a slow and steady approach but definitely stumbling getting started on the neck and around the chin and today was a bit of a let down. Barely did any and went to the DE to carry on.
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If you don't mind me asking @tok how much did your starter kit cost?
 
Glen_Lee said:
If you don't mind me asking @tok how much did your starter kit cost?
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I try and explain to my wife how happy I feel that I can shave that little bit more of my face. I get rolling eyes :)

All I can say is when I started DE shaving I thought it was such a big step till I tried this. Its a totally new experience and even though over a month on I can still not shave my full face I look forward to the next shave to get that much closer.

Glen for me all in was about £50. I got a gold dollar from billy1 on ebay for about £20 and like many have said on here its great as a starter as you are not shelling out a fortune. He knows his stuff. The 2nd strop I got was about £30 on amazon. I already had the cream and brushes from the DE days. As a beginner buy a 3" wide strop. I made a mistake and got a narrow one first time and its gathering dust. Adds a variable that is not needed when starting out.

I have put the link to billy1 below if that helps. I am so glad I ventured into it, even though it sounded daunting and looked daunting when I got the razor :)

From my novice experience I would say anything from £50-£100 to start off but I am so glad I did, even if nothing to master this skill.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/billyji1/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
 
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tok said:
I try and explain to my wife how happy I feel that I can shave that little bit more of my face. I get rolling eyes :)

All I can say is when I started DE shaving I thought it was such a big step till I tried this. Its a totally new experience and even though over a month on I can still not shave my full face I look forward to the next shave to get that much closer.

Glen for me all in was about £50. I got a gold dollar from billy1 on ebay for about £20 and like many have said on here its great as a starter as you are not shelling out a fortune. He knows his stuff. The 2nd strop I got was about £30 on amazon. I already had the cream and brushes from the DE days. As a beginner buy a 3" wide strop. I made a mistake and got a narrow one first time and its gathering dust. Adds a variable that is not needed when starting out.

I have put the link to billy1 below if that helps. I am so glad I ventured into it, even though it sounded daunting and looked daunting when I got the razor :)

From my novice experience I would say anything from £50-£100 to start off but I am so glad I did, even if nothing to master this skill.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/billyji1/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=
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Thank you @tok .....I've been wet shaving for 3 years, always fancied trying SRs. I lack the knowledge, and I guess the courage to try it out.

This afternoon I have been reading the stickies about starting with a SR. Learning some of the jargon, such as Hollow! Thank you for the link. I will explore.

Richard
 
Another seller I would recommend is-

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/april7th1989?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

He/she sells refurbished Japanese straight razors 'shave ready'

And trust me- they are. I've bought a few now and they are utterly superb, my favourites in fact. Don't be scared about going for the cheaper ones listed- they will shave very well indeed, and seem to be be easy to maintain- perhaps not a sought after brand as if I could care! Japanese steel? I don't know , but buy one and see what you think.

Oh, the delivery is fast and I've never had to pay any customs charges.
 
Tony.T said:
Another seller I would recommend is-

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/april7th1989?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

He/she sells refurbished Japanese straight razors 'shave ready'

And trust me- they are. I've bought a few now and they are utterly superb, my favourites in fact. Don't be scared about going for the cheaper ones listed- they will shave very well indeed, and seem to be be easy to maintain- perhaps not a sought after brand as if I could care! Japanese steel? I don't know , but buy one and see what you think.

Oh, the delivery is fast and I've never had to pay any customs charges.
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Looks good thanks, which one do you normally get, seem to be a few different styles, is there one more friendly top beginners? :) I generally tackle my neck area with the scale fully open. How is the blade protected afterwards? I been intrigued by these since starting out.
 
Gold dollar razors are made of a decent steel, but their problem is the geometry, meaning that due to their little experience in thermal steel treatments many times they manage to bend or warp the blade. Anyway the sensation of difficulty in cutting your hair may be due to an imprecise honing which may be due to a non perfectly flat blade that honed randomly. Stropping will not help at all, you need the stones.
 
Alessandro said:
Gold dollar razors are made of a decent steel, but their problem is the geometry, meaning that due to their little experience in thermal steel treatments many times they manage to bend or warp the blade. Anyway the sensation of difficulty in cutting your hair may be due to an imprecise honing which may be due to a non perfectly flat blade that honed randomly. Stropping will not help at all, you need the stones.
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You need some stones to shave with a warped razor!
 
Ok so getting a lot more confident with the shave, using both hands is starting to feel quite natural. Still a bit more clumsy feeling around parts of the neck and tugging around chin, but getting there and the confidence is helping around the chin.
Around the cheeks and parts of the neck the first pass is pretty good and takes away most the stubble but around the chin (and parts of the neck) it takes half the stubble away, but the videos I see pretty much everyone has BBS on their first pass and then the second and third is just touching up or for ultra smooth. Not sure if mine is normal and in some areas you do need 2 or 3 passes for BBS, or I have the wrong angle in certain parts, or my blade is not sharp enough (I dont think its that as around the cheeks it takes off 2-3 day stubble pretty nicely. I have tried the hanging hair test and it cuts off some of the hair on the arm but not the majority it passes over.

I appreciate a lot of this is down to so many variables so not expecting a definitive answer but any comments appreciated
 
tok said:
Ok so getting a lot more confident with the shave, using both hands is starting to feel quite natural. Still a bit more clumsy feeling around parts of the neck and tugging around chin, but getting there and the confidence is helping around the chin.
Around the cheeks and parts of the neck the first pass is pretty good and takes away most the stubble but around the chin (and parts of the neck) it takes half the stubble away, but the videos I see pretty much everyone has BBS on their first pass and then the second and third is just touching up or for ultra smooth. Not sure if mine is normal and in some areas you do need 2 or 3 passes for BBS, or I have the wrong angle in certain parts, or my blade is not sharp enough (I dont think its that as around the cheeks it takes off 2-3 day stubble pretty nicely. I have tried the hanging hair test and it cuts off some of the hair on the arm but not the majority it passes over.

I appreciate a lot of this is down to so many variables so not expecting a definitive answer but any comments appreciated
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If you are saying it passes over the majority of your arm hair and only cutting some of it I would suspect the blade is not sharp enough, but I'm sure you will get more ideas from other people, maybe down to the angle of attack?
 
Its Always Hard to Comment with a Beginner..You said that You Got the Razor Re Honed after You Damaged it & it was Shaving Fine Earlier on the Thread..You Got it from Billy the same Place I got Mine..Billy is Good..If You Damaged a Gold Dollar then You have been Going for You're Life..The Guys You are Seeing on YouTube are Proficient at Using SRs & Make it look Easy..o_O

It Could Be Anything from Bad Stropping to Bad Technique..Even a So Called Hair Test is Not that Obvious to a Beginner to get Right Either..I Know for a Fact that a Beginner can have a Shave Ready SR in their Hands & Doubt its Sharpness..I was One of them..Moreover..Some Folks Just Cant Shave with an SR..Full Stop..Bit Bleak but there We have it..:D

Billy
 
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tok said:
Ok so getting a lot more confident with the shave, using both hands is starting to feel quite natural. Still a bit more clumsy feeling around parts of the neck and tugging around chin, but getting there and the confidence is helping around the chin.
Around the cheeks and parts of the neck the first pass is pretty good and takes away most the stubble but around the chin (and parts of the neck) it takes half the stubble away, but the videos I see pretty much everyone has BBS on their first pass and then the second and third is just touching up or for ultra smooth. Not sure if mine is normal and in some areas you do need 2 or 3 passes for BBS, or I have the wrong angle in certain parts, or my blade is not sharp enough (I dont think its that as around the cheeks it takes off 2-3 day stubble pretty nicely. I have tried the hanging hair test and it cuts off some of the hair on the arm but not the majority it passes over.

I appreciate a lot of this is down to so many variables so not expecting a definitive answer but any comments appreciated
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If You Want the Razor Shave Tested then Send it to Me as Long as You Pay for the Postage..:)

Billy
 
Fergiebilly said:
If You Want the Razor Shave Tested then Send it to Me as Long as You Pay for the Postage..:)

Billy
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Thank you that is very kind. If you could PM me your details I will send it with a return post so its easier for you. I think its my technique but would be good to rule the blade out. I really like the razors from billy1. The stropping feels more natural now too, but yes you are right the videos do make it look easy :) With the early starts I had the last few months I was only able to straight shave once or twice a week but now I can every day or every other day which should improve the technique. Again appreciate your offer to check the razor. Thanks!
 
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