Hello everyone! I'm Tom (Hi Tom!) and I have RAD/SAD/ASAD and I'm working on HAD... I've been wet shaving for about 10 years, starting with a Merkur HD set I bought shortly after college. I'd been having a problem with ingrown hair on my neck and someone recommended I move to a double edge safety razor as it would be more comfortable. Being a moron (some things never change), I assumed they meant move from my 5 blade mach-whatever to one with a 2 blade cartridge. So I did. It was bad. Not only did the ingrown hairs fail to improve, but the shave was much less comfortable. Eventually that person straightened me out and sent me an amazon link to what I should buy. I was terrified. How could this thing possibly be less irritating than my brand new "most comfortable shave ever" cartridge with all these superfine blade? Plus, I was probably going to slit my jugular and bleed out on the floor before work. After starting at it for a few days, I finally dove in and the world has never been the same. My ingrown hair problem went away within a couple of weeks, my shaves felt great, and best of all I was saving a ton of money. It went on this way for a year or so and I began to wonder why everyone didn't shave this way. What was I missing? So, being 23, I went on google and searched for wet shaving... damn, so much for saving money. I bought more razors. I bought new soaps (it turns out that The Art of Shaving is not actually the pinnacle of shaving products). Then I bought more razors (again). Then aftershaves, then more storage for all the razors, soaps and aftershaves, and on and on and on. About 3 years ago I decided to jump into straight razor shaving. What could be more manly than risking death by holding a cut throat against my neck every morning before my first cup of coffee? I picked up a PRC (great little company and Scott seems like a good dude) and a Friodur 472 (off Ebay without having any idea what I was doing). The first couple shaves were great (I only did my cheeks, I was honestly afraid of dying), then they got worse and worse. Eventually I put the razors in a drawer and went back to my trusty DE. Then about a month ago, in the midst of a bathroom remodel, I spotted the long forgotten razors in a drawer and decided to try again. I watched way too many YouTube videos on shaving and stropping and stretching. I tried again and the results were ok (and by OK, I mean no stitches were required). I decided the razors were nice, but too dull (I'm sure a couple years in a bathroom drawer with all the humidity didn't help). Rather than honing them or sending them to be honed, the obvious answer was to buy more razors. So buy more I did. Now that I own 7 straight razors, I need to learn to use them, care for them, and hone them. I ran into a member from here on another forum and he kindly offered help and advice (and is actually selling me my first set of honing stones). And then he recommended I join here (don't tell the other forum, but he says you guys are way better looking!). I'm looking forward to continuing down this rabbit hole (there must be an end somewhere, right?) and to learning as much as I can. That's my story and I'm sticking too it! Thanks for having me, I'll try not to knock anything over while I'm here.
How deep does this hole go? Let me tell you. Years ago, I was walking my dogs on top of a Welsh mountain when, in the periphery of my vision, I saw Millie drop. Now, I assumed she was hiding from my other dog Petra, as hide and seek was a game they played but five minutes later, when she didn't appear out of the long grass, I retraced my steps. The grass had grown together over a hole; once I started ripping lengths of it out I discovered a crevasse with Millie 12 foot down, front paws on one side, back paws on the other. As I shimmied in to get her rocks and dirt were falling passed where she was and they were not hitting the bottom! This hole - it's much deeper than that! And, I did get Millie out of the hole. I left the dead sheep in there though
Welcome to TSD @atbat82 It's as deep as you let it get. Doesn't have to be, but for many it's bottomless.
Tom, welcome to The Shave Den! Sounds like a mild case of acquisition disorder, but it will probably get worse in 3 to 6 months. OK, then you'd be a perfect fit in the 30 Day Rule/Focus Group. Yeah, we were all stupid once. Now you're talkin'. Did I mention the 30 Day Rule/Focus Group? There's this MAYhem thing that reportedly happens there. And coffee. There's coffee too. Live and learn. It helps if you have low expectations. If you run naked through the room, please don't sit on the furniture. Just to be upfront, shaving is serious business. If you step out of line, you'll be directed immediately to the 30 Day Rule/Focus Group.
Welcome, from Texas. The hole can be as deep as your pocketbook and conscious(wife) will let it get. Just remember, its just a hobby. Welcome to "The Dark Side" of shaving.
Welcome. I really hate making a suggestion on something else to buy, but a nice shavette can teach you how to use a straight and show you why our technique is so important. I always recommend the folding Feather SS and Artist Club Pro Guard blades. Both are available on Amazon.
Welcome @atbat82 The 'old guy' once said, "if you want to get out of the hole...... Don't Dig!" Have fun.
Hi from Seoul, nice to meet you. Always happy to have new dark side members (what we call straight razor shavers). Like you I found my way to traditional shaving because of the pain and ingrown hair I used to suffer from using the latest greatest modern tools. Head on over to the straight razor threads and there are lots of people to help you.
