So here goes. Last night I got home from work at 12 and found a package in the mail! 'Twas Glen(gssixguns) generous PIF!!! I opened the package and found within the beautiful razor. I promptly put it away before I hurt myself. This morning I woke up as happy as a kid on Christmas morning. Whipped up a nice lather. I took Glens advice and didn't strop the razor. He had done so previous to sending it to me. Also I needed a benchmark for my first shave. In short, it was a sucess Only one tiny nick from where I got careless around the mustache area under my nose. Stropped post shave. Managed to not nick the strop. I was surprised at how natural feeling it was to roll the razor between my thumb and index finger. I still need a lot of practice though. Thanks everybody here that helped me gather the information and point me in the right direction to get to this point. SRAD hit me full force. Scouring classifieds now. I need to go find some brand recommendations for a good workhorse shaver. Off to search the archives!
i know how you feel after the first shave you just want to buy more! I havent been on in a bit so i missed the post about your razor, what kind did he generously give you? as for a brand of razors, ive really been liking the henckels razors so i keep buying everyone i can find:ashamed001 I also just ordered a new thiers issard today also
Glen restored an old Bengall blade and made some new acrylic scales for the blade. Loving the look of the blue scales that it has. I'll post some pics when I get my roll of film developed. I'm going to go on a little antique expedition soon. See if I can't find something old to fix up. I have quite a bit of shop experience and I want to try and restore a razor. Ambitious noob XD. Going to have to see if I can find anything when I go visit my grandmother in France next month. Sadly the area where I live doesn't seem to have anywhere near as good antique stores or flea markets as some of the other members here :/
i know how you feel. i can never find any old razors at any store i walk in to. ive been searching for any store here in toronto that sells wooden bowls i can use as soap dishes but i cant find anything that i like. Sometimes i think im just too picky
Wooden bowls for soap dishes are hard to find :/ I got lucky that my father found his grandfathers old shave bowl and gave it to me. I think Ill drive a little way outside where I live to try and find more stuff. hahaha btw think of it less as picky and more as discerning. you'll feel better about it. Just looking for that right thing to accent your bathroom. Before I had the wooden bowl I simply went to my local Asian supermarket and picked up a dollar bowl that looked pretty and would fit a puck of soap. So just figure you can't do much worse than that.
Glad it went so well. You got one from one of the best. That's why we always encourage the newbies to get a REAL shave-ready blade from a trusted source. Now you know what sharp really is, and your first shave was a success. Congrats! EDIT: A few more things: that Bengall blade was a good choice. A lot of the good blades like that are Sheffield blades. But if you're going to France and it's not too far out of the way, you should take a tour of Thiers-Issard. They still make some good ones. http://www.classicshaving.com/articles/article/590351/9362.htm As for wood bowls, check this out: http://www.classicshaving.com/Shave_Mugs_and_Bowls.html
Thanks Palmetto for the link! I had read all of the history stuff on classicshaving when I was first starting out shaving in general. I think I will have to see if I can visit the Thiers Issard production facility! The city of Thiers is about halfway between Paris and where my family lives in Perpignan in the south. If I do manage to visit Thiers Ill be sure to post the pictures here. PalmettoB do you have a certain razor that you like in particular?
WTG! Don't worry about nicking yourself. Most all of us have nicked our face when we first started using a straight razor. You can't beat the shave you get from a straight! Your hooked now! And if your razor is from Glen, you got a good one! He's probably the best!
Well after two days the slice I gave myself below the lip is starting to heal. Good reminder to watch my angle around my lip, also how sharp it is. Only shaving WTG for sure till I get better technique. I ordered a second straight from Larry over at whipped dog. Also a small barber hone. Figures a second razor to practice on would be nice.
