Matt,
if you pay for the gold membership, PM me an address and Santa Clause might drop a package.
Otherwise, seems most men start off buying a few low cost old straights off ebay and start trying to learn how to sharpen. Let me emphasize one key point, sharpening a straight razor to the level to produce a smooth easy shave takes work and steady practice, much, much more challenging than knives. I wrecked my edges so often on the strop that I had lots of practice early on. fwiw - Arkansas stones are my, and many others, go to choice for straight razors. Also, a low cost digital microscope off of Amazon is invaluable for looking at the edges. The edge needs to be smooth, polished, and free of irregularities. A jagged edge will tug and nick the skin.
When the razor is sharp enough, there is no tugging or resistance at all. The pressure used is like shaving off the lather, barely touching the skin. Similar to your experience, disposables now feel like a garden rake and cause irritation and in grown hairs.
Straight razors are more comfortable to me than “safety” razors.
if you pay for the gold membership, PM me an address and Santa Clause might drop a package.
Otherwise, seems most men start off buying a few low cost old straights off ebay and start trying to learn how to sharpen. Let me emphasize one key point, sharpening a straight razor to the level to produce a smooth easy shave takes work and steady practice, much, much more challenging than knives. I wrecked my edges so often on the strop that I had lots of practice early on. fwiw - Arkansas stones are my, and many others, go to choice for straight razors. Also, a low cost digital microscope off of Amazon is invaluable for looking at the edges. The edge needs to be smooth, polished, and free of irregularities. A jagged edge will tug and nick the skin.When the razor is sharp enough, there is no tugging or resistance at all. The pressure used is like shaving off the lather, barely touching the skin. Similar to your experience, disposables now feel like a garden rake and cause irritation and in grown hairs.
Straight razors are more comfortable to me than “safety” razors.
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