Thread: Straight newbie, from VA

Hello My name is Jason, I'm 34 yrs old and from Virginia Beach, VA. I have yet to experience my first straight shave, however my "tools" are on order and I am patiently waiting for them to arrive. I found this community by reading a very well put together guide by Christopher Moss, of which I am still studying... lol. I also have watched the various youtube videos posted by SRP in preparation for my shave. From what I have read so far, everyone here seems to be perpetuating this art to their fullest, and I am excited to hopefully master it as well. For now, I will humbly bow to the shave masters and hopefully strive to learn and be as proficient myself someday. Thanks for reading }

Ghosty, Bravo. 'Hope to read about your early shaves. The 'first shave' link on the home page would be hard to improve on, as are afdavis' vids on the detail of stropping, and the all-important 'flip' at the end of a stroke.

Glen's thread on stropping is indispensable:
Beginners Tips: March 2011

and the honorable Mrsell's post on R&S is what would have saved 5 of my strops when beginning.
Please don't nick your strop

And, of course, there's lather. The immortal 'Mantic' is currently the featured interview by the honorable Obie (Obie talks to God about soaps & creams)

How To Build And Apply Traditional Shaving Lather - YouTube

You can get overwhelmed by all the minutae. For now - just those 3 things - the shave, the lather, stropping. You're gonna find the best shaves you ever imagined.

Jason,
welcome to SRP.
We are a great community with many knowledgeable members that are very helpful and ready to answer any questions that newbies might have.
We also have a very well organized and rich Wiki which you can check out here:

Straight Razor Place Wiki - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Please feel free to ask any questions you might have on the way to learning that great hobby.

Welcome to the forum Jason. As mentioned above you will find some great folks here along with invaluable information. Make yourself at home and never hesitate to ask any question you may have.

I read the links provided, thank you everyone... And that video is hilarious, and yet informative! Thanks all for the warm welcome.