Editing Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving

This entry attempts to provide you with the most basic information, video, and suggestions when you start shaving with a straight razor. It includes suggested equipment to avoid as well as  a list of equipment  with good reputations. <!-- There are help files and links to places to buy gear, links to videos on how to shave and strop and much more.  There's even information on what to look for if you decide to shop on ebay. -->
For more information on what to look for when buying, including a list of questions for sellers, check the entry on [[Straight Razors]]. 

== Before you begin ==

Shaving with a straight razor is an art that needs to be learnt. It has a steep, and long, learning curve. Chances are that your first weeks or even months will yield results that are, at best, on par with those of a cartridge or even a safety razor. Before you dive into the experience of shaving with a straight razor, you should spend some time to familiarise yourself with the basic concept of straight shaving. This article is an attempt of giving you an overview over this concept. You will find more useful information in the [[:Category:Other_Topics | Further Reading Catgory]] of this wiki.

It is also strongly recommended that you understand the concept of [[The_Zen_of_Straight_Shaving | The Zen of Straight Shaving]]. This means, you will need time, and patience. Learning to shave with a straight razor will ''not'' yield quick results. If your goal is to get a good shave quickly, you might be better off beginning with a safety razor.

That said, straight razor shaving can be a deeply satisfying experience, and once you have mastered the basic skills, you will most likely find its results superior to any other shaving method. So, be patient, read on, and enjoy your stay with the [http://straightrazorplace.com/ SRP] community.

== Basic equipment ==

The following items are considered the basic equipment. Basic means that without either of these items, your shave will most likely be sub-optimal or even painful.

* 1 or 2 shave ready razors
* Leather strop (most people use hanging but paddle or loom will also work); the linen side is optional

== Extended basic equipment ==

The following items are considered optional, but useful, additions to the basic equipment. 

* Shaving soap or cream (strongly recommended)
* Shaving brush (strongly recommended)
* Shaving mug or scuttle (optional)
* [[The_World_of_Straight_Razor_Shaving_(DVD)|Lynn Abrams' Video]] on shaving, stropping, honing, etc.

Further useful items can be found in the [[:Category:Equipment | Equipment Catgory]] of this wiki.

== Shave ready razors ==

: ''Main article: [[The Shave Ready Razor]]''

When you see "shave ready" and the razor is straight from the factory, in almost all cases it is not really shave ready. Unless the razor has been honed by somebody with experience it will likely need to be honed ''before'' you use it. Why? If you are really interested in the reason you can read the [[II:Shave_Ready_Razor|detailed explanation]]. Otherwise just trust me ;).

== Choosing a razor ==

Choosing a razor is a matter of personal preference. If you must have a brand new razor the quality choices are limited to the three main major current manufacturers: Dovo, Thiers-Issard, and Böker; to the NOS Double Arrow and Wapienica; and to the [[Custom Straight Razors |custom razor]] makers.  A brand new razor will still have to be honed.

Fortunately there are many vintage razors which would often be of equal or even better quality than the current production and they will generally cost significantly less. The best place to find one is the [http://www.straightrazorplace.com/classifieds Classifieds] section of http://www.straightrazorplace.com. Most often the razors there are honed and shave-tested by the seller, and this is noted in the ad, but when in doubt you can always ask them.

Newbies are discouraged from purchasing vintage razors on eBay because they do not have the experience to evaluate the condition of the razor - in most cases the pictures on eBay do not provide enough details, and even when they do, a newbie generally doesn't know what is important and what isn't.

Nevertheless there are some [[:II:Straight Razors to Avoid|razors that should be avoided]], and even though every purchase is a risk there are few [[:II:Good Straight Razor Brands|popular vintage brands]] that are generally good.

== Stropping ==

: ''Main article: [[Theory of stropping]]''

Before each use a razor needs to be stropped. Leather generally considered to be the the best, but the synthetic strops offered recently by [http://www.thewellshavedgentleman.com The Well Shaved Gentleman] have been reported to be almost as good. For further information refer to the entries on [[Razor_stropping | razor stropping]] and [[Theory of stropping]]. <!-- The first one should be removed -->

== Beard Preparation ==

: ''Main article: [[Preparation]]''

Shaving dry whiskers is generally very uncomfortable because dry whiskers are extremely tough.  The traditional way to soften your beard is by using lather, which is generated by mixing shaving soap or cream and water using a shaving brush. Generally you should give few minutes for the lather to soften the whiskers before starting to shave.  Hot steam towels can provide further conditioning for a luxurious shave.  Some people use pre-shave oil or even olive oil in addition to or instead of lather, and even the canned shaving foam or gel is better than using nothing at all.

== Shaving ==

Shaving with a straight razor is not very hard, but it is a learned skill. The basics are to keep the blade angled at about 30 degrees with respect to the face surface, and to use extremely light pressure just so that the razor is still touching your face. The razor motion is perpendicular to the edge initially and as you develop a technique you can improve on it by using a slight angle so that the whiskers are sliced better (too much angle will cause a cut). Stretching the skin with your free hand is very important as well.  The principle is not beard elimination, but beard reduction - use multiple [[pass]]es starting with the grain ([[WTG]]) and then possibly adding across the grain and against the grain ([[XTG]] and [[ATG]]).  The recommended approach is to start by shaving just under the sideburns and to slowly expand the area with each shave as you become comfortable and confident with the razor.

== Post-Shave ==

The top level of the skin cells is exfoliated during the shave. Some people find that a good moisturizing soap or cream provides enough skin conditioning to compensate for this.  However most find that some post-shave skin care is helpful.  This is an area where you have to find what works best for you.  The usual products are styptic pencil/alum block, witch hazel, and a whole multitude of aftershave products.

== Further Information ==

The best places to get more information and answers to specific questions outside of this wiki are the [http://www.straightrazorplace.com/forums Straight Razor Place] forum and the [irc://irc.freenode.net/srp #srp] IRC channel on freenode.  An experienced local barber can also be a helpful resource.

[[Category:Beginners]]