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This much reading and...

I still feel like I have barely scratched the tip of still not knowing anything. lol. I read through all of the info and links in the

Sticky: WET SHAVING INSTRUCTIONS AND TUTORIAL'S:New? READ THIS THREAD!

Also read through a ton of the other threads in sections about different soaps, brushes, etc. My brain is about to pop.

I was on the phone with my father earlier today and told him that I was researching wet shaving and he said, "I've got a really nice old safety razor if you want it." No idea what kind it is yet so we'll see. So that's covered. It looks like if I get an Edwin Jagger Best Badger brush, some Col. Conk and a mug, and some Olivia's, maybe I'll be ready to give it a go. Does that sound reasonable to everyone else.

Originally, I was going to jump right in to trying with a straight razor, but I think I might just concentrate on getting the prep and technique of everything other than the shaving down first.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best person in the world at retaining information I read. I learn a lot more through seeing how something is done and trial and error. So, if anyone has any other suggestions that are specific, that they think I should try out, please feel free to chime in. While I don't want to break the bank in the beginning, I'm certainly willing to spend a little money to start out right.

Thanks guys. Great site by the way. TONS of information here.
 
Get yourself a styptic pencil or alum block. You might also want to get three different kinds of after shave: an alcohol based splash, a moisturizing cream, and non-alcoholic witch hazel. After that, get a blade sampler. You should also eventually try a tallow-based soap, and prehaps a decent shaving cream, such as TOBS. AFter that, you're on your own.
 
I would say prep is the key (well besides technique, blades and razor-if you´re using a DE)

But you cannot overlook at prep.

Plenty of HOT water, then with the back of your hand, check how your beard feels, then procede.

Remember your skin will need a couple of weeks to get used to the razor. In my case it took 2 (well I started with a straight)

If you're going with a DE, things are a bit easier, remember gentle passes, with little or no pressure.
and you´ll be fine.
 
When I first started with a safety razor, or should I say, thought about starting with a safety razor, all I did for a few months was read the newbie tutorials, watch mantic's videos, and just look for any info I could find. That was, without a doubt, the biggest mistake I made. I wish I would have just started as soon as possible!

I was most likely a little hesitant because I had actually started out with straight razors and was consistently struggling with them. So I probably thought that I needed to get as much "knowledge" as possible before I actually took the plunge of DE razors. But you have to take into consideration that nothing beats experience. I already had soap/cream and a brush from my straight razor rig, but I was still holding out on getting a safety razor. But once I did I realized that you can read all of the tutorials and watch all of the videos you want, but you're not going to learn until you actually do it.:blush:

As a recent convert myself I would simply say, check out all you need to get the basics down and more importantly, learn what NOT to do (pressure, going over the same spot, etc). But the most critical part is just getting down to it and doing it. Your face will thank you many times over.
 
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