WetShaving
This is a community of enthusiasts, hobbyists and artisans who enjoy a traditional wet shave: brush, soap, and safety or straight razor. We are a part of the WetShaving community found on Reddit, Discord, and IRC.
New subscribers welcome!
Please visit our wiki, which is always and forever a work in progress.
🪒 Check out these alternative front-ends for this server:
https://gem.wetshaving.social/ - a nice modern interface
Our sister Mastodon instance is https://wetshaving.social/.
🪒 Track the uptime of our various services here:
https://uptime.selfhost.ing/status/wetshaving
🪒 Community Rules
Rule 1 - Behaviour and Etiquette
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Be Respectful. Do not bully, flame, or harass others.
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Malicious comments are not allowed but heated discussion and salty banter is okay.
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Low effort replies and complaints about content will be removed.
Rule 2 - Content Guidelines
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Mail Calls, Simple Questions, and SOTD posts belong in the recurring weekly threads.
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Posts must have sufficient content to generate a meaningful discussion.
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Images, links, or videos must include additional text that summarizes the topic.
Rule 3 - Reviews and Disclosure
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Use [First Impressions] in the title if your experience with the product is limited.
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Use the [Review] in the title if you can provide comprehensive details with enough familiarity to answer follow-up questions.
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Disclose how the product being reviewed was acquired (e.g., PIF, loan, or purchase). If the product was provided to you directly by the maker or vendor free of charge or at a discount, you must disclose this fact even if the item will later be returned to the maker or vendor.
Rule 4 - Advertising
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Vendors are to keep marketing within the biweekly Deals/New Products threads.
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Non-vendors may post topics about products if it will foster a compelling discussion.
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Do not solicit donations or share fundraisers without mod approval.
Rule 5 - Inappropriate Content
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All NSFW/L content must request mod approval and be flaired appropriately.
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Non-shaving related NSFW/L content is not allowed.
Rule 10 - Moderator Discretion
- The rules may not apply perfectly to every situation. The mods have final discretion.
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I have a “fundamentals” video that is way too long, and there’s this “Sharpening Kit” video (also too long).
Congrats on stepping down the straight razor rabbit hole! This is a practice, but you will make it pretty far up the learning curve in the first 30 shaves, and very comfortable after 100 shaves.
I started with a Gold Dollar many years ago. I managed to drop it and break it during the ‘22 Lather Games. Best thing I ever did. The steel is awful and the razors are clumsy.
I’m going to send you my $12 Union razor. This razor is well sorted, has a very comfortable synthetic edge, and will require very little maintenance if you make and use a loaded denim strop.
Yup, I already watched the fundamentals video today and it reinforced some things and answered some other things (mainly about burr removal). I'll check out the other video, too.
Maybe the loaded strop video will answer this question, but do people typically put any treatment on their leather stops, or just use them as is?
Thanks for the Union! I haven't heard of that brand, but I see on Amazon they are still only $13 or $14.
The Union razors available now are made in China and are not of better quality than the Gold Dollar. The one I have is early 20th century and made in Atlanta (or at least marketed from there). It is far better than a $12 razor. I think the person who sold it to me (as part of a 2-razor auction) did not know what it was.
Ohhh, big difference. I used to live in northwest Atlanta. Union City is southwest, not too far.
I looked online and people postulate they were made in Union City, with the blanks possibly coming from a machine factory in the city. I got married at one of the machine factories (an event venue, now) called King Plow, but I didn't see any reference to that place in regards to razors.
It’s a well made razor with good steel and good balance. Helluva razor for $12 😁
My latest honing video is a tutorial. It was done for the razor’s owner, but there might be something of interest for you.
Normally, people strop on plain leather, or on plain fabric. Stropping realigns the microscopic teeth at the apex. A loaded strop has abrasive and is removing material at the edge. This really isn't necessary to do after every shave.
Many people prefer to strop just before shaving. I prefer to strop after shaving because it helps ensure that the edge is free of moisture. I strop on linen, or flax, then strop on leather. I normally do 20 laps on the fabric, and 40 laps on the leather. If you are looking for a good "first" strop, Duke City, on eBay has a great product. For high quality at a fair price my friend Tony Miller (Heirloom Strops) is the guy.
I have a Duke City strop 👍
Excellent! I bought one a while back just to see what they are like. Really liked it. Gave it to VisceralWatch to help get him started.