First SR shave coming!

[mrouija]

I just received my first Straight from Larry @ Whipped Dog and I am pretty stoked. I've shaved with a DE for about a year and a half or so, and figured this was the next step. I'm currently deployed to Iraq, but I think I will be able to get a few straight shaves in throughout the week at night (11pm) and touch up in the morning (5am) as needed.

The razor is an 11/16 Wostenholm that I'll post pics of later (government network atm, no USB allowed). Upon opening the package I was both enamored and intimidated. The razor is bigger and heftier than I imagined, and the point is kind of intimidating (Looks kinda like a curved spanish point?) I'll be using a Simpson Duke 2 and Tabac for the journey I am about to undertake and I'll post more info as I go. I am armed with a styptic pencil for the inevitable nicks and cuts. Wish me luck!

 

[Easttexasman]

Thank you for your service and congrats on taking the first step in straight razor shaving.

Paul

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Good luck! Getting over that initial hurdle is the key first step....you'll be hooked afterwards tho!

 

[Kentos]

Thanks for protecting our freedom and way of life out there brother, I really appreciate it.

You waited pretty long before succumbing to the dark side...I went in 3 months after picking up my first superspeed. Just go slow and take straight passes, and be careful when you put blade to skin. Even after 100 shaves I sometimes get careless and my hand moves slightly side to side when I touch the razor to skin and give myself a slice.

Despite everything you go through every day, I hope you feel the same excitement/trepidation I felt when i first started...it's what made me fall in love with straights...good luck!

 

[mrouija]

I'm not sure that I will make my first attempt tonight. I had a rather full-bodied cigar about 2 hours ago and I don't think it will end well if I try it tonight. Instead, I'll keep reading on how to do this smartly, don't need a safety report as the result of my first shave! Btw, thanks for the kind words and encouragement guys. I'd be down to do it tonight if my head were a bit clearer.

 

[Greyfox]

Good luck!

 

[mrouija]

Finally got SR shave #1 in and it went much better than expected!

I ended up doing my whole face and neck except my chin WTG with 2 small weepers near my chin. The shave is similar to what I'd get when I started using a DE and didn't have angles quite figured out, so I know my technique needs work. I ended up doing about 3 passes, mostly because my lather was causing the blade to stick so I would stop and try a bit more water until the blade traveled smoothly across my face. After one full pass with the decent lather, I re-lathered and did another WTG pass because it was going so well. Afterward, the Alum told me my face was pretty upset, so I called it quits, about 45 minutes worth and a big smile on my face.

Also, to make things a bit more nerve-wracking, one of my troops came in while I was lathering up at the start. He was pretty interested in the straight razor shave and I let him try out the brush because he didn't quite understand it. Needless to say, now he's interested in getting his own because the Duke felt so good on his face.

Now I'm looking forward to #2 and can already feel SRAD setting in!

 

[azmark]

One step at a time. You did great to have shaved so much, a lot of guys just do cheeks and finish with a DE.

Just practice and patience. Honestly when I started 45 minutes was about as slow as I was going, now I'm done in 10-12 minutes of actual shaving with 3 passes.

Most importantly it sounds like you enjoyed it.

 

[mrouija]

Had shave #2 last night. I finished a bit quicker than last time, mostly because I just did 2 WTG passes on my whole face except the chin (haven't figured that part out yet), then a XTG pass on my cheeks. I kept my focus on shaving with a light touch and being mindful of blade angle. I had to touch up my chin this morning for work, but otherwise the shave is better than I expected out of my second time using the razor. I tried doing my chin WTG/XTG/ATG but none of them seemed to really be doing anything but causing me irritation, so I figure I'll give it another go next time. Still got a few weepers but no bad cuts yet, I did feel the razor brush my ear lobe but I think it was the backside of the point that isn't sharp because there was no blood.

I'll be doing another shave tonight. I'm going to try to stop by the BX today at work to try and pick up some small towels to help cleanup and beard prep. Since being deployed, I find its hard to even get hot water some nights and it feels like my lack of prep work (and technique) is contributing to irritation.

 

[mrouija]

#3 was this morning at work. I did my chin today and ended up cutting myself right down the middle of my chin, going XTG across my chin. Otherwise, today's shave was a blood-free event. I shaved WTG/XTG on my cheeks/chin and WTG on my neck w/ very little ATG on the bottom of my chin because I couldn't figure out a better way to get it. Also, I noticed that my razor responds very well to a bit of a scything action, which makes sense considering the slight bit of smile it has to it. After the shave, my face was pretty irritated but the Alum and splash of witch hazel seemed to do the trick in saving me from razorburn. All in all, a very nice shave experience today, but still a load of work to do before I start getting really close shaves.

 

[Kentos]

Congrats on the so far success. There are more than a few people on this board sold on cold water shaving...if you can't get hot water that may be something to look into.

I bet your manliness status went a few notches once the word got out you shave with a cut throat razor!

I notice for me a few touch up WTG passes on my chin while doing the Jay Leno chin skin stretch gets pretty close to BBS.

 

[mrouija]

I bet your manliness status went a few notches once the word got out you shave with a cut throat razor!

Haha, I also had to talk to the safety guy about the possibility of cutting my face bad before I could really start. Worst part of that, its true.

 

[mrouija]

#4 this morning. Yesterday was my day off and my shaving gear is at work so I shaved with an electric =/

This morning went well, shaved WTG/XTG with no cuts and got a little cocky and tried out ATG. ATG went okay on my neck and cheeks, but I cut myself just under my nose pretty good when shaving my upper lip. A quick reminder of just how sharp this old razor is. I'm still loving shaving with it though!

 

[Luc]

#4 this morning. Yesterday was my day off and my shaving gear is at work so I shaved with an electric =/

This morning went well, shaved WTG/XTG with no cuts and got a little cocky and tried out ATG. ATG went okay on my neck and cheeks, but I cut myself just under my nose pretty good when shaving my upper lip. A quick reminder of just how sharp this old razor is. I'm still loving shaving with it though!

Excellent Work! ATG so soon is very adventurous...

 

[mrouija]

Going ATG was interesting. I was having a hard time trying to keep blade angle low while maintaining blade contact with my face. A few areas it was easy and others it was difficult but that's part of the learning curve I suppose. The quality of shave is good enough to come to work (everyone here works 12 hr shifts and works different hours so nobody really questions anyone on their shave unless they're wearing a beard) but definitely room for improvement. I think I am one of the lucky ones in that my face is generally pretty good about not getting irritated by shaving. In BMT, I would splash some water on my face and shave with a disposable, no cuts or irritation when shaving WTG. With the DE, I was into ATG in the first week without irritation, so my biggest concerns in going ATG is cutting myself which as I was reminded today is very easy. I'm also trying to find a good smelling aftershave. What I have right now is Proraso aftershave cream and its a very muted scent that doesn't last very long.

I still need to get that picture of my razor uploaded. It looks pretty good for a razor that AFAIK was made in the late 1800s and would give a damned fine shave if I was better at it.

 

[dalew]

Thank you for your service to all of us.

You might want to try Cella soap or another soap that is slick to help with your shave.

 

[chab]

Enjoy reading about your progress on the straight razor shaves. I'm very tempted myself, but am not sure I'll take the plunge.

Also wanted to thank you for your service.

 

[sanfranciscian]

Thanks for your service, I definitely think you should stay with that slicked up lather thought you're having. It was a big key in my progress. other wise enjoy the cuts while you have them as they will become less and less soon.

Ian

 

[mrouija]

I bought some Pinaud Clubman Virgin Island Bay Rum aftershave today from amazon. I was eying some Floid Blue from Italianbarber and also a 6/8 Bismarck at SRD but I decided to wait until I get back to Italy for more gear. Speaking of which, I live there in Maniago which is known for its blades, I wonder if there's any straights that come out of there? I think that would make a pretty awesome souvenir of my time spent in Italy. The only straights I've seen in the knife stores and whatnot were Solingen steel but to be honest I wasn't really looking for straights.

Thanks all for the kind words, I'm just doing a job that I love that allows me to take on a multitude of hobbies.

 

[mrouija]

Oh yeah, here's about the classiest picture I could muster w/ what I have here (Acer Iconia a500 tablet camera). As I mentioned above, its a 11/16 George Wostenholm & Sons, I-XL, Washington Works, Sheffield Steel that I picked up from Larry at WhippedDog. It might say celebrated in there but I don't really remember =/