Michiganlover's Straight Adventures!!

[Luc]

So the Kia Captain showed up, and I decided I had to immediately take it for a spin. I whipped up a nice batch of VDH Glycerin, and proceeded to have some fun. My checks, and neck turned out fairly well. But I pretty well bludgeoned my chin with 4 significant nicks.

Clearly the technique for using the Kai Captain is a tad bit different.

The angle is a bit different using a straight w/ disposable blades...

 

[kg4ghn]

I sure am glad I have a goatee!

I have around the same number of straight shaves as you do(I lost count).

I would really focus on your stropping technique, I practiced a lot, even when I wasn't shaving or about to shave until I got it down. I also took it slow making sure every stroke was good until the muscle memory was there to speed up.

 

[Y2K]

So the Kia Captain showed up, and I decided I had to immediately take it for a spin. I whipped up a nice batch of VDH Glycerin, and proceeded to have some fun. My checks, and neck turned out fairly well. But I pretty well bludgeoned my chin with 4 significant nicks.

Clearly the technique for using the Kai Captain is a tad bit different.

Congrats on your first KAI test drive! Did you use KAI blade or Feather?

 

[michiganlover]

Congrats on your first KAI test drive! Did you use KAI blade or Feather?

I used the Kai blade, as they were already opened.

I really like that you can load this razor without touching the blade if you like. It really is a pretty slick design.

 

[michiganlover]

Tuesday May 11th 2010

2nd Kai Captain Shave

Kai Captain w/ Kai blade (1)
VDH Glycerin
"VDH Improved Badger"
Witch Hazel
Master/Clubman Bay Rum (50/50 mixed)

Much better shave today with the Kai Captain. Once I figured out that the angle of attack is much steeper than that of a real straight, I received a very close shave. I didn't inflict any further damage to my face, and was super careful on my chin.

The Kai is not as forgiving as my straights, so one has to use it with more care, and caution.

I am thankful to have spent the last month, or so shaving with a real straight. The Kai would be a big challenge if I had no idea what I was doing.

 

[michiganlover]

Thursday May 13th 2010

3nd Kai Captain Shave

Kai Captain w/ Kai blade (2)
VDH Glycerin
Omega #21139 Boar Brush
Witch Hazel
Barbasol Brisk

So I had my 3rd Kai Captain shave today. This thing is out for blood!!

I got a really good quality shave except for a nice cut to my upper lip (blade dug in doing a E-W stroke across my lip), and I got some irritation from attempting to shave below my hair line on my jaw (which is stupid, I know. ).

So yeah, apparently the Kai has a significant learning curve.

 

[bradyarz]

i've been following your journal here for a little while and i just have one quick question for you...


based on all your claims of nicks and cuts to the lip,




















why don't you grow a mustache?

 

[michiganlover]

Saturday May 15th 2010

4th Kai Captain Shave

Kai Captain w/ Kai blade (3)
VDH Glycerin
"VDH Improved Badger"
Witch Hazel
Brut Revolution

It's the 4th shave with the Kai Captain today, and so far the best. The effectiveness of the Kai blade convinces me that my straights may not be nearly sharp enough. The Kai with the Kai blade just slices through the whiskers with ease, my straights not so much.

A few minor nicks, and a nice weeper to my upper lip, but nothing really serious. Overall a very nice quality shave.

 

[michiganlover]

Friday May 28th 2010

Straight Razor Shave #35

5/8 Boker King Cutter
Omega Boar Brush
T and H Rose
Witch Hazel
Master/ Clubman Bay Rum (50/50 mix)

So my Boker was away being honed, and it came back yesterday. I decided to take it for a spin today.

My skills are certainly improving. I managed to shave my upper lip with out inflicting any serious harm, and except for a couple very small weepers, escaped nick free.

A very nice quality shave today.

 

[Luc]

I also mix the AS sometimes (Brut/Proraso)!

 

[michiganlover]

Wednesday June 16th

Parker Shave #1

-Parker SR disposable blade straight with Shark blade
-Omega Boar Brush
-VDH Glycerin
-Witch Hazel
-Aqua Velva Ice Blue

As you can tell from the posting dates, I have taken a bit of a break from straight shaving the last few weeks. My lack of technique frustrates me at times (I cut myself frequently), and I get discouraged.

Anyway, since my eventual goal is to shave with a straight most of the time, I thought I would pull the trigger on the Parker straight as a way of putting my huge stock of DE blades to good use.

My previous attempts with "shavettes" were a Dovo Shavette, a Fromm Hair Shaper, and a Kai Captain. I got pretty serious cuts from all of them. Grr...

The shave today in comparison was nothing short of amazing!! I got just a few tiny weepers, and no major cuts. Yay!!

The shave is even decently close all over (including my problem areas of my upper lip, and chin). I am very pleased!

The build quality between the Parker, and the Dovo Shavette is crazy. The Dovo is cheaply made, with a chintzy blade holder. The Parker is stainless steel, and extremely well constructed.

~John~

 

[Luc]

Can you take any pictures to compare the dovo vs. parker?

 

[michiganlover]

Can you take any pictures to compare the dovo vs. parker?

Well I could if I still owned the Dovo.....

I quickly sold it after hacking my up with it about six times. But, honestly, I had no idea what I was doing.

 

[michiganlover]

I also mix the AS sometimes (Brut/Proraso)!

Brut/ Proraso sounds like a good mix. The reason I am doing the 50/50 mix is I absolutely hate the heavy cloves smell of the Clubman Bay Rum.

Rather than be wasteful, I decided to see if I could improve the mix. It now has about 10% Old Spice Cologne added for good measure too.

I have strongly thought about dumping it down the drain, so I can use the glass bottle to decant some Barbasol Pacific Rush into.

 

[Luc]

Rodger that for the Dovo...

Brut/ Proraso sounds like a good mix. The reason I am doing the 50/50 mix is I absolutely hate the heavy cloves smell of the Clubman Bay Rum.

Rather than be wasteful, I decided to see if I could improve the mix. It now has about 10% Old Spice Cologne added for good measure too.

I have strongly thought about dumping it down the drain, so I can use the glass bottle to decant some Barbasol Pacific Rush into.

Yes, Brut/Proraso isn't bad, the menthol is giving brut the missing kick.

It must be quite some mix, I would say mix something else but then it might get weirder...

 

[TenorClef]

My first adventure into straight shaving earlier this year was with a shavette and i gave myself quite a bad cut and several nicks. That bad vibe put me off shavettes for life, sold it here on the forums. The shaving process with a real straight has been considerably more fun and is coming along nicely.

 

[Klarion]

The build quality between the Parker, and the Dovo Shavette is crazy. The Dovo is cheaply made, with a chintzy blade holder. The Parker is stainless steel, and extremely well constructed.

~John~

Yep. I recall your post where you gave your opinion on shavettes and other... disposable razors, or hair shapers.

It's quite a bit weightier than the Dovo, ain't it? In fact, there difference in heft between my SRW and a full hollow Genco and Korn is quite noticeable. The two plates and the clip really do hold onto the half blade tightly. Shark blades are nice, and it gave me an excuse to crack open my leftover Treet Blue Specials. I found my most favorable way of shaving was to use a "fresh" blade for every pass. Absolutely wonderful, since the DE in this form appreciably feels different after each pass.

Good to hear you like it.

 

[michiganlover]

Yep. I recall your post where you gave your opinion on shavettes and other... disposable razors, or hair shapers.

It's quite a bit weightier than the Dovo, ain't it? In fact, there difference in heft between my SRW and a full hollow Genco and Korn is quite noticeable. The two plates and the clip really do hold onto the half blade tightly. Shark blades are nice, and it gave me an excuse to crack open my leftover Treet Blue Specials. I found my most favorable way of shaving was to use a "fresh" blade for every pass. Absolutely wonderful, since the DE in this form appreciably feels different after each pass.

Good to hear you like it.

Correct. I will from this point on update my thoughts on the Shavette style razors. I don't have the Dovo anymore, but I bet the Parker weights roughly double. The Dovo in comparison is basically garbage. I agree with you, the holding mechanism is well built.

However, here is my major caveat: I am picking up the Parker already knowing how to straight shave. I already understand how to shave my face, and which directions I can safely shave. I know about skin stretching, and proper blade angle. I know what problem spots are.

I am not sure a newbie who has never picked up a straight razor before would have a similar good first experience.

 

[Klarion]

Oh, likely not, but most newbies don't have terrific first experiences using a regular straight, either. I agree with point though, that the thin, flexible DE blade used in an open razor is quite a bit less forgiving than a normal edge. When I first dove in, I was getting some weepers I was not accustomed to seeing. I needed to pay a little extra attention before i got comfortable with the difference.

 

[Gustav]

Thank you for posting regularly on this great thread, this is great stuff if, like me, you have just started str8 shaving. Please keep going since it is very nice to know what you can expect on shaves 1-10, 11-20, 21-30 and so on.

You seem to use quite a lot of creams, is there a particular reason for this? Are they better suited for straight razor shaving? I have only used tallow soaps up until now for my 3 shaves thus far and Tabac is on the menu for this evening.

I think I have also been smitten by this disorder, sampling blades for my DE took up a lot of my time before and now it has become totally secondary.