My journey thus far.

[Aaronburner]

I've wanted to try a straight for many years but stuck with cartridges for unknown reasons. A few weeks ago I started looking seriously, lurking on B&B, researching and finally bought some stuff from http://www.classicedge.ca/ and got free shipping to boot! Everything I bought was a first for me, here's the list:


Here it is, the star of the show. My first man-razor

And the brush.


The strop and some sandalwood cream


But wait, I didn't order anything else. They threw in another cream and a handwritten note. Classy, sir. Classy.

---

Now for the shave. I felt incredibly awkward holding this thing and decided it might be a good idea to practice on something I can see better. So I lathered up part of my arm and got ready. Fully expecting to cut myself, I made a few passes in the air first, lowering the blade each time to get a feel for the right angle. I heard it before I felt it and as if by magic, I had a patch of perfectly smooth skin on my otherwise hairy arm.

That was easy.

I did a few more spots until I was pretty confident and returned to the face.

I never noticed how... curvy... my face is. It's a hundred times harder to shave than an arm, but piece by piece I accomplished it. At first I was totally jacked on adrenaline but at some point my brain just clicked and my muscles started doing it without thinking. I was shaving and it just felt natural, as if I had been doing it my whole life. I tried looking for more challenging parts and found my jawbone to be the biggest villain of all but after I figured out to to just trace along the curvature it wasn't so bad.

At one point it was pointed at my neck and my internal voice said "Um... that could seriously kill you". My adrenaline spiked again and I pressed on.

I was having so much fun that I ended up taking off more than I have in ages and created a rather dapper goatee.

I did the whole shave without cutting myself, I imagine it will start to happen when I'm overconfident. For now there is too much fear to be careless.

Questions bouncing around in my head:
Q: How do I know if I'm stropping correctly? Am I using too much pressure? Not enough? Correct angle?

Q: How long until SWMBO notices a mysterious shaved patch on my arm?

 

[Attila]

Congrats on the successful start! Very well done. With regards to stropping, just keep the spine always in contact and don't roll the razor on the edge when you are changing direction of your stroke. Use slightly (just slightly!) more than razor weight on the strop and don't go too quickly. It's not a race, the speed will come with time. Just take it nice and slow initially and really focus on proper movement.

Remember to always keep the skin flat in front of the razor by stretching the skin with the offhand or puffing air into your cheeks, pulling the mouth to one side, etc.

Good luck going forward and keep us posted! Your shaves will get better for sure with practice. Stick with it!

Oh, also very nice kit you have to start out with. Congrats on that too.

 

[Aaronburner]

Thanks Attila!

I just did my second shave.

I had a lot less to take off this time, just stubble mostly. I played with a few different ways of holding the blade and seem to naturally change it depend on the side of my face and direction of the cut.

I broke my perfect yet short-lived record and cut myself. It was during an against-grain upward stroke just below the jaw. Upstrokes in general seem to be the most awkward for me so it's not surprising.

Oh, I also tried the other shaving cream. My first shave was using the Derby lavender moisturizing one and today I used the Taylor of Old Bond St sandalwood one. I think I might prefer Derby a bit more because today's cream seems to solidify and dry out after a while. It starts out nice but by time I get to to end of the shave I have to splash water on it.

I still got a bit pumped up on adrenaline when I first started but nothing compared to my first shave.

Overall it looks nice, feels nice and I'm pretty happy with it.

 

[Attila]

Good stuff overall.

If you cut yourself goung ATG it was likely because your angle was too steep on the razor. When going ATG keep it just about flat on your face. Light touch as always.

This game is all about the angles. A light touch and skin stretching matters too. But the one thing most people forget to do is keep a very shallow angle. That is key.

 

[Lmarkow]

Sounds like a great start, Aaron. Love that brush!

 

[Aaronburner]

3rd shave. Just a touch up on my cheeks because I wanted to get more practice going ATG on an easy part. There were no cuts again so I suppose it was successful and I'm definitely as smooth as human skin can get.

I've now gone through a few relevant sections of the shavewiki and feel like I'm learning, but perhaps the movements are not fully internalized yet. It's all a matter of muscle memory kicking in!

My stropping is improving too and I think the next thing I buy is going to be a better strop. Right now I have a paddle style one with only one side.

 

[Aaronburner]

So my brush broke. The part with the bristles came off of the part with the handle... I contacted the store I got it from and they're going to send me a new one! Until then I'm using regular old aerosol cream. I forgot how much it smelled like mysterious chemicals.

Shave #6
Today I put a lot of focus on visibility during my shave and brought out a little mirror that also magnifies... it was quite helpful for the most part when it comes to seeing what I'm doing.

I have a big problem seeing certain parts like under and behind my jaw... I need eyes in the back of my head.

I also got a pretty nasty cut this time: on my finger! Seriously... I bumped into a shelf, which knocked my hand right into the blade.

 

[Lmarkow]

Sorry about the cut. I've managed to do that also. Did the brush pictured above fail? I was looking at that one.

 

[StubbleTrouble]

I did the whole shave without cutting myself, I imagine it will start to happen when I'm overconfident. For now there is too much fear to be careless.

Nelson (Bayamontate - Local honemeister) recently said at a honing meet and greet, and I paraphrase 'No matter how long you've been shaving with straights, the second you turn your back on one you'll get cut'. Part of the persona of a straight and we all live long in fear. Shaves are stellar, though...

Questions bouncing around in my head:
Q: How do I know if I'm stropping correctly? Am I using too much pressure? Not enough? Correct angle?

Q: How long until SWMBO notices a mysterious shaved patch on my arm?

1) I would look for youtube vids on this. Check out Lynn Abrams' vids. Here's my thoughts from another post, cut and pasted here. Stropping doesn't sharpen the edge, but realigns it. You basically only want the weight of the blade on the strop during laps, but do so while keeping even contact with the spine and shaving edge on the strop. Spine always leads the edge! Stropping slowly is OK and you certainly want to avoid lifting the spine off the strop before the edge - most new straight shavers 'roll' the edge on a strop a fair amount. This is the kiss of death to a shaving edge... Audio cues are very helpful as the edge will often 'hiss' much more in comparison to proper technique if you put too much pressure on the blade or lift the spine first during a lap. If you nick a strop by digging the edge into the leather, assume the nick or gash left behind is an unusable surface until you get it repaired! It will, depending upon the nick or cut, destroy the shaving edge!

2) Wait till you start asking her for hair to do hanging hair tests on your razors!

 

[rockviper]

A slightly belated "Welcome to the Dark Side!" from another Canuck! The jump from carts to strights is a big one, but you seem to be making out just fine, even with the discovery that your razor is sharp enough to make you bleed. Bummer anout the brush, but kudos to the vendor for stepping up without issue.

 

[Aaronburner]

Imarkow: Yes it was the one in the picture
StubbleTrouble: I actually started off watching Lynn's vids. Good stuff.
Rockviper: Thanks for the welcome!

Ok it's been a few shaves and I've now met up with Attila in person. He showed me the hair test and I got to see how sharp my razor is. Thanks again!

I also have some new products! Yay!
I was just passing through shoppers drug mart getting shampoo when, much to my shock, I found some brushes and shaving soap. My badger brush still hasn't come in yet after being replaced so I decided to try out the cheapo $10 one they had (the only one in stock) and pick up some Proraso soap which I know I've heard mention of on here.

The brush made me pine for my absent badger one. First off... I have no idea what it's made of but it is something a bit rougher. It also ends up in a funny shape after getting wet, like dreadlocks almost where big clumps just stick together. Oh well, it did the job and is only a temporary thing.

The soap isn't as good as my other creams either. It just doesn't do it for me. Fortunately I have no shortage of them!

There is one new thing I have been doing with all my lathers lately which is using a 2 dish system. The lather goes in a small dish which sits inside a larger one partly filled with hot water. This has effectively ended my gripe about lather going cold by the end of my shave. It starts hot, it ends hot, it feels fantastic!

I think I also found a solution for one of the hardest parts of my shave (the jaw). Instead of going WTG, I just go XTG from chin to ear a few times and slightly change the angle with each pass. No more trying to roll around it the curve. The lower neck still gives me trouble though. Hair right at the bottom suddenly reverses direction. I always have a bit of irritation there even when I try to accommodate for it.

I had been letting my hair grow out for a few days because of said irritation on my neck so I want to give it a breather. When I finally shaved again I turned the Van Dyke into a more proper goatee and for the first time ever I narrowed the moustache from the top rather than just the bottom. Electric trimmer over the whole thing to shorten it and I now look quite different... Very clean looking. I like it. The girl likes it too.

 

[Attila]

It was a pleasure meeting you Aaron! The white Proraso soap is actually quite good. But you have to remember to use a good amount of it and then add enough water. I find that when I use enough of the Proraso soap and add a bit of extra water I can get a great slick lather from it.
"More product" is definitely the thing to do here.

 

[AndroiDad75]

Aaron... Welcome to the straight club. These guys are all great.

It's great you are able to meet up with someone local. I wish there was a meetup, like the KC one, around me. Heck for a long time there wasn't anyone on the forum near me SR shaving. Frank does now, but we haven't had a chance to meet up yet.

Keep up the great work and don't turn your back on that SR... it will bite ya

 

[Aaronburner]

Happy holidays everyone! I vanished for a while because I was busy with life but here's an update.

Xmas
I got a new strop! It makes me wonder how I made due with that old paddle style one.



I also got an aftershave/conditioner. Alcohol free with...aloe? It feels gross and lacks the now familiar sting that I count on to keep me accountable for every little mistake. A sting that drives me to learn and improve with every shave. Probably won't use it again.

Other updates
- I've lost count of my straight shaves, it's become a delightful part of my usual routine rather than a big event.
- I am much faster now and have not cut myself in quite a while.
- I finally got around to learning to use my left hand. It was a struggle at first but now my muscle memory has taken over and it's easy.
- Most excitingly I seem to have solved my long term issue with irritation at the bottom of my neck.

What seems to be working best for me these days?

1st pass:
- WTG down the cheeks and jaw
- XTG on the neck (front to sides)
- Clean up under lips and take off a couple millimeters from the top of the moustache. Scissors to keep it off the lips.

2nd pass (new as of today)
- XTG cheeks (front to sides)
- WTG down the neck

I have that ring on the bottom of my neck where the grain reverses direction and trying to go WTG there has been nothing but trouble.

After about a week of trying this type of 1st pass, I'm thrilled with the results and my skin is thanking me... but it's not exactly a close shave.

Today I'm pushing myself another step closer to BBS by adding a second pass. Still no irritation and sooo smooth. I love it.

 

[Aaronburner]

Well I sliced myself pretty good on the hand yesterday. Funny how my worst cuts are always there... I was in a major rush and the shave actually went fine but as I was drying the blade with a tissue I ended up bringing it across two fingers. A mistake I won't be making again for a long time.

 

[McVeyMac]

As it has been said many times, there is no such thing as a beginner razor. If they are suitable for shaving, they are suitable to inflict serious injury. Overall your shaving seems to be coming together very well. Keep it up. When you are rushed for time, you might want to consider another form of shaving while you are in the learning stage. I know that we only get so many shaves in our lifetime, and this would feel like you are wasting one, but it might be better in the long run to only straight shave when you have the time to focus on every aspect, at least until your learning is further along.

I have handled sharp things every day for five years or more, and frequently for the 40 some odd years before that, and I still get bit on occasion. My new found love of razors has only resulted in facial cuts so far, but I am certain that this will change some day.

 

[Tacetman]

Aaron,

Just jumped on your journal wagon. Sounds like you are having good success so far. Be careful with your hands! You only get two...

 

[Aaronburner]

Good evening, gents.

It's coming up on a year now that I've been using the straight razor so I figured I should post again.

I've never let my beard just grow wild before so I've been doing that for the past few weeks to see what happens. Other than cleaning up the neck, I'm letting my hair do what it will. I'm actually in awe of how good it looks. I've always been either clean shaven or with hair carefully trimmed.

Anyway, I've decided to go for a handlebar so I just bought my first moustache wax.

 

[Aaronburner]

My order just arrived!
1. Captain Fawcett's Moustache Wax (sandalwood)
2. Captain Fawcett's Beard Oil - Booze & Baccy by Ricki Hall

I was previously using my first moustache wax (from Beards By Design), which I bought at House of Knives. It went on smooth as butter but never stayed in place very long, drooping as if it were, well, butter. Having now tried the new wax, I don't know how I lived without it. It's pretty tough to apply, no matter how much I warm it up... but it stays put for good, so I'm happy.

This is also my first time using a beard oil. I can already feel the difference, my hair is so soft and supple after a single application. Not sold on the scent though. Maybe it'll grow on me?

Anyways, I now have a pretty nice handlebar. It looks much better on my than I ever expected. Reactions from strangers are mixed; a glance of revulsion here, a flash of lechery there.

 

[Aaronburner]

Ok after using this stuff for a few days, I take back what I said about the oil. It smells awesome, it was the moustache wax that smells horrible.

My favourite shaving soap is a sandalwood scented on (see wayyy above). I love the smell. It's was my only experience interacting with sandalwood.

But the sandalwood wax that I just got smells nothing like it. It smells like an ashtray, and doesn't fade. The wax holds all day long which is great, but so does the smell.

I half expected the "Booze and baccy" oil to smell like an ashtray because it has a bit of tobacco in it, but I decided to give it a shot anyway because of all the positive reviews I read. It doesn't smell like an ashtray, it smells like nothing I've ever smelt before, but I like it.

Taylor of old bond street sandalwood shaving soap: 9/10
Fawcett's Booze and Baccy beard oil: 9/10
Fawcett's Sandalwood moustache was: 5/10

Anyway, I decided to try using my beard oil as a pre-shave oil today (I've never used a pre-shave oil before). It ended up being the most enjoyable shave of my life. My straight razor cut through hair in an ATG stroke so smoothly it might as well have been BBS before starting. So now I need to figure out what the consequences are. Is it 'bad' for the blade in any way? If I do nick myself, would it be bad for my body? Also, what's the difference between pre-shave oil and beard oil, anyway?