So I've been DE shaving for about nineish months now. I started with a chinese cheapie and ended up buying a 50's Gillette Flair Tip off the Devil's Flea Market which I am very happy with.
I've been toying with the notion of SR shaving ever since I got into DE shaving, just never bought a razor. A roomie moved out and left a SR he had ordered online, then sent off to be professionally honed. He never really used it and it was just sitting there, so... I whipped out my old leather belt, stropped that bad boy, and wet to town. (the roomie was/is my brother, so I'm not concerned about sterilization, etc.)
I normally shave in the shower, but visions of dropping the dropping the razor and lopping off my man parts or slipping in the shower and slicing off said man parts just made me downright uncomfortable, so I settled for shaving at the sink.
My bathroom vanity has an overhang that I can slid my feet under, so I felt much more comfortable about possibly dropping the razor, and I wore sweatpants as man part protection.
The razor is an unknown "Made in Germany" with a rounded French point.
I soaked my brush in the mug, pressed a hot wet washcloth to my face for a few minutes, then had at it!
I lathered up my Williams Mug Soap (Yes, it can be done) and shaved. I'll spare the rapturous language, I ended up doing a full WTG, ATG, and XTG.
My impressions, in no particular order:
Getting over "blade fear" was best thing that happened to me. Yes, it's a straight razor. Nope, it's not going to viciously lop your ear off a la "Reservoir Dogs", or even your nose. It's a blade, a tool, respect it, don't fear it. Putting it to your skin the first time, you think "What in all Hell am I doing?" Take those first few little strokes and you'll see it isn't as scary as you may think.
SR shaving is much less forgiving of lather and dry skin than DE shaving, you must keep your skin wet and not let the lather dry.
Being comfortable is the other half of the game, after you get over "blade fear". Get into a position where you feel secure and can concentrate on wielding three inches of glittering death in your hands without having to worry about slipping, cats running amok (happens a lot here) , etc.
My DE shaving experience really helped as far as blade angles, knowing not to apply pressure, knowing hair growth direction, etc. I likely would not have had anywhere near as positive an experience without having nine months or so of DE experience under my belt.
The French point saved my butt several times. I believe I would have bled considerably more with a square point.
Getting the right blade angle was tough at first, as posted somewhere else on this site, I went between one and two spine widths up and that worked very well. I took my time and stopped if the blade didn't "feel" right.
I now see why mustaches, goatees, and sideburns were the fashion back when all we had were straights.
I'm probably going to get the ban for this, but - straight razor shaving isn't some kind of mystical art. I'm not going to say I didn't end up with a nick or two, but I've cut myself far worse with a DE or even a Gillette Fusion. If you're on the fence, jump in, it's really not all that hard, it just isn't.
I'm going to look for a SR of my own around the local antique stores and the like. I don't think I'll do it on the daily, but it's a pleasant change.
(Oh, I ended up BBS smooth on neck and cheeks, socially acceptable on the chin, and I didn't mess with the 'stash area at all)
I've been toying with the notion of SR shaving ever since I got into DE shaving, just never bought a razor. A roomie moved out and left a SR he had ordered online, then sent off to be professionally honed. He never really used it and it was just sitting there, so... I whipped out my old leather belt, stropped that bad boy, and wet to town. (the roomie was/is my brother, so I'm not concerned about sterilization, etc.)
I normally shave in the shower, but visions of dropping the dropping the razor and lopping off my man parts or slipping in the shower and slicing off said man parts just made me downright uncomfortable, so I settled for shaving at the sink.
My bathroom vanity has an overhang that I can slid my feet under, so I felt much more comfortable about possibly dropping the razor, and I wore sweatpants as man part protection.
The razor is an unknown "Made in Germany" with a rounded French point.
I soaked my brush in the mug, pressed a hot wet washcloth to my face for a few minutes, then had at it!
I lathered up my Williams Mug Soap (Yes, it can be done) and shaved. I'll spare the rapturous language, I ended up doing a full WTG, ATG, and XTG.
My impressions, in no particular order:
Getting over "blade fear" was best thing that happened to me. Yes, it's a straight razor. Nope, it's not going to viciously lop your ear off a la "Reservoir Dogs", or even your nose. It's a blade, a tool, respect it, don't fear it. Putting it to your skin the first time, you think "What in all Hell am I doing?" Take those first few little strokes and you'll see it isn't as scary as you may think.
SR shaving is much less forgiving of lather and dry skin than DE shaving, you must keep your skin wet and not let the lather dry.
Being comfortable is the other half of the game, after you get over "blade fear". Get into a position where you feel secure and can concentrate on wielding three inches of glittering death in your hands without having to worry about slipping, cats running amok (happens a lot here) , etc.
My DE shaving experience really helped as far as blade angles, knowing not to apply pressure, knowing hair growth direction, etc. I likely would not have had anywhere near as positive an experience without having nine months or so of DE experience under my belt.
The French point saved my butt several times. I believe I would have bled considerably more with a square point.
Getting the right blade angle was tough at first, as posted somewhere else on this site, I went between one and two spine widths up and that worked very well. I took my time and stopped if the blade didn't "feel" right.
I now see why mustaches, goatees, and sideburns were the fashion back when all we had were straights.
I'm probably going to get the ban for this, but - straight razor shaving isn't some kind of mystical art. I'm not going to say I didn't end up with a nick or two, but I've cut myself far worse with a DE or even a Gillette Fusion. If you're on the fence, jump in, it's really not all that hard, it just isn't.
I'm going to look for a SR of my own around the local antique stores and the like. I don't think I'll do it on the daily, but it's a pleasant change.
(Oh, I ended up BBS smooth on neck and cheeks, socially acceptable on the chin, and I didn't mess with the 'stash area at all)
