Animag's Straight Razor Shave Journal

[Animag771]

Shave #1
Date: 8/21/2018
Prep: Warm water
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: Edwin Jagger Best Badger 21mm
Razor: 5/8 Full Hollow Diamondine No. 7
Post: Cold water
A/S: None

WARNING: This first post turned out to be way longer than I had intended.

Just finished my first straight razor shave without any stitches or lasting scars. I had today off and my wife is at work, so I knew I would have no distractions and could take my time. Here's how I proceeded with my first shave. If you have any tips or suggestions to better my experience please feel free to let me know.

Firstly, I started out by filling a ceramic bowl and a slightly larger platic bowl with hot water so they could heat through.

While they heated up I got the rest of my stuff out and ready. I did not strop the razor, since it's been freshly honed and I'd probably make it less sharp by improperly stropping. After the bowls were warm I dumped them out, stacked them and refilled them both with hot water (see image) thinking that this double insulating would allow the water to stay nice and warm throughout the shave. It was probably overkill and unnecessary, but I did it anyway. It sure did make for a nice warm lather.

After letting my brush soak I proceeded to build a lather with the Proraso Red (I LOVE the smell of that stuff) using what I think is called "The Italian Method". I think I let too much water out of the brush though because while shaving I noticed I had to physically rub it off of the blade, running water wasn't enough.

I decided I would go ambidextrous and did two WTG passes on my cheeks managing to give myself a very small nick under my left ear with the tip of the blade. I wasn't even sure I'd cut myself until after i had finished that side. I felt comfortable enough to attempt the outside edges of my neck (on the jugulars), which went pretty smoothly with the exception of where the jaw line meets the ears... That's a weird spot.

I finished everything else up with my cartridge razor, also only going WTG. My face is used to being shaved once every 3 weeks so it's not happy about me shaving ATG and XTG for the last 3 days with my cartridge... I figured I'd go easy on it today.

After all of that was done I splashed some cold water on my face, patted it dry, cleaned up and stropped 25 passes. And everyone lived happily ever after, with a passable shave.


Lessons Learned:
Make a wetter lather
Be aware of the tip of the blade

Questions for members:
The hardest part for me was finding the angle on my very first stroke on both cheeks. When I'm getting the blade in position near my sideburns I can't see what I'm doing because my razor hand is in front of my eye. To make matters worse I have to take off my glasses to shave and my bathroom counter depth is 30" which puts me even further from the mirror than most. Is there a way to position your hand or hold the blade in a way that allows you to see?

 

[ScottChapin]

I wear glasses and am coming to the conclusion that I must find the sideburn trim point by starting the blade above the point and “feeling” it come to the bottom of the sideburns and start to shave.


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[Luecke2326]

Yay, congratulations on your first foray into straight razor shaving! I too struggle with shaving my side burns(I think everyone does) and I also wear glasses and have a deep sink. The only thing I can say is practice, practice, and more practice is the only way you’ll get better. I contort my hand the best I can to get my sideburns to look nice, you’ll get there.... (Did this guy just tell me “good luck, you’ll figure it out”) YEP lol



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[Animag771]

I wear glasses and am coming to the conclusion that I must find the sideburn trim point by starting the blade above the point and “feeling” it come to the bottom of the sideburns and start to shave.


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Yay, congratulations on your first foray into straight razor shaving! I too struggle with shaving my side burns(I think everyone does) and I also wear glasses and have a deep sink. The only thing I can say is practice, practice, and more practice is the only way you’ll get better. I contort my hand the best I can to get my sideburns to look nice, you’ll get there.... (Did this guy just tell me “good luck, you’ll figure it out”) YEP lol



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Thanks. Yeah, I guess the sideburns will get a little easier to clean up once I get more practice to find out what works for me. Also once I make it to the point of being able to go XTG and ATG I'll be able to see what I'm doing because those passes shouldn't block my vision.

 

[Seveneighth]

Congratulations that sounds like a success! Plus: your lessons learnt are good ones.

Here's a tip to produce the right wetness of lather: Make it as normal and lather your face, then dip the tips of your brush into some warm water and work that in. I do that for each cheek and each side of my neck. With it back up to full lather on your face.

If you are struggling to find the right angle start by placing the blade flat against your face and lifting the spine gradually. When I switched to shaving with both hands after years of shaving one handed my brain just couldn't work out the placement with my left hand. Like learning to walk again. So that's how I got myself used to it.

For the glasses / sideburns conundrum, either :

1) Find the position and then carefully take the stroke without looking.

or

2) Move close to the mirror with your face side on and look right out of the corner of your eye. Trust me it does work, as long as you have OK peripheral vision.

 

[ScottChapin]

2) Move close to the mirror with your face side on and look right out of the corner of your eye. Trust me it does work, as long as you have OK peripheral vision.

I have a trifold mirror cabinet and the blade blocks my view!


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[Seveneighth]

I have a trifold mirror cabinet and the blade blocks my view!


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I believe you, I believe you. Everyone's mileage is different.

I would just encourage you and anyone else to change positions and proximity to the mirror. There are some strange angles in straight shaving and sometimes you can surprise yourself and find a view point you hadn't expected.

 

[ScottChapin]

I believe you, I believe you. Everyone's mileage is different.

I would just encourage you and anyone else to change positions and proximity to the mirror. There are some strange angles in straight shaving and sometimes you can surprise yourself and find a view point you hadn't expected.

No, you’ve given me food for thought.


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[steveclarkus]

I have to agree with @Luecke2326 just keep shaving and you just get better at it. My shaves continue to improve so I must be changing something but I have no idea what. It just seems to evolve with no thought on my part.

 

[Animag771]

I have to agree with @Luecke2326 just keep shaving and you just get better at it. My shaves continue to improve so I must be changing something but I have no idea what. It just seems to evolve with no thought on my part.

I think after a while it probably just starts to become muscle memory. Instead of hilduho the razor near your face and thinking about where the angle needs to be or how to approach a stroke it just sort of becomes natural.

 

[Dzaw]

Welcome aboard from another total newbie. Sounds like you had more discipline than I for my first, where I insisted on three passes, neck and all... after today’s break, I’ll be jumping in on cheeks and lip, wtg only so I can teach my left hand to shave - so I’ll be following your example next.

Hopefully we can both keep sharing our insights so we can both learn quicker. Kind of like having a training partner.

 

[Animag771]

Welcome aboard from another total newbie. Sounds like you had more discipline than I for my first, where I insisted on three passes, neck and all... after today’s break, I’ll be jumping in on cheeks and lip, wtg only so I can teach my left hand to shave - so I’ll be following your example next.

Ooh, how did that first shave treat you?

Hopefully we can both keep sharing our insights so we can both learn quicker. Kind of like having a training partner.

I like the thought of that.

 

[GearNoir]

Congratulations on your first SR shave!

With a little patience, care, and some experimentation, you’ll reach your first 100 and be having great shaves in no time!

Good on you for being willing to ask questions!

 

[steveclarkus]

I think after a while it probably just starts to become muscle memory. Instead of hilduho the razor near your face and thinking about where the angle needs to be or how to approach a stroke it just sort of becomes natural.

You know how it is when you shave with a DE or a cart and you really don't think about what you are doing and you are simply enjoying the motion and the feeling? That what it becomes, just an enjoyable experience. For me, it put the joy back into shaving as it will for you.

 

[Dzaw]

Ooh, how did that first shave treat you?


I like the thought of that.

Well, taking today off from shaving is a direct result of how that shave treated me... I got ambitious well beyond my skill level and have some nice cat scratches to show for it. You can check out my own journal thread here: Blood makes poor lather

 

[Animag771]

You know how it is when you shave with a DE or a cart and you really don't think about what you are doing and you are simply enjoying the motion and the feeling? That what it becomes, just an enjoyable experience. For me, it put the joy back into shaving as it will for you.

So far it's been really nice to shave every day. It doesn't feel like a chore anymore. Now that I've got a goal and I'm learning new things it's so much better... Not to mention I'd never brushed on a fluffy warm lather before.

Well, taking today off from shaving is a direct result of how that shave treated me... I got ambitious well beyond my skill level and have some nice cat scratches to show for it. You can check out my own journal thread here: Blood makes poor lather

Ah, I read through that yesterday I just didn't notice it was you who posted it.

 

[Animag771]

Shave #2
Date: 8/22/2018
Prep: Warm water
Soap: Proraso Red
Brush: Edwin Jagger Best Badger 21mm
Razor: 5/8 Full Hollow Diamondine No. 7
Post: Cold water
A/S: None

Two down and many more to go. Everything went pretty much the same as yesterday. I did however strop my blade 25 passes before shaving this time. Might not be enough, but while I'm learning, I'm thinking less is more instead of doing a bunch of bad passes and making things worse.

I used what I learned from yesterday and made my lather wetter. This time I was able to rinse my blade with water and not have to physically wipe the lather off with my thumb under the water. I'm a very energy conscious person (net-zero home and all) however and I hate having to run the water so much during my shave, so I'm going to pick up a sponge today to wipe my blade on.

Again I did two passes WTG on my cheeks and sides of the neck. I was more aware of the tip of the blade today making sure I didn't nick myself with it. According to a small dot of red in the lather when I went to rinse the blade, I must have nicked myself somewhere... Though I still don't know where. I finished everything else up with a cartridge just as I did yesterday.

Cold water rinse, pat dry, stropped 25 passes and cleaned up.

Today's shave is about the same as yesterday. Passable to the eyes, but when feel it, it's not as close as the areas I did with the cartridge. All but one spot on my right cheek above the jaw... It's as close, if not closer than where I used the cartridge. Not sure what I did there but I must have done something right.

Lessons Learned:
Wetter lather is indeed better
You don't cut your ears if you know where the tip is
Found a way to see my sideburns, by tilting my head down and to the side a little and using my peripheral vision.
Found a way of holding the razor while stropping that allows me to roll the spine without feeling awkward.

Questions for members:
My face feels oddly tight after shaving today. Any ideas what could cause this?
When your done shaving do you immediately put the lid back on your soap for storage or let it dry first?

 

[ScottChapin]

For me, taught face is dryness. I have found witch hazel and it is my friend. I splash it on liberally after an alum rub. Then I apply balm.


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[GearNoir]

For me, taught face is dryness. I have found witch hazel and it is my friend. I splash it on liberally after an alum rub. Then I apply balm.


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Normally I’d say alum, but since you didn’t use a post shave product, I agree with this.

Shaving, even with some soaps better than Proraso Red, can take it’s toll on the skin. You might want to consider adding a post shave product that will help restore/heal the skin a bit, even if it’s just a good, unscented AS.

 

[ScottChapin]

Normally I’d say alum, but since you didn’t use a post shave product, I agree with this.

Shaving, even with some soaps better than Proraso Red, can take it’s toll on the skin. You might want to consider adding a post shave product that will help restore/heal the skin a bit, even if it’s just a good, unscented AS.

+1


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