Another Straight Convert!

[spoonman]

About three months ago I had a beard because I hated shaving so much - I would shave my lower neck and clip my beard once a week and I thought I had it made. Then I discovered B&B and started reading....and reading....and reading. I already owned one DE razor from a previous attempt at regular shaving, but suddenly I acquired four more. And lots of creams and soaps. And another brush. And another one. I was enjoying shaving for the first time ever.

Then I started seeing pictures of custom and restored straights, and that was enough for me to want to master this form of shaving. So I got my first straight from member Luc, got a strop and two shaves in, here I am.

My first shave was good in that I didn't nick or cut myself, but I didn't shave much hair off either! It seemed my normally awesome Tabac lather was drying out for some reason. However my second shave was much better. My Proraso lather was moist and slick so I decided to go against the grain on my neck, and achieved BBS in patches. No nicks or cuts. And strangely I seem to enjoy stropping.

I will periodically update this thread with my progress, including my honing journey, as I intend to do my own maintenance.

Thank you B&B and all the contributors for helping me along the way.

 

[FiveOhNine]

welcome aboard!

 

[dpmtherrien]

Good to have you with us. I'm fairly new to straights myself, and I am enjoying it. Welcome.

 

[JPM]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Luc]

That's some good stuff mate!

 

[Alacrity59]

Neat stuff. Welcome. Luc . . good work.

 

[kwigibocity]

I think a lot of us enjoy stropping.
Give yourself a couple of months and I'd be shocked if you regress to the safeties as a default.

 

[Drubbing]

Good work. I wish my start has been as good.

I've given up on my vintage and ordered a Dovo Special, honed by Lynn Abrams. Now there'll be no excuse for my sucky technique.

 

[spoonman]

Shave 3 - a timely reminder about the importance of good lather! I used TOBS Shaving Shop and WTG pass was fine, but trying to go ATG the razor would just stick and not move. The lather seemed 'sticky' and I just couldn't get an ATG stroke started. So I decided WTG was enough and left it at that.

Shave 4 - shaving with a straight really requires a good slick lather, something I still haven't quite mastered. I thought I had lathering down, but I now realise that you can get away with it a bit more using a DE. Anyway, WTG was fine, XTG on the cheeks was fine, ATG on the neck was still a bit of a fight against the lather, but better than shave 3.

Overall, the actual shave part is going really well. I still haven't spilled a drop of blood yet! My lather needs work though. The stropping is also going well, just two teeny tiny nicks right on the very edge of the strop - I don't even know when they happened.

And RAD has kicked in - two more straights on the way!

 

[Drubbing]

Interesting, that could have been one of my (many) issues. How are you going about getting a slicker lather?

 

[mdunn]

keep it up, mate!

 

[spoiledone]

This thread is relevant to my interest
subscribed

 

[ZlinMan]

Ahh, the wonderful world of straights. Luc's been quite the help to myself, aswell. Still working on my technique, too, but you seem to be off to a great start!

 

[DE Shaver]

More than DE shaving, using straight razor require more diligent preparation. A nice thick lather and pre-shave prep will increase the success and performance of your shave. I DE shave now and get great results largely due to the prep work I learned while straight razor shaving. I still use a straight razor for those special days.

 

[Hawkeye5]

Another infected with the straight razor bug.

 

[spoonman]

Shave 5 tonight - I hadn't shaved for three or four days so I was interested to see how the straight went with cutting the longer, thicker hair. In preparation I gave the razor 10 laps on the cro-ox side of the filly strop, then 100 laps on the leather. I am amazed at how quickly my stropping has come along - before I started using a straight stropping was one of the main things stopping me. I thought it would take too long, but it's not at all time consuming.

Well the shave went really well, one stroke down the cheek resulted in a CCS. My T&H Luxury lather was nice and slick so XTG on the cheeks and ATG on my neck finished off the shave nicely. I could tell the difference between my previous shave and this one after the laps on the cro-ox, it felt like the edge was a little 'finer', if that makes sense.

I think I solved my dry, sticky lather problem; I have started using a T&H Wellington (rebadged Rooney 2/1 I believe) with my previous brush being a Vulfix 849. There is a HUGE difference between the quality and density of these brushes, and I hadn't allowed for how much extra water the T&H brush could handle. Tonight I just kept dipping the tips of the brush in some water while face lathering until I had a much more moist, slippery lather. It rinsed of the blade easily so I must have done something right!

Since shaving with the straight the constant redness and irritation on each side of my adams apple has completely gone. It defies logic that dragging a sharpened piece of steel across my skin is better than using a DE, but the proof is there for me to see!

 

[Luc]

It's already going very well!! Good work mate! Glad I can help!

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Lucky you to be a part of the successful st8 club already!

 

[spoonman]

Lucky you to be a part of the successful st8 club already!

I guess you could say I 'cheated' a little by using a Dovo Shavette for about 10 shaves prior to getting a real straight . I found that it really helped with my confidence in knowing how to hold the razor and manipulate it around my face.

 

[Seraphim]

A straight shave generally takes longer than a DE shave, so don't be afraid to touch-up your lather as you go. Mid-pass, whatever. If it is starting to dry out, get some water on your brush, re-swirl some on your face, and have at it. I constantly adjust my lather during a shave.