Bk124tt starting with a straight

[Bk124tt]

Today will be day 1 with a straight.(technically). I have been working with a Shavette for a couple of months in conjunction with my de's.
but today is the first time with a real straight courtesy of Larry from whipped dog.
I will follow p post shave with everything I used during and ow it all went?
WISH ME LUCK!

 

[Agravic]

Good luck!

Still enjoying the world of DEs, but someday...

 

[Kentos]

Shavettes are a bit sharper than your regular straight, and will require different technique. I would also say a little bit more "authority" in the shaving passes may be needed too.

Good luck!

 

[ouch]

If you used a shavette, you already know the angles required, so it should be a breeze.

Have fun!

 

[Bk124tt]

Ok, so after standing in front of my medicine cabinet trying to decide what to use this is what I lined up:
Hand lotion- I use it as a pre shave. I just can't stand the feeling of my AOS preshave oil. It feels like rubbing stp oil on my face.
i selected cella as my shaving cream/ soap
my whipped dog razor
my butterscotch tgn finest
i took out my styptic pencil
alum block
thayers medicated witch hazel
My classic clubman pinaud to finish it off.


About the shave:
My first pass wtg was pretty good. I had a good 3 or 4 day growth going so I knew I had some work cut out for me. Cheeks, chin and neck all went ok on the first pass. After the first pass I could feel I needed to pay better attention to those fine hairs around my lips and corners of my mouth.

relathered
decided to go with a second wtg pass and detail those hard to get spots. I'd say all went well!

Relathered my neck mainly an in h and a half on both sides of Adams apple up to my chin for a shot at a ATG pass.
I think I need some advice here. It king of went ok, no cut so that was good. But I have a very course beard and the stubble that was left although minimal, I could almost feel the razor bouncing over the whiskers on the ATG pass. What technique does anyone recommend to get a good atg pass??
Any help would be appreciated!

In summary a definite presentable shave, but not BBS, and that's ok. Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[Kentos]

I would throw in an XTG pass. Trying to go WTG to ATG is tough on my skin and my edge. After my XTG pass I have a close to BBS, save for the upper lip, jawline and here and there. Finally, a pull free ATG is part technique part blade keeness, so it will get better the more you try.

Sounds like a successful transition.

Edit: XTG on the neck might be hard . I should have read your post better. Maybe a little more skin stretching on the WTG to reduce the stubble as much as possible would help.

 

[Bk124tt]

Thanks Kent! You know I'll be reaching out to you when I get that Kamisori in the mail!

 

[Kentos]

Yup! I got you brother.

 

[Bk124tt]

2nd straight razor shave

before I started I used my poor mans strop to freshen up the blade. I've never stopped before, but I read up on it quite a it as well as watched a fair amount of videos. After stropping I prepared my face as usual,
Hot shower
Rubbed hand lotion into my beard as a preshave
lathered up (MWF)
And gave it a go.....

Lets just say after shaving wtg on one half of one cheek I had to stop and finish with my Parker shavette and a little touch up with my tv super speed.
in hind sight I think I may have applied to much pressure while stropping. I will try it again with a more gentle touch. I didn't know improper stropping could could really have such an ill effect.
Ps. That was probably one of my least damaging sessions with my shavette. Two small nicks was it!

Finished with a
cold water rinse
alum block rub
thayers medicated witch hazel
and a splash or two of Florida water

 

[Bk124tt]

After a nice hot shower I was deciding what to shave with and I went with my new kamisori. I'll have to say I think it went great. I think the weight of the blade definitely helped push thru my course beard. I used both left and right hands as well as both sides of the blade. Not exactly a bbs, but still a good shave. What's even better is not one single nick!
finished up with
alum block
thayers lemon witch hazel
Royall lime a/s

One critique I have is I felt lie it could have been a little sharper but it probably was technique that needed sharpening!
All in all I really like how it shaves!

 

[Kentos]

I like me my Kamisori too!

If the western's edge is shot I'll reset it for you if you dong me a couple bucks for return shipping

 

[Davee58]

My attempts with a Shavette were a disaster.

As a DE shaver of several years I considered a single blade as the next stage, and tried a Shavette as my introduction to single blade shaving.

I used it three times, each time I only shaved half way down my cheeks before suffering a bad cut, and had to finish with my DE Muhle.

The third time the cut was so deep it took almost a week before the bloody scab finally vanished, the (Dovo) Shavette cut into my face like a hot knife into butter. I felt like a total idiot in the office but the other staff were too polite to say anything.

The bit of my face that I did manage to shave with the Shavette was amazingly smooth.

Respects Mr Bk124tt, wish that I had your skills.

I never have any problems with DE shaving!

 

[Rekonball]

After a nice hot shower I was deciding what to shave with and I went with my new kamisori. I'll have to say I think it went great. I think the weight of the blade definitely helped push thru my course beard. I used both left and right hands as well as both sides of the blade. Not exactly a bbs, but still a good shave. What's even better is not one single nick!
finished up with
alum block
thayers lemon witch hazel
Royall lime a/s

One critique I have is I felt lie it could have been a little sharper but it probably was technique that needed sharpening!
All in all I really like how it shaves!

I think the kamisori's or wedges are easier to start with, cause you don't get the flex of the blade. Great job keep it up.

 

[Bk124tt]

I like me my Kamisori too!

If the western's edge is shot I'll reset it for you if you dong me a couple bucks for return shipping

Thank you very much for the offer K! I am going to give it another go and see if it gets an better (smoother) the second time around. No complaints though it was a good shave!


Davee,
i had my fair share a month to two months ago with the shavette. No doubt in my mind (you read it on almost shavette thread as well) the shavette is probably the most difficult to navigate. The hard work (speaking on my own behalf) in the beginning with the Parker shavette I believe made the transition considerably easier to a "real" straight and/or my new Kamisori which I love even though I'm only one shave in with it! If you get the chance check out geofatboys Parker shavette video on YouTube. I'll tell you though, I really take my time with it. So much so tat I have to re-wet my lather half way thru every pass.


Thanks reckonball! I still have a open comb and the sledgemmer ( both merkurs) that sit unused and after using the Kamisori i'm not sure when they'll get used!

 

[Bk124tt]

So it happened. Kind of in a rush to get to work today I didn't really have time to use one of my straights, so I reached for my Merkur 39C THE SLEDGEHAMMER. When I opened the box ( it was brand spanking new) I thought I might hear a roaring crowd with that nickname.
So after a hot shower and about 4 days of growth of my course beard I used my first slant.
hot shower
merkur 39C sledgehammer with persona blade
cella brick
only two passes (skipped xtg) pressed for time
no need for styptic
no time for alum block
thayers medicated wich hazel
clubman citrus musk

An AWESOME shave with only two passes! I am a fan of the sledge.
as a side note my technique must really be improving, no nicks/cuts for the last few shaves!
THANKS TO ALL OF MY B&B COACHING OUT THERE!

 

[Bk124tt]

So tonight it was back to a straight. I had traded in my 4/8 whipped dog for a 6/8 whipped dog. After shaving with the 4/8 I felt like I needed a little more steel behind my stroke and the extra weight was a big help!
hot shower
hand lotion as preshave rubbed into face
whipped dog 6/8
mystic water marekesh (pass 1&2)
cella (pass 3)
A little bit of styptic
thayers medicated witch hazel
floid blue (first use)

Overall it was a good shave! At the very end due to my own sloppiness I give a small slice to my chin area nothing a little styptic didn't fix! Had a rough go with the mystic water. I felt that the lather was plentiful but thin and offered little to no protection. For the last pass I used the Cella and I can't say enought about that stuff!
tonight I felt like I learned at the toe of the blade was working really good for my atg pass. For the wtg and the xtg the heel, toe and even the middle work well for me. But with my extra thick beard atg is a tough pass. The use of the toe seemed to really lessen the tough part!
regarding my new floid blue I'm not sure if I loved it because it is hard to get or because I really loved it. I'll have to keep an eye on it!

 

[Bk124tt]

Tonight I had what seems to be my typical growth of about 4 days.
my gear was my
6/8 whipped dog
Lime hand lotion as a preshave (after a hot shower)
Rosalimone mystic water shave soap
My merkur futur for a little touch up
Thayers lemon witch hazel
stypitic pencil
alum block
Trumpers lime a/s

The mystic water Rosalimone was out standing! At first when I opened it up it thought the smell was horrid! It smelled like granny's old bathroom spray! After whipping up a batch the lemon really shinned through! The combo smell was awesome. The thayers lemon was a perfect compliment to the Rosalimone and so was the trumpers lime a/s.
one little slice in the nose area as I was getting a little to comfortable but styptic stopped the bleeding right away! Some touch up after my 3 pass shave with my straight with my Merkur Futur.
all in all a good shave!