Can You Stand Another First SR Shave Thread?!

[Saloogie]

I hope you guys have the patience for another first shave story!

So the strop and shave ready vintage SR I ordered from eBay showed up today, and I went right to work!

First problem was how to hold it! Yeah, it took me a little bit to figure out what was comfortable and how would I get the angles needed. This seems like it will be my biggest issue. But once I got it figured out, at least enough to get moving, the shave went pretty well! Down the cheek I went and right down the neck. No issues! Then came the harder parts, like my jaw, chin and nose. I did just ok on those parts, and I did get two small weepers, neither of which needed attention however. WTG and ATG went pretty well, but changing grips to go XTG was tough, and I'll need to work on that. But all-in-all, not bad. Definitely not DE close after 3 passes, but I can see getting there with practice. The blade was ever so slightly tugging on my 2 day growth, which was likely just my bad technique, but otherwise it was good and sharp. Nice job from the seller. Zero irritation too!

Post shave, I stropped it by doing 30 gentle laps on linen side and same on the leather. Edge still feels good. Ill put some magnification on it later to see how it looks. The strop itself isn't great. It's a board, and the leather has some bubbles in it that stand out. Probably not glued on properly. I hope they don't mess the edge up. I might have to invest in something better.

In the end, I enjoyed this shave! Admittedly, I was a bit nervous, but I can definitely see why guys like it. It has some distinct advantages and I think once I get some things down like grip, stropping and sharpening, this could be really fun and enjoyable. I feel very manly!

 

[Koop]

Congrats on a sucessful fist go. It's a challenge, but it gives satisfaction as you find improvement.

 

[Saloogie]

Congrats on a sucessful fist go. It's a challenge, but it gives satisfaction as you find improvement.

Thanks! Challenge's are good. I look forward to getting better at this lost art. I think this could be yet one more rabbit hole to go down though.

I did forget one important thing in my excitement - I didn't stretch my skin! Argh. How could I forget. That likely would have made the shave a bit more efficient. I'm 65 now, so my facial skin, a long with other things, is sagging a bit! That probably would have helped quite a bit. I guess I forgot that in my excitement.

 

[Herrenberg]

Nice! There can never be too many of these threads.

Most of my getting started with SR shaving was just getting comfortable holding and moving the razor in three dimensions (4 dimensions, counting twist, which definitely counts). It doesn't get mentioned a lot, for some reason, but I can't imagine that everyone does not go through it. Maybe they're better at forgetting it than I am.

Then there was getting rid of new bad habits, like placing the razor against my skin and then moving it to the side. Yeouch! The good part about this one is that eventually you not only learn not to do that, you actually develop a new reflex, so you will pull the razor away if it even starts to cut you. Takes a while, though.

Then there was learning new good habits, like an angle no more than 1 1/2 spine-widths on literally every part of your shave, even the hard parts.

The longest stretch was getting rid of old bad habits, specifically the habit of applying cartridge-appropriate pressures against the skin instead of no pressure at all.

And yes, if you don't stretch, there's no way it's going to be good, unless maybe if you just got a really tight, queen-of-Spain-level face lift.

 

[Saloogie]

Nice! There can never be too many of these threads.

Most of my getting started with SR shaving was just getting comfortable holding and moving the razor in three dimensions (4 dimensions, counting twist, which definitely counts). It doesn't get mentioned a lot, for some reason, but I can't imagine that everyone does not go through it. Maybe they're better at forgetting it than I am.

Then there was getting rid of new bad habits, like placing the razor against my skin and then moving it to the side. Yeouch! The good part about this one is that eventually you not only learn not to do that, you actually develop a new reflex, so you will pull the razor away if it even starts to cut you. Takes a while, though.

Then there was learning new good habits, like an angle no more than 1 1/2 spine-widths on literally every part of your shave, even the hard parts.

The longest stretch was getting rid of old bad habits, specifically the habit of applying cartridge-appropriate pressures against the skin instead of no pressure at all.

And yes, if you don't stretch, there's no way it's going to be good, unless maybe if you just got a really tight, queen-of-Spain-level face lift.

Yeah, it sounds like you had the same issues with holding the razor as I did. It's going to take a bit of practice to get that down for sure. I just couldn't get the XTG group down, so I didn't really do it. But I'm not putting any pressure on myself, I'm sure it'll come with practice.

The skin stretching thing, how did I completely forget that? Well, I'll get that right tomorrow. I figure I'm going to do this daily for at least a full week, or maybe two, until things become more automatic.

Let's see how tomorrow goes. Hopefully today wasn't just beginners luck!

 

[Saloogie]

Well, the second shave is in and... it wasn't great.

My first pass went well, but when I tried to readjust my grip for XTG/ATG, I totally lost it. I just couldn't get the grip, so I muddled through the rest of the shave and it was pretty bad. Had to finish up with a DE. Blade was dragging, but I think it's me and my bad grip. Lather wasn't great either which didn't help. I just didn't get it right today. Blade looks good under magnification and feels very sharp. No cuts, so that's good.

I had a feeling my first shave was beginners luck. It just went to well. I obviously have much to learn, but I'll keep going until I get a decent shave and my grip becomes more natural.

 

[Manye]

Stick with it. Try new grips, parts of the face and neck etc., and passes incrementally. When muscle memory and confidence develop, SR shaves do not disappoint. It took me about 3 months of daily shaves to be able to do everything with a degree of proficiency and confidence. ATG on the neck was the last thing to come. Watch Chimensch’s 30th Anniversary video to see how a well seasoned SR shaver goes about it. Good luck and enjoy!

 

[haggis]

when I tried to readjust my grip for XTG/ATG, I totally lost it.

There's a bit of a dance to get from start to finish on all surfaces at multiple angles. I bobbled around for quite some time until I locked down an approach and grip for each part of my face, for each pass. Eventually the routine gets locked down into muscle memory and you develop mental space to enjoy more subtle nuances and try variations.

I can recreate some of that "early days anxiety" at any time by switching hands from (my) normal. Then I think, why bother, and retreat to the simple pleasure of routine.

Enjoy the ride, it's a lovely way to shave.

 

[Saloogie]

Thanks a bunch @haggis and @Manye

Grip, grip, grip seems to be the Achilles heel of this type of shaving. I'm glad others have gone through this as well, so I know it's not just me and my fumbly fingers!

I'm definitely enjoying this new aspect to shaving, so I'm sticking with it. At one time I had to learn DE shaving as well, which wasn't as steep a learning curve, but it was still something new to master. I'm also into the honing and stropping aspect of this, so that will also keep interested to.

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[Herrenberg]

Grip, grip, grip seems to be the Achilles heel of this type of shaving. I'm glad others have gone through this as well, so I know it's not just me and my fumbly fingers!

Not the Achilles heel. Just an early hump you need to get over, then you will not need to think about it again, because your hands have absorbed the knowledge.

 

[Saloogie]

Third shave today, and it was better.

I did a rehearsal before my shave. I figured out the grips and angles before I put the razor to my face, and that seemed to really help. So grip wasn't as big of an issue today as yesterday. The issue seemed to be with the blade chattering and dragging. I'm pretty sure it's my lousy technique and not the blade which remains sharp and looks good under magnification. I got a couple of very small weepers, but amazingly I get absolutely no irritation from SR shaving. I like that. But I'm also not getting very close. I can feel the stubble, even after 3 passes, but it's pretty even all-around, so that's good. I know I can do better the more I practice.

I did just buy another SR off of eBay today. It's not shave ready, but the seller says it has a bevel, so a good sharpening should work. I wanted one like this so I can practice. I have the stones, and I'll try just the 8000 grit and an Arkansas stone for finishing first. I have a lot of experience with knives, so I think some of that will translate to a SR. I've watched a lot of vids on sharpening a SR, so we'll see how it goes. I want to practice before I put my shave ready blade to the stones.

I'll be giving myself a break tomorrow and give myself a good shave with DE.

Thanks for listening!

 

[Frank Shaves]

Congrats!

I remember practicing reaching for different parts of my face using a butter knife. You might also try practicing your moves covering the edge with a piece of electricians tape or painters tape.

Practice makes perfect. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

 

[Saloogie]

Congrats!

I remember practicing reaching for different parts of my face using a butter knife. You might also try practicing your moves covering the edge with a piece of electricians tape or painters tape.

Practice makes perfect. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

Oh, I like that!

I did do a dry run as I mentioned, practicing grips and brushing over my face but not touching it, and that helped, but I like the painters tape idea even better. It's like shaving without shaving.

Thanks for that tip!

 

[Frank Shaves]

I have always brushed my teeth and shaved with both hands. Practicing my moves helped me figure out how to position the razor using both hands.

I would also watch some of @gary haywood's videos, paying attention to hand position and hand motion.

Gary Haywood

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

www.youtube.com

 

[Saloogie]

So I took my 4th and 5th shave and while the 4th wasn't really an improvement, the 5th was outstanding.

I watched this old and sort of corny video, but it really helped me figure everything out.

I found my grip fairly easily and I made sure to stretch my skin and concentrate on the blade angle this time and the results were a very acceptable shave, almost a BBS! I did 3 passes, no touch up, WTG and ATG only. Under the nose is still a tough spot for me, although I got through that reasonably well. I touched up the blade just a bit on an Arkansas hard finishing stone, and the blade was sharper than when I got it. The blade really glided along, no stuttering or sticking. All things considered, it was a pretty pleasurable shave.

BTW, even with a 3 pass shave I'm getting zero irritation using this SR. My neck, which can be a problem for me on a DE shave at times, has been smooth from my first awful shave until now. Is that normal or am I getting lucky?

 

[Saloogie]

I have always brushed my teeth and shaved with both hands. Practicing my moves helped me figure out how to position the razor using both hands.

I would also watch some of @gary haywood's videos, paying attention to hand position and hand motion.

Gary Haywood

Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

www.youtube.com

I will check them out.

Thanks for the links!🫡

 

[Herrenberg]

BTW, even with a 3 pass shave I'm getting zero irritation using this SR. My neck, which can be a problem for me on a DE shave at times, has been smooth from my first awful shave until now. Is that normal or am I getting lucky?

Not everyone has issues with skin irritation, but people who do almost always report that straight razor shaves are much better on their skin.

 

[Saloogie]

Not everyone has issues with skin irritation, but people who do almost always report that straight razor shaves are much better on their skin.

Thanks.

When I learned DE shaving, occasional neck irritation was an issue, but I haven't had that problem while learning SR shaving. It's been very smooth from the first shave. Very cool!

 

[Saloogie]

I haven't kept up with this thread, but I guess I'm on my 9th or 10th SR shave now, and it's going pretty well!

But today I had a 3 day old growth of whiskers, which I normally never do, and I have to say, it was tough getting through that first pass. There was quite a bit of chattering, stuttering and sticking. I got through it, but it was tough. My second and third pass went well however.

So do SR's have trouble with heavy stubble or was it my blade not being sharp enough? ( or bad technique?)

 

[duke762]

My hands were shaking during my first tentative passes with a straight. I experienced neck irritation with DE, multi blades, and electric. I don't get that with a straight and have a chronic skin condition that won't tolerate irritation. I wish I had known about this when my kids were little. My stubble from other shaves hurt their tender skin.

The tugging and pulling you describe along with not cutting stubble sounds like the edge is lacking. I would suggest a vigorous stropping but I don't think I would do it on the strop you describe. If I were you I'd buy a new learner strop. Many things go south without proper stropping. It took me a long time to realize I was stropping ineffectively.

I've been doing this awhile with a barbarian sabre grip on my razor, I should learn a different hold I suppose, but it works for me. It just seems more natural for me.