Danielbz's Straight Razor Shave Journal

[Danielbz]

Hello everyone! I figured I'd start a shave journal because I'd like feedback on my technique, and I figure it'll also motivate me to shave more often. I have a habit of growing small beards and shaving them off because I abhor [cartridge] shaving. I grow facial hair pretty quickly, and many a day I've shaved in the morning, and later that night had a friend comment that I need to shave . However, I've switched to straight razor shaving, and now I get MUCH closer shaves. It's not even comparable. I shaved this morning, and tomorrow I'll still have a closer shave than if I had used a cartridge. (That's also because I have this theory that sometimes after I shave my skin kind of freezes up and I don't grow hair quickly for the rest of the day.)

Bonus Short Story: The first time I shaved was when I was 13. I was at a friend's Bar Mitzvah (Jewish ceremony for a man as he enters adult hood), and everyone was asking me if I was growing a mustache. I was not. I shaved that day as soon as I got home. Ever since my mustache has grown the thickest of my facial hair, and it still drives me nuts to this day.

Todays shave (format stolen from AndroiDad75's shave journal):
Pre: 40 Leather
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Griffon Carbo-Magnetic
Shaves since last hone: 4
Perceived quality of edge: Sharp
Brush: VDH Pure Badger (pieceofcrap)
Soap: VDH Hypo-Allergenic Soap
A/S: Alum Block + Aqua Velva
# of passes: 2 WTG, 1 XTG (cheeks), 1 ATG, + Touchups on the chin
Quality of lather: Slick
Post A/S: 40 Leather
Result: DFS
Irritation: 2/10

My shave today was pretty damn nice. I developed a new technique today: I started going WTG on my neck in sections from bottom up. That way it is easier for me to stretch the skin. I do the same thing for ATG on the neck, so it made sense that it might help WTG. My neck isn't quite BBS today. There is definitely some stubble E/W and W/E, but N/S and S/N it is BBS. I'll need to figure out how to shave XTG on my neck. Near where the neck meets the chin ( an inch or two below) I was getting some fierce resistance ATG, so an XTG pass would definitely help. I had to shave my chin like five times, and even then it isn't BBS- definitely resistance S/N, but it's quite smooth today which is awesome considering how much trouble it normally gives me. Lastly, my cheeks are definitely BBS, which is awesome.

I got a little bit of razor burn on my neck today. The Alum block stung like a styptic pencil today on pretty much my entire face. I had to stop for a moment- it was crazy. It definitely does it's job though. The Alum Block seemed to clear up all my razor burn within minutes. I was very impressed.

In conclusion, definitely a DFS. I'm also getting better at this. My lather still dries up too quickly, but I'm hoping the soap I ordered will help with that. My brush loses hair ALL THE TIME, so I figure it's a bad knot. It's on my puck and I also shave it off of my face. A new brush is going to be my next purchase at some point (probably a whipped dog silver tip).

Thanks for reading!

 

[Lmarkow]

I struggle with one area on my neck too. It's become like a stubbed toe: I just keep stubbing it again and again. I think the neck is the hardest to get perfect. And seeking perfect always ruins "good enough," for me.

 

[Attila]

My advice...do not try to go for a BBS on the neck. You don't "need" it and it's just asking for trouble. Even on the face it isn't strictly necessary, but it can be nice for some of us occaisionaly.

If you cannot see the stubble on your neck, then you have achieved a good shave. Also, the hair on your lower neck grows slower than the hair on your face, not necessitating such a close shave there. Why deal with irritation and razor burn if you don't have to?

 

[AndroiDad75]

Trust me. Do not chase the BBS. Now, I recognize this is coming from someone who is constantly trying to figure out a way to get those horizontal hairs. That being said, I haven't had too many times where I have caused any razor burn. It just isn't worth it. I will continue to experiment. Take it slow and let the technique slowly come to you.

 

[Danielbz]

Attila and Rob, you have a good point. It's not necessary. I feel that I'm pretty lucky, however, because the grain on my face and neck seems to be facing the same direction, so it doesn't really cause much irritation, and I've never cut myself ATG on my neck. I think that with practice, and as I hone my techniques, I'll be able to shave without any irritation. I'm not trying to achieve a BBS shave as much as I'm trying to perfect shaving as close to my skin without irritation as possible. My last shave was really a borderline one to two out of ten.

I actually have an idea for my next shave WTG on my neck. I'll take it in sections starting from the top down (instead of N/S section shaving from bottom to top) and constantly stretch the skin upwards. Normally when I shave my neck I stretch the skin down rather than up, and I think that it might be hiding the hair rather than exposing it. If I'm right, I should be able to get a closer shave and avoid some irritation.

 

[Attila]

Take it slow and let the technique slowly come to you.

This is excellent advice.

 

[Danielbz]

So today I thought I'd try out my Simmons Hardware Barber's Pet. It's a tiny razor compared to my other ones, and it has a barber's notch, which I'm not sure how to use, but I wanted to switch it up and not use my Griffon.

Pre: 0 Leather
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Simmons Hardware Barber's Pet #421
Shaves since last hone: 1
Perceived quality of edge: Sharp
Brush: VDH Pure Badger
Soap: VDH Hypo-Allergenic Soap
A/S: Alum Block + Aqua Velva
# of passes: 2 WTG, 1 XTG (cheeks), 1 ATG (cheeks), + Touchups on the chin
Quality of lather: Slick
Post A/S: 25 Leather
Result: CCS+
Irritation: 0.5/10

So today I thought I'd take the advice and go easy on my neck. I didn't see much razor burn if any. I barely nicked myself once on my neck with the point, but I used my styptic pencil, and that was my only cut. Cheeks are BBS-, neck is smooth N/S, so I'd give it a CCS. I tried my technique of shaving N/S in sections top to bottom on my neck so that I can stretch the skin, and I think it gave me a closer shave on my neck. It's also when I nicked myself, but I think the next time I go ATG on my neck, the technique will give me a closer shave, especially since I get more hair WTG. Post shave, the Alum block tingled a bit, but it was far from stinging.

 

[AndroiDad75]

Sounds like a pretty good shave - especially for shave #2. I mean BBS on cheeks and got a little closer on the neck. Not bad at all

 

[Danielbz]

Well, it's not the second shave I've done, it's simply the second shave in my journal. I have a whole bunch of shaves with a shavette under my belt, and a small handful with my Jackson. It was a pretty good shave though. Definitely better than anything possible with a cartridge!

 

[AndroiDad75]

Ahhh

Either way, it sounds like you are doing great!!!

 

[Danielbz]

I am, thank you .

Pre: 0 Leather
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Jackson
Shaves since last hone: 1
Perceived quality of edge: Sharp
Brush: VDH Pure Badger
Soap: VDH Hypo-Allergenic Soap
A/S: Alum Block + Aqua Velva
# of passes: 2 WTG, 1 XTG (cheeks)
Quality of lather: Slick
Post A/S: 30 Leather
Result: CCS
Irritation: 0.5/10

I did a rather quick shave the other day. I was in a hurry because I had a friend coming over. The only things worth noting are that the alum did not sting when I shaved, and I cut myself on my acne. Overall, it was a good shave all things considering.

 

[AndroiDad75]

I understand the acne thing. I've gotten myself a couple of times that way.

 

[Danielbz]

Yeah, I need to tread carefully when I have acne. I still had some for this shave but I was MUCH more careful. Well, careful about the acne; I *may* have tried an XTG pass on my neck starting from the middle of the neck out to each side, but after jabbing myself with the point twice I quickly surrendered. I can't for the life of my figure out how people shave XTG on the neck.

Pre: 40 Leather
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Griffon XX Carbo-Magnetic
Shaves since last hone: 5
Perceived quality of edge: Sharp
Brush: VDH Pure Badger
Soap: VDH Hypo-Allergenic Soap
A/S: Alum Block + Aqua Velva
# of passes: 2 WTG, 1 XTG (cheeks), 1 ATG (cheeks)
Quality of lather: Slick
Post A/S: 45 Leather
Result: DFS-
Irritation: 0.5/10

This shave went rather well. After a single WTG pass with no touch ups I would definitely rate it a SAS. Two passes made it a CCS. My chin gave me very little resistance today, so it's either agreed to play nice, or I'm getting better at this . I only went WTG with it though, and maybe a little XTG. My cheeks are BBS which I always enjoy . Alum stung, and I used my styptic pencil on my chin a couple of times, but really only for micro-nicks. Aaaaaand I have a picture today!
View attachment 391813

No, I have no idea how the sun got in my picture.

 

[Danielbz]

Today I thought I'd try my hand at a slicing motion using my Geneva Cutlery. This is only the second time I've used it, and the first time I loved how it shaved. I shaved without a slicing motion on my mustache area and it really shaves nice and close quite easily, so once again I'm impressed by it.

Pre: 30 Leather
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Geneva Cutlery
Shaves since last hone: 2
Perceived quality of edge: Sharp
Brush: VDH Pure Badger
Soap: VDH Hypo-Allergenic Soap
A/S: Alum Block + Aqua Velva
# of passes: 1 WTG, 1 XTG (cheeks)
Quality of lather: Slick
Post A/S: 30 Leather
Result: SAS
Irritation: 4/10


So, my first pass WTG went over nicely, and I missed a couple of spots, but overall, I think I did a good job. It wasn't hard to incorporate a slicing motion at all. Since shaving WTG was easy enough, I thought I would try XTG. I started with my left cheek using my right hand. I shaved maybe half the cheek before realizing I wasn't shaving ANYTHING. Checked the shaved lather, yup, nothing. I lathered again and used a much steeper angle. This worked, but was hard to keep up near the chin area. I switched to my left hand, starting with the steep angle, and shaved half of my cheek before wiping off the lather and checking it. Starting where I left off, I touched my cheek with too steep of an angle and I gave myself a nice weeper. A couple of expletives later, I tried again a centimeter or so into the later to give my cut some space, and I DID IT AGAIN! Instant quit. No touchups, nothing. I felt like it was my first time shaving. My left hand is definitely not adroit enough to shave XTG with the slicing motion. My cheeks are decently smooth, my neck is completely smooth N/S (one pass). I think that the slicing motion definitely shaved closer on my neck, although it's hard to say with my cheeks because they're normally between a DFS and a BBS. Yeah, so fun shave today

 

[Lmarkow]

My Geneva Cutlery razor is one of my best shavers. I know what you mean about the slicing or sliding motion. It's real tricky to get right. I waited way longer to play around with that, since I was more than able to cut myself just going up and down. I was more interested early on in keeping the spine as close to my face as possible. Now it stays within half a spine or so automatically and I can "play around" with the sophisticated slicing motions.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Sorry I'm late to the party here... lol

 

[AndroiDad75]

Took me a lot of shaves before I tried a diagonal, slicing or even a windshield wiper type motion. I have to give you a lot of props for the courage to do it so soon.

 

[Danielbz]

My Geneva Cutlery razor is one of my best shavers. I know what you mean about the slicing or sliding motion. It's real tricky to get right. I waited way longer to play around with that, since I was more than able to cut myself just going up and down. I was more interested early on in keeping the spine as close to my face as possible. Now it stays within half a spine or so automatically and I can "play around" with the sophisticated slicing motions.

It's a great razor. It really shaves differently than my other razors too. The Geneva Cutlery and Carbo-Magnetic are my favorite shavers so far. I've found, however, that it doesn't shave as well if the spine is too close to my face. I need more angle on it. Perhaps I'm just doing something wrong?

Sorry I'm late to the party here... lol

It's cool. New guy has to juggle his straight razors though.

Took me a lot of shaves before I tried a diagonal, slicing or even a windshield wiper type motion. I have to give you a lot of props for the courage to do it so soon.

Thanks. I'm going to take a couple of shaves off before I attempt any more slicing. I figure the less I cut up my face the better.

 

[Danielbz]

So todays shave is actually a two day shave. I did two passes WTG last night because I got a hair cut and the barber left my facial hair uneven after trimming my sideburns, so I needed to fix that. However, I didn't have enough time for a full shave because my friends came over. No slicing today.

Pre: 30 Cotton / 20 Leather
Prep: Hot Shower
Razor: Geneva Cutlery
Shaves since last hone: 3
Perceived quality of edge: Sharp
Brush: VDH Pure Badger
Soap: VDH Hypo-Allergenic Soap
A/S: Alum Block + Aqua Velva
# of passes: 2 WTG (last night), 1 WTG, 1 XTG (cheeks), 1 ATG (cheeks)
Quality of lather: Less Than Slick
Post A/S: 25 Leather
Result: DFS
Irritation: 2/10


So my shave went pretty well. A few tiny nicks here and there. I've been stressed lately from school, so I have microscopic acne that is hard to see unless you're a razor. One thing I noticed was when I put on new lather to shave my cheeks ATG, I had to shave off the lather below my jaw line on my neck, and after checking it, I shaved off more hair than I expected. I think my lather shaves much better the moment it is applied, but it dries up VERY quickly.

I figured my face would be more irritated than it is because I shaved last night and then when I got up, but it really wasn't too bad. The alum stung a decent amount, but I definitely expected that. My cheeks are BBS, and my neck is smooth N/S.

I bought a mystery soap box here on B&B and it contains a B&B boar brush. I'm excited because hopefully the new soap will lather far better, and the new brush won't shed every shave! I'd like to buy a mystery box of pre-shave/after-shave stuff, but I can't post on that forum yet =[

 

[Lmarkow]

I've found, however, that it doesn't shave as well if the spine is too close to my face.

How is it not shaving as well, if too close? I shave very very close. Iif it's too close the razor is laying on my cheek and won't shave because the edge has lifted from my face. Otherwise, it will shave. I don't find this to vary among razors. Perhaps a couple words describing what you're feeling when it's too close will help.