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Oh yeah, this is totally a teaser post. I have only just ordered my Straight Razors today. I expect it will be a full week before I recieve my new dangerous manly playthings.

What I Ordered:

A TI Special C. 6/8 Full Hollow in a Round Point. The site said Ebony, but I have every expectation I will recieve black laq scales.

A Boker Edelweiess 5/8 Full Hollow "King Cutter", yes, dem bone scales.

3" English Bridal Strop in Burgundy, nothing special I'll probably wreck it anyways.

My current Kit:

Muehle Sophist DE Kit, Light Buffalo Horn, Silver tip brush and, a closed comb(I want an open comb head, I will have to keep an eye on BST).

Software:

-Pre:
EJ Pre-Shave Lotion(dat menthol)
eShave Orange and Sandalwood Oil
-Cream:
Body Shop Maca Root
EJ Sandalwood
Harry's (yes the online cart brand)
-Soap: TOBS Sandalwood(in a pretty bowl)
-A/S:
TOBS Sandalwood Gel
EJ Sandalwood Cream
BioTherme Homme Anti-Razor Burn Balm(best moisturizing brand ever)
-Osma Alum(insert obscenities here!)
-Pinaud C, Nick Dabber(i dont know what its really called, but it does seem to work well for a liquid)

-Current Blade of choice is Feather. I haven't experimented much, but these work good, and are easy to acquire for me(thanks amazon prime!)

To Date Data:

So this part will be the only part I will mention my DE progress, after this it will be solely for Straight Progress.



June 13th: the day I got the DE Kit in the mail. I have been, and will be shaving daily from here on out.

June 19th: My first BBS, although I got a LOT of irritation since I just went for the gusto, and didnt care how much it hurt to finish(~6-7/10)

July 2nd: Alum Block, and EJ Swag arrived in the mail, queue BBS #2. Oh my, #$%^....@#$@#$(Yes, Truncated). That Alum block hurt a lot!

July 6th: BBS-, 2.5 Irritation. EJ Pre-shave is proving to be incredibly delightful for glide, although it tends to ruin my sense of smell for the next 20 minutes.

July 8th: BBS, 3/10. This EJ swag is getting 3107'd.

July 9th: BBS, 4/10. Patience, Patience, Patience!

July 10th: Yea hungover, SAS Please! Sadly in my state this still threw me a 4/10.

July 11th: DFS+, lazy friday.

Skip shaving to

Today: DFS, 1/10. Got the chin BBS(which is the most notable hair for me), left the rest because I was in a hurry.


Enter, the waiting game...
 
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Alright the moment no one waited for!

Shave # Uno:

Hardware:
Boker Edelweiss

Pre:
Shower
EJ Pre shave lotion
Soap:
TOBS Sandalwood
Brush(this will always be the same until further notice!):
Muehle Silvertip(SOPHIST in Horn)
Post:
Alum
Biotherme Homme, razor burn relief balm
Quality:
Incomplete
Irritation:
3.5/10

So the dirty details!

I fired this bad boy up after the shower, bowl lathering up some TOBS soap. I started off much to dry for the blade(so sticky!). After a few cheek passes the consistency improved. The shave for the most part went slow and uneventful, most of my focus went into angles and avoiding making a second mouth-hole. I gave myself a very small slice in the moustache zone. The lather had dried enough to case the blade to stick, about 1/2 long and only a mm or so wide, not deep at all. It was small enough my liquid dab nick relief was able to seal me back up. After all this, I surrendered at the chin, cleaning off only the goatee region with my safety razor. Netting me a final result of SAS.

A couple notes: Razor did not tug at any hairs, and as suggested by Phil at classic edge, I can get a couple shaves without stropping, all things considered I will enter the stropping after the next shave since even at the end of the shave, there was no tugging to be found.
My focus for next time: SLICK LATHER from the gate(amazing how wet the lather needs to be)!
Technique improvement to be ongoing(because we like having a face right? RIGHT?)
 
Entry #2:(Monday Night)

Blade:
-TI Special C. 6/8
Pre:
-Nothing (first shave)
Post:
-Ditto

Software/Process:
Prep:
-Shower
-EJ Pre-Shave
The Shave:
-Bowl Lather(sloppy) EJ Sandalwood Cream
-2xWTG & Various angles at the chin
Post:
-Alum
-Biotherme Homme razor relief balm

Result:
-SAS
-3.5/10 (Irritation)

Notes:

With more confidence than the first shave, I decided to try my second blade out. My first impressions are much higher with the TI than the Boker. This TI is making me think I should have ordered the Hart Steel Axe :glare:. As I predicted I am feeling preference to the heavier blade.

Not wanting to go against the grain just yet I strived for SAS/DFS however chin angles are proving to be quite challenging. Trying to hold the blade in a way that feels safe, not awkward, is tricky; however, as my confidence/skill grows I think this will improve greatly with time.

WRT, the chin, it will be my primary focus moving forward. I need to have a DFS or better for work, so SAS just wont cut it.
 
Entry #3:

Blade:
-TI Special C. 6/8
Pre:
-20+Linen
-30+Leather
(I didnt really count, I tried but got lost around 10 and just estimated on time)
Post:
-20/20

Software/Process:
Prep:
-Shower
-Stirling Sandalwood Bath Soap(yum)
The Shave:
-Bowl Lather(slick) Stirling Snadalwood Shave Soap (dat fragrance)
-2xWTG & Various angles at the chin
Post:
-Alum
-Stirling Sandalwood Witch Hazel w/ Aloe
Result:
-DFS--
-3.5/10

NO NICKS!

Notes:

Damn chin, SAS on the Chin, DFS everywhere else. More focus required.

Everything went splendid today except for the damn chin, and the blade was tugging a tad, I will have to focus on my stropping technique for tomorrow, I plan on doing 40/60 nice and slow tonight.

Continue focus on Chin tomorrow!

Stirling Soap:
So I got my package of goodies from them yesterday, and of course, as expected I leapt on the new software. I will leave my thoughts on the stuff here:

Sandalwood Bath Soap:
Well, pretty much exactly what expected, except the scent was milder than I figured. My skin feels awesome after using this stuff.

Shave Soap
So much softer than I expected, at first I found the scent off putting, almost beefy. I squished that bad boy into its tin and pined away for the morning. Shaving with it this morning proved to be absolutely delightful, the water opened up a soft warm glowing scent and was oh so slick. I find with soap, however, that I need to lather half the face at a time or its too sticky by the time I come around, not really a concern, just a process step I personally need to take.
For straight blades I don't know If I can use anythign other than tallow soaps from now on!!

Witch Hazel (w/ Aloe!):
Damn this stuff smells weird(I assume thats the witch Hazel). I left it to sit for a couple minutes, then moistened witha touch of water, and patted dry. The lingering sandalwood scent is very subtle, yet pleasing.

I wouldn't mind the odours from the products to be stronger, but too little is much better than too much.

BONUS(Tea Tree Bath Soap):
DAAaamn this smells good, for those of you who know what its like to use stirling bath soaps, no further dicussion is necessary. For those of you that don't know what that feels like, its definetely worth trying at least once (Sorry for the AD!)
 
Entry #4:

Blade:
-TI Special C. 6/8
Pre:
-20+Linen
-30+Leather
(I keep losing count !)
Post:
-20/20

Software/Process:
Prep:
-eShave Orange/Sandalwood Shave Oil
The Shave:
-Bowl Lather(slick) Stirling Snadalwood Shave Soap
-2xWTG
-2xATG
-Still Various angles at the chin
Post:
-Stirling Sandalwood Witch Hazel w/ Aloe
-BioTherme Homme Razor Relief Balm
Result:
-DFS-
-4.5/10
-A few weepers, stopped by the witch hazel!

Notes:

Confidence massively increased today, I am feeling much more comfortable moving the blade on my face. I can do my entire moustache area, including a modified fools pass( I use about 3/4" of the tip and work at about a 45 degree angle very slowly, yes BBS). As for the chin, my goodness did it burn when I applied the witch hazel, and then again so much with the razor relief. To be fair I probably made ~7 passes on my chin, since I am having a lot of trouble with good angles. I am still finding it very awkward to work the chin. Other than that, things are going excellent!
 
Entry #5:

Blade:
-TI Special C. 6/8
Pre:
-30Linen
-40Leather
Post:
-20/20

Software/Process:
Prep:
-Shower
-Stirling Sandalwood Body Soap

The Shave:
-Bowl Lather Stirling Sandalwood Shave Soap
-2xWTG
-2xATG
-a couple various angles at the chin(improvement)
Post:
-Alum
-Stirling Sandalwood Witch Hazel w/ Aloe
-BioTherme Homme Razor Relief Balm
Result:
DFS+
3/10 Irritation
One baby weeper, done before the Alum.

Notes:

Angles/ Cutting Angle. Stropping. Those are my focuses for next cut!
 
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Entry #6:

Blade:
-Boker Edelweiss
transition
-TI Special C. 6/8
Pre:
-30Linen
-40Leather
Post:
-20/20

Software/Process:
Prep:
-eShave Pre-Shave Oil (orange sandalwood)
-Stirling Sandalwood Body Soap

The Shave:
-Bowl Lather Stirling Sandalwood Shave Soap
-2xWTG
(enter Razor 2)
-2xATG
-a couple various angles at the chin
Post:
-Alum
-Stirling Sandalwood Witch Hazel w/ Aloe
-BioTherme Homme Razor Relief Balm
Result:
SAS+
5/10 Irritation
One weeper, and the burn, oh the burn.

Notes:

Stropping, I've failed here, both razors were tugging away at my face. I can't seem to make the Boker do anything right for me I feel as if its too delciate for my face. I am longing for a hart steel, and if things dont improve with my boker soon, I will be forced to remove it from rotation(mabe sell). Of course, being new to this I will give it some more opportunity, but I find myself slightly distraught after my pain today.
 
Hi, sorry I haven't followed along, so I might not be able to help, but I have noticed that you're stropping on linen before your shave and just on leather after. I would recommend stropping on linen after only. This will dry your edge better thank just on leather. You might also consider sending one of your razors back out to a pro for a touch up. Bokers are fine razors, imo. I have an extra hollow one and it can more than handle my beard for many many shaves. Are you sure it is still sharp? How about your lather? Is it wet and almost sloppy, or pillowy and cloud like? Just some thoughts. Hang in there.
 
After doing a little looking around I've concluded that my problem is the limpness of the strop. I haven't had the Strop taut. To make it more clear, I preshave strop 30 (b&f) linen then 40 leather. Post shave was 20 linen 20 leather. I will exclude the leather post strop then, and tighten the pull. Perhaps that should sort me out. since inspection of the edge (using light reflection) doesnt seem to indicate a rolled edge(yay?). I am looking into get a paddle strop and some paste currently.
 
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Yes, you'll have to hold the strop firmly. I think if it's too loose there may be some rounding of an edge. You will want to strop on linen and leather after your shave. I think the linen before a shave is unnecessary, unless the linen is treated with a paste or something for sharpening. I don't know much about that stuff, though, because I don't use it. Sorry for any confusion.
 
Entry #7:

Blade:
-Boker Edelweiss
transition
DE
Pre: Taut strap now
-30Linen
-40Leather
Post:
-30

Software/Process:
Prep:
-EJ Pre Shave Lotion

The Shave:
-Bowl Lather Stirling Sandalwood Shave Soap
-3xWTG
- +1WTG DE
Post:
-Alum
-Stirling Sandalwood Witch Hazel w/ Aloe
Result:
DFS-
3/10 Irritation
It only burns a little.

Notes:

Well, I done goofed. The edge was better than yesterday after holding the strop more firmly, but the fact remains i think ive rolled the edge a bit. I have a paddle strop and a .5u(TI CrOx Green) and 3u(Dovo Red) paste on order. If I can't rescue the edge I'll be sending it out. The verdict is still out on my TI at this point.
 
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Hiatus until I get my pastes, likely not another straight razor shave unitl saturday

Two pass WTG DE shave today, DFS and 2/10 irritation. The straights have really helped improve my DE technique.
 
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Stick with it. I felt like my edge wasn't as sharp after the first few days and did about ten laps on CrOx painted balsa to freshen it up. After about three weeks, I feel like my stropping technique has greatly improved. I strop on leather only pre-shave and linen and leather post-shave. Seems like that routine works for me so far. Good luck!
 
I have a 20x Loupe arriving today, so I will be able to better tell whats going on. I have definetely dulled the edge though; I can feel a difference from day 1, not to mention the fact i havent sliced myself since day 2.
 
Loupe arrived at lunch, it indeed appears i have stropping bias, as both edges were rolled in the same direction, one much more so than the other. hopefully my pasted strop will save the day(i expect it will).
 
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