expectations...

[camoloc]

new to SR's.....

have two torreys.....one lands today. the other is off being honed until I decide if I want to invest any more into this. i already have a strop. holding off on a 12k stone until I know for sure.

1. what type/typical shave is expected from SR shaving? DFS, CCS, BBS? I realize that some of this will change as experience is gained.

2. I assume running thinner lather with good slickness is king?

3. how many pitfalls should I expect? throw in the towel or keep at it blood be damned.

I love my GEM razors......and will always stick with my collection. I still love my muhle R103. but I ain't gonna lie, SR's obviously have a mystique about them and are of historical importance.

thanks all for your thoughts on this.

camo

 

[camoloc]

new to SR's.....

have two torreys.....one lands today. the other is off being honed until I decide if I want to invest any more into this. i already have a strop. holding off on a 12k stone until I know for sure.

1. what type/typical shave is expected from SR shaving? DFS, CCS, BBS? I realize that some of this will change as experience is gained.

2. I assume running thinner lather with good slickness is king?

3. how many pitfalls should I expect? throw in the towel or keep at it blood be damned.

I love my GEM razors......and will always stick with my collection. I still love my muhle R103. but I ain't gonna lie, SR's obviously have a mystique about them and are of historical importance.

thanks all for your thoughts on this.

camo

guess i should also mention that I've had a stache and goatee for 15 to 20 years, so I will have the luxury of not worrying about obvious problem difficult areas.

camo

 

[rbscebu]

With your first SR shave, you will be lucky to get a SAS. It will get better as your technique improves to BBS without any irritation after a few hundred 3-pass shaves. I enjoy my SR shaving so much that I don't want a BBS shave. If I have one, it means I shave less often.

Lather with good slickness is king.

Pitfalls? Pick a number, any number. Keep at it. It only improves and gets better. You will enjoy shaving the most with a SR.

 

[rbscebu]

Remember, with SR shaving, don't shave your whiskers. Just shave off the lather. Your whiskers will come off automatically with the lather.

 

[rbscebu]

A 12k stone is a bit rough for finishing off a SR edge. Better you go to lapping film (cheapest way) or up to about a 18k or 20k stone. Then progress to 0.5u, 0.25u and 0.1u pasted balsa strops.

Using pasted balsa strops is well covered in B&B. 0.5u is about 50k, 0.25u about 100k and 0.1u is about 200k.

 

[Earcutter]

I guess everyone is a little different, but I really struggled at first because I kept on jumping back and forth between my DE and my straight. Eventually I decided that for the next year, it would be a straight or nothing because using a DE to help or whatever teaches you nothing.

That year saw me really become proficient, but it wasn’t always pretty - there’s a reason my name is earcutter. But honestly, half a year in I was blaring my music and shaving. I had the confidence. The next six months was learning subtleties. You always learn that I guess.

As you’d expect, at first an ok shave was all you could ever want. More than two passes was risky. Eventually BBS was the call of the day but... but with a straights blade being longer than a DE, there’s some issues maneuvering it east/west on my neck. So that one area where my hair grows in a freaking circle will forever be a DFS area with a straight.

Generally speaking, most of my pitfalls came learning to hone. A dull razor is not a pleasure to use, and impossible to learn on. Slick lather helps, but I still prefer the cushion from a thick foam.

Anyway, it was a very rewarding year. And yes, there’s just something about using a straight.

 

[rbscebu]

Remember, your leather strop is not for sharpening the blade. It is just for realining the edge. Never put any abrasive on you leather strop.

I have only got a bit over 100 SR shaves under my belt. I now regularly get a DFS with two passes WTG & XTG. No irritation and only the odd nick every so often when I fail to keep my concentration while shaving.

It's the concentration that makes SR shaving so relaxing and enjoyable. All you worries are out of your thoughts while SR shaving.

BTW, welcome to the gentlemanly art of SR shaving.

 

[sanookd]

guess i should also mention that I've had a stache and goatee for 15 to 20 years, so I will have the luxury of not worrying about obvious problem difficult areas.

camo

But you’ll have to worry about keeping the edges of that facial hair even. It is actually easier to do with a straight because you see exactly where the edge touches the line to be made. Although that might make the shave take longer in duration.

 

[camoloc]

But you’ll have to worry about keeping the edges of that facial hair even. It is actually easier to do with a straight because you see exactly where the edge touches the line to be made. Although that might make the shave take longer in duration.

im good with that......I'm never in a rush. i purposely take too long to shave with my GEMs right now and enjoy the ride.

camo

 

[DrStrange]

new to SR's.....

until I decide if I want to invest any more into this.

You're on thin ice.

 

[camoloc]

You're on thin ice.

seems that true of most of my life!!!!

camo

 

[duke762]

You are starting out way better than I did. I learned to hone and straight shave at the same time. With a professionally sharpened blade, you're way ahead of the game.

Even my earliest sub standard edges stunned me with the closeness they would do on my cheeks. Wish I had started doing this when the kids were little. My stubble was really rough on tender skin.

The second thing that amazed me was ....less irritation on my neck than an electric! Electrics bite my neck to no end.
Even with sub standard edges I didn't suffer burn like the electric.

As my edges progressed, BBS on all surfaces of my face became the norm.

Let us know how it works for you.

 

[camoloc]

well number two arrived.....

this one arrived. didnt know how shave ready it would be. felt sharper compared to the one I sent away so..........stropped at least 40 times and ran a test run with Cologne Russe.

I did my right side neck and cheek.

what I discovered......

I can get by with more soap than I expected. final approach to goatee I have to hold razor with handle in line with blade and go east to west.....and below stache diagonally down to goat for final cleanup in that area.

what little stubble I had growing is gone with the exception of a little on my neck. overall I'd say successful run......even though half deaf I could hear feedback sometimes with this blade.

so my question was is this thing shave ready? had one warning shot across the Bow. early on I look down at the sink and by the left handle a clump of my goat was sitting there. I cant see where it came from and I have no clue when it got clipped off. I expect when I was trying to get close on an WTG pass close in ?????? to test the blade I trimmed a little off the goat to see how cleanly it would cut with me watching. sheared off with no resistance.

this mishap told me two things.......
1. respect the blade.
2. I'll assume if it cut that much off without me knowing.....I'll consider that pretty damn sharp.

I'd at least call it CCS on my right side.

most importantly, not a drop of blood.

think I'm gonna like this. have to not shave one day this weekend so I can experience what one or two days growth feels like.

thanks all for listening.

camo

 

[rbscebu]

Congratulations on a shave well done!

 

[camoloc]

thanks.....

I was more mortified that I had clipped that much off the goatee without even knowing.......im laughing about it now....
and considering myself lucky. might have to keep it trimmed shorter from now on!

camo

 

[stone and strop]

A 12k stone is a bit rough for finishing off a SR edge.

Rough?
A 12k stone is plenty to finish a razor.
If its not then you are not honing correctly.
Do not get hung up on numbers.

 

[Tedolph]

First of all, congratulations. You have introduced yourself to a lifetime (however much time you have left) of luxurious, comfortable shaves as close or not close as you want. The first couple of things to keep in mind are that more than with any other razor you have used you are in complete control of the shave from blade angle (easy to see with that scale thing sticking up like a meter needle), to the placement of the blade edge on your face (you are never shaving blind), to how much lather you use (go ahead, put it on as thick as you want a SR never clogs), to the sharpness of the edge (hone it any way you want) , to even the number of passes (there is no safety bar that robs your face of lather before the blade edge gets there so you can do more passes if you want).

The flip side is that you have total control of the shave. So there are more things to keep track of at the same time. Be patient. Learn to shave with both hands. Don't push, use more passes not more pressure for a closer shave, and watch your angle constantly. With time and practice theses things will become second nature and you will find that on any particular day you can reliably give yourself whatever kind of shave you want. In that respect, SR shaving is immensely gratifying and something you will genuinely look forward to.

Welcome.

 

[Tedolph]

thanks.....

I was more mortified that I had clipped that much off the goatee without even knowing.......im laughing about it now....
and considering myself lucky. might have to keep it trimmed shorter from now on!

camo

As you have learned, a SR can easily take down a full beard effortlessly. It is a whole 'nuther world from DE shaving.

 

[camoloc]

thanks all for the replies.

the other interesting thing to me was........after cleaning, stropping again, and applying a little oil........I'd swear the damn thing became even sharper. what i often call "scary sharp."

that first go at it was like my younger years skydiving.........on the edge......and let's you know you alive!!!!

camo

 

[rbscebu]

Rough?
A 12k stone is plenty to finish a razor.
If its not then you are not honing correctly.
Do not get hung up on numbers.

Each to their own. I obviously prefer a different surface finish on my bevel than you do.