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First Good Shave with my Genco Straight - 8 Years Later

I bought an antique Genco straight razor from Whipped Dog, along with a Barber's Hone, about 8 years ago. I couldn't get a good shave out of it to save my life. I tried and tried. I would take a break, and try again after a few months, then quit again. No dice. Tons of stubble and irritation. I just gave up after a year or two.

Flash forward to 2022. I don't know why, but I decided again to give the old college try. I honed the blade with about 50 strokes, stropped on a leather strop, and was dead careful about keeping the edge level. Prepped with hot water and soap, and whipped up a lather with tallow Tabac soap. The results.... Wow. I always thought before it was my poor technique that wasn't getting me good results. Now I am just wondering if the edge wasn't sharp enough, or my stropping was off. I got one of the best closest shaves ever! I'm hooked!

Some pics of the razor. A 1930's Genco straight:

Genco Straight Razor.jpg


Shave set up.jpg
 
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