First shave done (and lots to learn)

[SailorTodd]

I just completed my first straight razor shave. I used a WCS straight (the round tip in the picture, came "shave ready" from them), WCS strop (the larger one laying horizontally), WSP Rustic Gaelic Tweed shave soap applied with an Ambrosey (sp) badger brush, no pre-shave or aftershave (unless you count cold water).

I stropped my blade ~20x on canvas and ~60x on leather, showered, and set up essentially how I do for my regular DE shaves - worked up a wet lather and applied to my face. I started with the right cheek, and after a couple of short swipes to get the right angle, cleared my sideburn and cheek surprisingly smoothly. It got a little iffier as I worked my way to my chin and upper lip as I muddled my way through various angles of attack. Took a pause on that to tackle my left cheek, which took some maneuvering to get right. Then I refreshed my lather and made an attempt at my jaw line and chin, again struggling with angles on multiple axes. Moved on to my neck, which went well except under my chin (I have a prominent chin, so it's going to take a lot of practice to get the angle maneuvering right). I refreshed the lather on my lip and chin, and made a last attempt there. Still far from being clean shaven I dried my razor and put it away before making a WTG pass with my DE.

It went very well for my first attempt. No nicks and only a couple of spots with a little razor burn (mostly my chin and jaw line, where I couldn't figure out the angle). I was especially pleased when my DE pass on my cheek was like running a finger on silk, no hair to cut. I'm going to have to keep working on the angles around the chin and jaw; those areas are tough, especially with a chin dimple and concave areas under my jaw. And I definitely need to watch more videos on shaving the upper lip and - that or grow a mustache.

The blade seemed reasonably sharp; it felt similar to my DE when shaving my cheek. It was definitely honed; there was still tape residue on the spine. But I think it could use a little polishing on a pasted strop to make it an even more comfortable shave. Good thing I ordered the supplies for that...

 

[RumpleBearskin]

Congratulations on your first SR shave. It sounds like a complete success. Well done and welcome to this wacky world.

 

[bluesman 7]

Congratulations on your first SR shave. It sounds like a complete success. Well done and welcome to this wacky world.

Seconded

 

[GearNoir]

Congratulations on getting the first one under the belt! It’s was the scariest one for me. It all gets easier from here!

 

[rbscebu]

Congratulations Sailor Todd. I will be having my 5th SR shave today. With each shave you will improve. Like you, I am still learning which angles and holds work best for my face.

SR shaving is definitely an art.

 

[SailorTodd]

My second and third shaves have definitely improved. I was able to feel out a good angle of attack on my jawline, and I have become more sure of my shaving strokes with more control of the blade in general.

But in those three shaves I've become less confident that my blade is truly shave ready. It tugs at the hair in areas with thicker growth, especially around my chin. I just received a paddle strop and Herold-Solingen red and black paste, so I will strop it with paste some and see how it behaves. Alternatively, it could be the angle of the blade against my face, so I will continue to refine that.

I have a Gold Dollar coming from WSP that has been honed, so I will at least be able to see how another honed razor feels in comparison.

SR shaving is definitely an invigorating process. Nothing like holding a sharp piece of metal with no guard against your throat to wake you up in the morning.

 

[Raithskar]

Welcome aboard!! Sounds like you did a great job on your first shave. The things you have to worry about now are SRAD, hones, more strops etc. It's a vicious cycle.

 

[SailorTodd]

First Blood

It's good that it took me 4 shaves to draw blood. Luckily it was just weeping from going after my lip a little too aggressively on an ATG pass, something I was doing against my better judgment anyway. And it was the first time I didn't turn to my DE to finish up. It's not BBS, but passed a visual inspection.

Before this shave I used a pasted strop to polish it up some, and it definitely needed it. The razor tugged much less than on my last shave.

The things you have to worry about now are SRAD, hones, more strops etc. It's a vicious cycle.

Is it bad that I've already come close three times to shooting Christopher from Shave Smith an email to get the ball rolling on one of his customs? I feel that SRAD.

 

[Venom8431]

Congrats and glad your first go was a success. Sounds like you will get the hang of the problem areas in no time.

The tugging could be the angle or it could be the blade. I have a Dovo that came "shave ready" but it was clearly underperforming compared to my other SRs. I ended up acquiring a set of whetstones and paddle with pastes to fine tune the edge. Made a huge difference on the edge and made future shaves much more comfortable.

 

[Raithskar]

Is it bad that I've already come close three times to shooting Christopher from Shave Smith an email to get the ball rolling on one of his customs? I feel that SRAD.

No, but I would get my technique down and have some good super smooth results before I sank my money into a custom razor. Make sure you will stick with it. I have 2 customs from Brian Brown, but I did not get them until I had been straight shaving for at least a couple of years. YMMV though. Just my $.02 worth.

 

[Venom8431]

No, but I would get my technique down and have some good super smooth results before I sank my money into a custom razor. Make sure you will stick with it. I have 2 customs from Brian Brown, but I did not get them until I had been straight shaving for at least a couple of years. YMMV though. Just my $.02 worth.

I agree. Things may be fun and exciting now but you may grow bored or frustrated with SR shaving. Best to give it some time and see if you really want to invest that kind of money into it.

When I first got into SR shaving I started looking at custom damascus razors. I'm glad I didn't as I ended up going on and off SR shaving and eventually took a 5-ish year hiatus from wet shaving.

I treat many high end purchases like tattoos nowadays. I wait at least 6 months to a year after the itch to get something starts. If that time passes, I have the money, and the desire to have it, I get the thing. If the desire or money is not there I don't get it

 

[RumpleBearskin]

I've become less confident that my blade is truly shave ready.

I started with a Dovo that came from WCS "shave ready" (after paying an additional honing fee). It certainly did shave, but it was not sharp when compared with the razors I now use. I can't fault WCS, but buying from a "reputable" vendor does not guarantee a truly sharp edge.

Once I got a second razor I sent the Dovo to be honed by a B&B member. The difference when it came back was night and day. My third purchase was a progression of synthetic stones ...

 

[SailorTodd]

Alright, between a session on the pasted stops and improvement in my technique (especially blade angle) I get a full WTG shave that actually looks like I shaved and doesn't excessively tug at the whiskers on my chin. Then a good ATG pass got it close enough (bbs in some places, but at least no visible stubble almost everywhere).

Except on my upper lip. WTG was fine, but I couldn't get a good ATG or XTG pass on the lip. I couldn't get the angle of attack and blade angle right, and it would catch and try to dig into the skin instead of shaving hair. Any recommendations on videos that show effective ATG shaving of the upper lip?

Regarding commissioning a custom, I've essentially made up my mind to do it. I've had my mind set on SR shaving for six years and now that I have one in my hand with 5 shaves down it was exactly what I expected. I like the look of the Shave Smith razors. A little more classic and rustic look. It is now just a matter of timing. And a matter of whether I want to ask the wife for permission or forgiveness...

 

[Slash McCoy]

Alright, between a session on the pasted stops and improvement in my technique (especially blade angle) I get a full WTG shave that actually looks like I shaved and doesn't excessively tug at the whiskers on my chin. Then a good ATG pass got it close enough (bbs in some places, but at least no visible stubble almost everywhere).

Except on my upper lip. WTG was fine, but I couldn't get a good ATG or XTG pass on the lip. I couldn't get the angle of attack and blade angle right, and it would catch and try to dig into the skin instead of shaving hair. Any recommendations on videos that show effective ATG shaving of the upper lip?

Regarding commissioning a custom, I've essentially made up my mind to do it. I've had my mind set on SR shaving for six years and now that I have one in my hand with 5 shaves down it was exactly what I expected. I like the look of the Shave Smith razors. A little more classic and rustic look. It is now just a matter of timing. And a matter of whether I want to ask the wife for permission or forgiveness...

Christmas is coming up soon.

ATG requires very low stubble and a very low shave angle, like practically dragging the spine. On the upper lip, the fools pass is best accomplished by holding the razor. off hand index finger on the blade's nose, shave angle dead shallow, lip stretched tightly over the teeth, and nodding the head down.

Short stubble is best accomplished with two WTG passes. If you want to do a full ATG pass, do two WTG passes, not one.

Eventually if you are using very sharp edges, you will probably find that a single WTG pass works fine, no need for ATG. It won't happen overnight.

 

[SailorTodd]

Thanks for the tip on going with a second WTG pass on the upper lip. It was sufficient to do two WTG passes on my lip yesterday and today.

I received some new WSP soap and pre-shave oil two days ago, along with a "shave ready" GD. I tried out the oil and soap yesterday with my WCS SR I've been using, and I'm not sure I care for pre-shave oil; not any better than without. The shave was good, though. I am getting very comfortable with the blade and navigating all the curves and angles of my face.

Then today I tried the GD SR to experience a different edge honed by someone else. It was a moderately smoother/sharper shave. Now I need to decide whether to see what a few dozen more laps on the pasted strop does for my WCS or just send it to a honemeister. I'd hate to send it out as I'm currently somewhere it'll take 2 weeks each direction.

 

[wintersoldier]

Congrats, welcome to the club

 

[SailorTodd]

I have about a dozen straight razor shaves under my belt now, maybe more. My most recent shave was my sixth or so with my Gold Dollar. I will say I am very glad I got it as a spare; if not for having it to compare my WCS razor against, I still wouldn't know what "shave-ready" feels like. My WCS just went to the post office for the long trip to Doc226 for honing so that it may better serve me once I have it back.

I also have a razor from Whipped Dog arriving any day, as well as a fourth from another member off BST. With all of these I should be set for a while. I'm excited to try out the edge from different honemeisters.

I feel like I have developed a pretty good technique with my shaves in the dozen so far (though I tweak it a bit every time). With my GD I have gotten between a DFS and BBS result on my last two shaves with one WTG and one ATG pass. And Slash, your advice to do two good WTG passes before an ATG on the upper lip. The ATG pass was much smoother, with BBS results.

I think my biggest critique of myself is that I don't do a good enough job pulling my skin taut. I nearly paid for that in blood today when I was making a pass across my cheek; I felt the blade barely catch and the skin leading the edge start to bunch up.

Now I also have to dial in my blade maintenance routine. Beyond the standard stropping, I have to figure out just how often I should take my razor to the pasted strop, and when will that be insufficient? I fear my GD is almost in a condition that a pasted strop will remedy. Today was the second shave after ~80/50 laps on Herold red/black paste. Still smoother than the best shave I had with my WCS, but the blade is starting to labor a bit on my chin. The journey continues.

 

[GearNoir]

Beyond the standard stropping, I have to figure out just how often I should take my razor to the pasted strop, and when will that be insufficient?

For best results (with proper technique mind you) the razor should be touched up on the pastes strop daily; it would likely never have to be resent out for a new edge.

For some folks, doing that every shave is not possible, so I’d say in that case just do it as often as you can, to delay having to sent your razor out as long as possible.

 

[Slash McCoy]

I have about a dozen straight razor shaves under my belt now, maybe more. My most recent shave was my sixth or so with my Gold Dollar. I will say I am very glad I got it as a spare; if not for having it to compare my WCS razor against, I still wouldn't know what "shave-ready" feels like. My WCS just went to the post office for the long trip to Doc226 for honing so that it may better serve me once I have it back.

I also have a razor from Whipped Dog arriving any day, as well as a fourth from another member off BST. With all of these I should be set for a while. I'm excited to try out the edge from different honemeisters.

I feel like I have developed a pretty good technique with my shaves in the dozen so far (though I tweak it a bit every time). With my GD I have gotten between a DFS and BBS result on my last two shaves with one WTG and one ATG pass. And Slash, your advice to do two good WTG passes before an ATG on the upper lip. The ATG pass was much smoother, with BBS results.

I think my biggest critique of myself is that I don't do a good enough job pulling my skin taut. I nearly paid for that in blood today when I was making a pass across my cheek; I felt the blade barely catch and the skin leading the edge start to bunch up.

Now I also have to dial in my blade maintenance routine. Beyond the standard stropping, I have to figure out just how often I should take my razor to the pasted strop, and when will that be insufficient? I fear my GD is almost in a condition that a pasted strop will remedy. Today was the second shave after ~80/50 laps on Herold red/black paste. Still smoother than the best shave I had with my WCS, but the blade is starting to labor a bit on my chin. The journey continues.

If you have a progression of balsa strops set up exactly as suggested in the How to Use a Pasted Balsa Strop thread, and you run the progression once, you can just hit the .1u after every shave and always have a crazy sharp edge that never again needs honing. Any other way, any substitutions or shortcuts or "oughta be good enough" thinking, and all bets are off. Still, even unlapped balsa pasted with CrOx will help. Sort of.

 

[SailorTodd]

Ha, I am looking forward to trying your method Slash. Once I have my own space again I will be getting the balsa progression setup, but for another few months I'm in tight dorm-style quarters, with little space and two weeks+ for mail to get to me. For now I'll make do with my current minimal setup.