Most people start with the opposite, but both orders are useful.
First SR shave goes... OK I guess?
- Thread starter Seelector
- Start date
Most people start with the opposite, but both orders are useful.
25 linen/50 leather or 30 linen/60 leather is pretty standard. Some simply go to linen post shave and then save the leather strop for just prior to the next shave which is fine too. Look, there is no hard and fast rules to your shave experience. There are no "magic numbers" here. Do what you feel is correct. On the leather, I listen and feel instead of worrying about numbers.
Most times for me it's 25/50. But, if I'm enjoying the feedback from the leather and really enjoying the rhythm, I have been know to go way, way past that.
One last note: You stated ... "I did 40 of each which took a long time". Good. That tells me that you are paying attention to what you are doing and trying to do things on the strop properly. Take your time and treat your edge with respect and care and it will serve you well.
And by the way, if you think that 40 laps takes a long time, what do you think sending an edge out for repair or re-honing will feel like? Just sayin' .... take your time. Enjoy the strop .... it is your friend.
Best of luck and stay the course. There are no shortcuts, period.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
It is up to you to decide how many stropping laps to do.
If maintaining on 0.1µm hanging balsa after each shave, stropping on cloth is not really necessary except for cleaning the bevel (about 6 to 10 very light laps) after the shave, rinsing the blade and drying it. For pre-shave clean leather stropping, I go by feel & sound rather than a set number of laps. I strop on a tight strop with only the weight of the blade as pressure (no noticeable deflection while stropping). My softer-steel SR's get about 30-40 laps going up to my hardest steels that get about 50 to 60 laps. The number of laps required is also dependent on the available stropping length. Shorter strops require more laps while longer strops require less.
Sounds as though your progress in the gentlemanly art is going well. Don't expect a CCS (stubble felt in all directions except WTG) until about you 6th to 12th daily SR shave. By about 30 daily SR shaves with your XTG passes in both directions working well, you should be achieving DFS results (no stubble felt except ATG). Not shaving daily will take more shaves to achieve the same results.
As I approached 100 daily SR shaves, including an ATG pass, I was getting BBS results. This was nice but it was just too good. I had almost nothing to shave 24 hours later. I then ditched the ATG pass (except for the fool's pass to check the edge condition) and just did a three-pass (WTG, XTG + fool's pass and XTG in the opposite direction) to achieve a DFS+ and something to shave 24 hours later.
- Thread starter
- #44
Shave #4 is done and first blood was drawn. Two small weepers on my cheek while going XTG, and a slice directly on top of my cheekbone that could have been a lot worse. I let my concentration wander off and ended up with a 1.5cm long slice, thankfully not deep enough to do any real damage. It cut into the skin deep enough to see it, but only a few pinpricks of blood dripped out. Lesson learned to always pay attention with a razor in my hands. I can tell that SR shaving is one of those things where the most dangerous time is when you have enough experience to think you know what you’re doing, but in reality you’re still a noob with lots to learn.
Each shave is getting steadily better. This one was closer with less stubble on my chin, and I have a much better feel for how I need to hold the razor for each part of my face. My neck is the biggest challenge right now, but I’m getting there.
Stropping on leather went well although I don’t have enough experience to know if it had any effect. The sound suddenly changed part way through stropping, first on one side then the other, but I didn’t notice any difference in draw.
After two full days of volunteer officiating at a swim meet, I was tired and just wanted to get to bed. So my plan for my nightly shave and shower was to do one pass with the SR and finish up with a DE to save time. Once I got started with the straight, I suddenly wasn’t tired any more and used it for the entire shave. This is a fantastic hobby.
Each shave is getting steadily better. This one was closer with less stubble on my chin, and I have a much better feel for how I need to hold the razor for each part of my face. My neck is the biggest challenge right now, but I’m getting there.
Stropping on leather went well although I don’t have enough experience to know if it had any effect. The sound suddenly changed part way through stropping, first on one side then the other, but I didn’t notice any difference in draw.
After two full days of volunteer officiating at a swim meet, I was tired and just wanted to get to bed. So my plan for my nightly shave and shower was to do one pass with the SR and finish up with a DE to save time. Once I got started with the straight, I suddenly wasn’t tired any more and used it for the entire shave. This is a fantastic hobby.
You're definitely not the first to have made that mistake. I did something similar early on whereby having used a SR for a few months with not so much as a weeper, I got overconfident. The razor soon taught me that was a bad idea and I still have a scar as a reminder a few years later.
I'm prepared to wager there will be many more who make the same mistake in times to come.
Great to hear your shaves are improving and you're getting comfortable using a straight.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
@Seelector, congratulations on drawing your first blood. You may notice that blood slickness the shave 
.
It is not uncommon to find no noticeable improvement from leather stropping when an edge is maintained after each shave on 0.1μm pasted balsa.
Once you get your full set of pasted balsa strips sorted out, put the Titan through a full balsa strop progression. You may notice an improvement in the edge as it will correct any "damage" you may have done to the edge while learning.
As for getting a closer shave on the chin, that is easy to do. Try different skin stretching techniques and lighten up on the edge pressure against the skin. It's counter-intuitive but the lighter the pressure, the closer the shave. No, I can't explain why.
.It is not uncommon to find no noticeable improvement from leather stropping when an edge is maintained after each shave on 0.1μm pasted balsa.
Once you get your full set of pasted balsa strips sorted out, put the Titan through a full balsa strop progression. You may notice an improvement in the edge as it will correct any "damage" you may have done to the edge while learning.
As for getting a closer shave on the chin, that is easy to do. Try different skin stretching techniques and lighten up on the edge pressure against the skin. It's counter-intuitive but the lighter the pressure, the closer the shave. No, I can't explain why.
I always assumed it’s because using less pressure keeps the skin flatter.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Possibly but I am still not yet convinced. We are only talking about the the angle at which the edge cuts the whisker. I'm still thinking about this.
Someone else (memory fails me) suggested that if you're using enough pressure to deflect the skin at the point where it's cutting hair, that it's effectively the same as shaving with a higher blade angle.
I am amazed to no end how we are currently afforded the finest tools in the history of mankind to remove the hair on our face, (and other places), and to wonder how the gents that came wayyyyy before us did it with flint, seashells, bone, and lord knows what other things!
I would not think a splash of Mennen or Old Spice would be a good fit for them.
I would not think a splash of Mennen or Old Spice would be a good fit for them.
- Thread starter
- #51
I finished my 10th SR shave last night so I'll do a little review of thoughts and observations of how things have progressed since my first shave.
I shaved every day except shave #7 which was 48 hours growth. I guarantee that I've never shaved 10 out of 11 days in my entire life because of razor burn, ingrown hairs, and general skin irritation from shaving. DE's were a big improvement from carts and SR's are a step up again.
Overall a MASSIVE difference between shaves 1 and 10. My technique is still getting better with each shave, so shave #10 was my best SR shave yet. Before that shave #9 was the best yet and so on. I wonder how long this will go on before I hit a plateau. Each shave is a 3-pass job WTG-XTG-XTG the other way.
Shave #8 was the one that stood out to me where everything came together and felt natural. It was my transition point from total noobie to a SR shaver.
I've got a good system now for how to hold and position the blade for each part of my face and neck, although I still struggle a bit with my neck and jawline. I'm going to keep experimenting in these areas with each shave.
My shaving/stropping technique wasn't very nice to @rbscebu's beautiful edge, because by shave #7 I could not cut all the hairs under my lip. I bet I did 6 passes trying to get them, but those stubborn things just stayed there. I did a full balsa progression and wow what a difference. They didn't stand a chance on shave 8.
It's safe to say that I'm hooked now and will continue SR shaving. I got myself a beater from the bay that I'm going to clean up and hone on film+balsa.
A big thanks to everyone for introducing me to SR's and for your help. Posts from other noobies that started a few weeks before me have been the biggest help, so I hope mine do the same for someone else.
-Mike
I shaved every day except shave #7 which was 48 hours growth. I guarantee that I've never shaved 10 out of 11 days in my entire life because of razor burn, ingrown hairs, and general skin irritation from shaving. DE's were a big improvement from carts and SR's are a step up again.
Overall a MASSIVE difference between shaves 1 and 10. My technique is still getting better with each shave, so shave #10 was my best SR shave yet. Before that shave #9 was the best yet and so on. I wonder how long this will go on before I hit a plateau. Each shave is a 3-pass job WTG-XTG-XTG the other way.
Shave #8 was the one that stood out to me where everything came together and felt natural. It was my transition point from total noobie to a SR shaver.
I've got a good system now for how to hold and position the blade for each part of my face and neck, although I still struggle a bit with my neck and jawline. I'm going to keep experimenting in these areas with each shave.
My shaving/stropping technique wasn't very nice to @rbscebu's beautiful edge, because by shave #7 I could not cut all the hairs under my lip. I bet I did 6 passes trying to get them, but those stubborn things just stayed there. I did a full balsa progression and wow what a difference. They didn't stand a chance on shave 8.
It's safe to say that I'm hooked now and will continue SR shaving. I got myself a beater from the bay that I'm going to clean up and hone on film+balsa.
A big thanks to everyone for introducing me to SR's and for your help. Posts from other noobies that started a few weeks before me have been the biggest help, so I hope mine do the same for someone else.
-Mike
This makes sense. It describes exactly why an SR or an SR-profiled shavette benefits from a light touch.
I was shaving yesterday and reflecting how I need to think actively about being light. It's counter-intuitive, especially perhaps to blokes who are maybe more used to brute-forcing things. The shave was BBS, enjoyable, done quite quickly. This morning, in a rush, I defaulted back to using pressure as I would with my AC SS. Didn't catch myself in time: bang. Nick behind the ear. More fool me, I went on to do it again on the side of my head. Neither were dreadful, but a reminder after some months of blood-free shaving that I need to be mindful and engaged with the process.
OP congratulations on your successful transition to SR shaving. Here's to many more years of enjoying it.
It's mostly confidence/nerves shaving that area. Once your hand learns the position of every curvature, you will just go at it unconsciously with one smooth scooping motion. Assuming the area is stretched. I scared myself when I first did that.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
@Seelector, once you get to about 30 SR shaves, consider getting a SR with a more accute bevel angle, about 17° ±½°, still finished on pasted balsa. The edge will not be as forgiving as your Titan but will cut your whiskers more smoothly.
@Seelector, you asked how long before you reach a plateau. Everyone is different, but I hit a plateau at somewhere between 15 and 20 shaves. It seemed I wasn't improving at all. It stayed like that for a couple of weeks or so (10 to 15 shaves), then I noticed another period of improvement.
Improvement comes in different ways. You could get closer shaves, more comfortable shaves or quicker shaves.
Congratulations on your progress. It's a great feeling when your SR shaves start to click.
Improvement comes in different ways. You could get closer shaves, more comfortable shaves or quicker shaves.
Congratulations on your progress. It's a great feeling when your SR shaves start to click.
@Seelector thank you for sharing your straight razor journey with us. Some in our community many never admit it publicly, but your experiences are no different than the rest of ours. We have all been where you were yesterday and where you are going tomorrow. And you will be where we are now.
Stay the course.
Stay the course.
There is always room for improvement, but the key is muscle memory. We all find what works for us, trying different ways of getting into the tricky bits. When you do that often enough it becomes ingrained, and it feels natural. When I try something new I can't believe how difficult it is. Too soon we forget how difficult it was when we started.
One more truth - It is just as easy to learn good habits than it is to learn bad habits.
Once you get going, really objectively review your technique once in a while. It's easy to drift away from what you know is right, to what is easy. Typically blade angle and pressure will increase as you get more confident.
- Thread starter
- #58
I used the 5/8 Boker I got from eBay for last night’s shave, which has a 16.7° bevel angle.
It was noticeably easier to cut through my beard with it, although the edge could use a little more work. It left my face a bit red all over, but that went away after an hour or two. Not bad for my first time honing anything since I messed up my kitchen knives a couple years ago.
I’m getting better at keeping my blade angle where it should be and pressure where they should be. It’s surprisingly easy to start using too much pressure.
I found a bit of a learning curve from a DE razor to a straight cut throat razor.I received @rbscebu's PIF’d Titan straight in the mail yesterday after waiting 3 long weeks for it to arrive from the other side of the world. My original plan was to wait for the weekend to try my first straight razor shave so I could take my time, but the temptation was too much and I used it last night.
I used the SR for two WTG passes on my cheeks and the flat area under my chin, then finished with a DE.
Overall it was OK but far from great. No blood or weepers so I’ll count it as a victory. I wouldn’t say it was tuggy, but the whiskers didn’t come off like they weren’t there either, and the blade wanted to chatter across my stubble in some places. Some spots were easier than others and I think this probably has something to do with shave angle? I tried to keep the blade ½ to 1 spine thickness off my skin but as I found out it’s not so easy to do.
By far the part that gave me the most trouble was figuring out how to hold the razor. No matter what I tried it was always at an awkward angle and half the time my arm/elbow was blocking my view of the blade. Shaving blind is not how I imagined starting out. I need to watch some more videos to see how others do it.
Something else I noticed was that the face of the blade would stick to my face sometimes like a suction cup. Is this because the spine was too close? Lather too dry? It took me so long to do one cheek that I had to re-wet my lather for the other one.
After the shave I made sure the razor was dried off perfectly then stropped it on hanging 0.1um pasted balsa. I think I did a pretty good job because the bevel came out super shiny and tree topped arm hairs with a very satisfying pinging sound. I should also note that I shaved with @rbscebu’s edge as I received it to make sure I didn’t mess anything up.
Despite the shave being nothing special, I can’t wait to do it again
I received @rbscebu's PIF’d Titan straight in the mail yesterday after waiting 3 long weeks for it to arrive from the other side of the world. My original plan was to wait for the weekend to try my first straight razor shave so I could take my time, but the temptation was too much and I used it last night.
I used the SR for two WTG passes on my cheeks and the flat area under my chin, then finished with a DE.
Overall it was OK but far from great. No blood or weepers so I’ll count it as a victory. I wouldn’t say it was tuggy, but the whiskers didn’t come off like they weren’t there either, and the blade wanted to chatter across my stubble in some places. Some spots were easier than others and I think this probably has something to do with shave angle? I tried to keep the blade ½ to 1 spine thickness off my skin but as I found out it’s not so easy to do.
By far the part that gave me the most trouble was figuring out how to hold the razor. No matter what I tried it was always at an awkward angle and half the time my arm/elbow was blocking my view of the blade. Shaving blind is not how I imagined starting out. I need to watch some more videos to see how others do it.
Something else I noticed was that the face of the blade would stick to my face sometimes like a suction cup. Is this because the spine was too close? Lather too dry? It took me so long to do one cheek that I had to re-wet my lather for the other one.
After the shave I made sure the razor was dried off perfectly then stropped it on hanging 0.1um pasted balsa. I think I did a pretty good job because the bevel came out super shiny and tree topped arm hairs with a very satisfying pinging sound. I should also note that I shaved with @rbscebu’s edge as I received it to make sure I didn’t mess anything up.
Despite the shave being nothing special, I can’t wait to do it again
One big one is a through and good pre shave ..more so than needed with a DE. Other big one is avoiding synthetic brushes as they don`t hold heat as a natural brush and also I found a bit more creamy and less dry on cream or soap is key too. Its good to take it easy over first couple months shaves and use half of shave or tough bits back on the DE razor too, untill really used to it.
Sharpness is another huge one. Sharper in my opinion is easier than any bluntness.
In my case, when I transited across; ~ what worked best for me was; ~ I used a feather artist DX and a feather SS Artist that both use feather straight razor blade inserts. These are 95% of a straight razor and the interchangeable blade types plus design of the razors make it easier than a traditional straight razor as the changeover. A few barber friends swear by them too, as their go to "straight cut throats".
Once more used to these , I found using a Dovo Bismarck I have and Theirs Issard Daimondback "old school " cutthroat a lot easier to start on. I hone using strops up to 12 to 13 shaves. I alsohave 2 stones and sharpen myself or occassionally drop to a knife shop. I `m in Tokyo so high quality knife sharpers and Kamisori sharping is readily available here in all department stores and knife shops. Japan is the knife making capital of the world ! You can find a few master sharpeners on youtube which make it easy, as long as put time into it
I like DE`s for weekdays, Cutthroats (straight razors) for weekends or special events ~ birthdays etc ~ are a daily shaver
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
@Seelector must be approaching his 30th SR shave soon. I wonder if he has started to think that he should have commenced traditional SR shaving in his teens.
