I'm not much of one for posting on forums, but today was my first SR shave and I am ecstatic! This seemed like the right place to gush a bit.
I've been wet shaving (multiblade store razors) for all my life. I moved to an Edwin Jager DE89, Astra blades, and a Baxter of California silvertip brush (and more soaps than I can count) just over two years ago. I have loved the routine and gone from hating having to shave to truly looking forward to it on a daily basis.
After about 6 months with the DE I started drooling over straight razors. They both fascinated and terrified me. I spent more time than I care to admit reading reviews and checking catalogs, but always stopped short of plunking down the money and diving in. That all changed last week when I broke down and ordered a honed Dovo Forestal, an Omega 637 brush and a leather/linen strop. Everything arrived yesterday and this morning I screwed my courage to the sticking post and took the plunge.
I did one pass WTG on both cheeks, right handed for the right cheek and left handed for the left cheek. No cuts. No nicks. I then finished WTG with the DE. Results were passable. The places I shaved with the straight were not as clean as where I shaved with the DE, but I chalk that up to 10 minutes of practice with the SR and 2+ years building technique with the DE.
Just for giggles (after all this is FUN), I did a second WTG pass on my cheeks with the straight and removed significantly more hair. At least SAS and maybe even CCS. No doubt it will continue to improve as I learn what the heck it is I am doing.
Of course I finished my whole face with ATG and XTG because ... well just because. And of course I finished with an alum block and an ultra-light face lotion I use for AS.
Bottom line, I'm sold. I no longer expect to open my carotid, and I can't wait to give it another try tomorrow. I'll be taking it slow and sticking with my cheeks for a bit, but I can now see where this is going, and I like it. I am happy as a clam (except ... clams don't get to shave).
Thanks for reading. Just had to put it out there ...
Oh, two operational notes:
I've been wet shaving (multiblade store razors) for all my life. I moved to an Edwin Jager DE89, Astra blades, and a Baxter of California silvertip brush (and more soaps than I can count) just over two years ago. I have loved the routine and gone from hating having to shave to truly looking forward to it on a daily basis.
After about 6 months with the DE I started drooling over straight razors. They both fascinated and terrified me. I spent more time than I care to admit reading reviews and checking catalogs, but always stopped short of plunking down the money and diving in. That all changed last week when I broke down and ordered a honed Dovo Forestal, an Omega 637 brush and a leather/linen strop. Everything arrived yesterday and this morning I screwed my courage to the sticking post and took the plunge.
I did one pass WTG on both cheeks, right handed for the right cheek and left handed for the left cheek. No cuts. No nicks. I then finished WTG with the DE. Results were passable. The places I shaved with the straight were not as clean as where I shaved with the DE, but I chalk that up to 10 minutes of practice with the SR and 2+ years building technique with the DE.
Just for giggles (after all this is FUN), I did a second WTG pass on my cheeks with the straight and removed significantly more hair. At least SAS and maybe even CCS. No doubt it will continue to improve as I learn what the heck it is I am doing.
Of course I finished my whole face with ATG and XTG because ... well just because. And of course I finished with an alum block and an ultra-light face lotion I use for AS.
Bottom line, I'm sold. I no longer expect to open my carotid, and I can't wait to give it another try tomorrow. I'll be taking it slow and sticking with my cheeks for a bit, but I can now see where this is going, and I like it. I am happy as a clam (except ... clams don't get to shave).
Thanks for reading. Just had to put it out there ...
Oh, two operational notes:
- I used a preshave of my own making (avocado oil and grapeseed oil 1:1). Works great with the DE, not so well with the SR. Seemed "sticky" on my first pass but was mostly gone for the second pass.
- That nice, creamy, THICK lather from the Don Marco was not optimal for the SR. I thinned it down significantly for the second pass and things went much better. Tomorrow I'll try with my Doc Elliott Classic which is typically a thinner lather.
