First SR shave

[supertrunker]

i find stropping on balsa is easier than the regular stropping on linen or leather because you don't have to ensure you keep it taut and if you follow @Slash McCoy's recommendation and hold the strop in your offhand, the blade and the strop seem to find their own level naturally.

To refresh an edge on say CrOx or a diamond paste does not take many passes - maybe 10, so it's not like you'll be doing hundreds of strokes. If you can shave with a straight, you can keep it sharp no problem!

T

 

[skimonster]

Indeed!

Shave #11:

Sundays are the best days...I give myself the AOS Sandalwood treatment!

Today I went for the gusto some, only 2 passes - one SR ATG and a DE ATG cleanup. I did OK. Not a whole lot of growth to work with after one day but there was some stubble washed off with my SR rinses and no cuts or nicks. I consider that a win! I was however going so slowly and carefully on my SR pass that my lather started drying, lol.

Having the realization that I’ll need to balsa strop soon to refresh my edge, adding the next layer of complexity to SR shaving. Some pro shavers can go for months just stropping, but I’m no pro. Scary to think I could ruin my whole experience to this point with a bad balsa stropping...going to wait as looooooong as possible...

I think if your still getting good shaves this far along with only stropping, then that's pretty good from where I'm at. After 4-5 shaves I will do a few touch up strokes on the coticule. It works well for me, and I like the simplicity. The good thing is there are many options you can explore to get you to the same place.

 

[GearNoir]

i find stropping on balsa is easier than the regular stropping on linen or leather because you don't have to ensure you keep it taut and if you follow @Slash McCoy's recommendation and hold the strop in your offhand, the blade and the strop seem to find their own level naturally.

To refresh an edge on say CrOx or a diamond paste does not take many passes - maybe 10, so it's not like you'll be doing hundreds of strokes. If you can shave with a straight, you can keep it sharp no problem!

T

I think if your still getting good shaves this far along with only stropping, then that's pretty good from where I'm at. After 4-5 shaves I will do a few touch up strokes on the coticule. It works well for me, and I like the simplicity. The good thing is there are many options you can explore to get you to the same place.

Great to know, thanks!

Shave #12:

Didn’t eat breakfast this morning...but I fit in a shave with Cella! Almost the same thing, right?

Most things seemed to just go right this morning, loved it! WTG and XTG with SR and a light ATG with DE, and I was out in less than 40 minutes after a shower and shave. That’s pretty fast for me!

Burn wasn’t too bad with the alum and alcohol based RR The Stallion AS. Now that I’ve gotten a few shaves under my belt...the curiosity of how my GD W59 shaves is beginning to grow! Maybe soon...

 

[supertrunker]

Excellent result, but i prefer breakfast and shaving at night!

T

 

[GearNoir]

Excellent result, but i prefer breakfast and shaving at night!

T

Shave #13:

I know thirteen is a superstitiously unlucky number, but it seemed to be good by me today.

Today was a RR Santal Royale day. Worked up a nice slick lather in my Omega Pro 10049, luscious!

Did my normal SR WTG and XTG/ATGish passes, with one change. I remembered the advice from here to shift my harder to shave areas as much as possible to easier to cut places by moving the skin and stubble. My skin is, I guess, moderately pliable that way, because it helped!

Today was the best result in the chin/jawline areas I have done to date. Almost on par with the rest of my face!

Alas this came at the cost of failing the February “One Blade” challenge right off the bat. But I did do my last pass cleanup with the DE/blade combo I said I would.

 

[supertrunker]

Anything to get those tough to get bits on the jaw angle is all fair game; sometimes i think i can pull my old jowls up so far that i can see what a facelift would look like. Not a good look (you can do the same with a bulldog's face), but it sure helps the shave! Anytime you're not chopping yourself to bits you're making progress.

i have a couple of the Omega brushes and they lather really well and sandalwood anything, soap, aftershave you-name-it, has been my main weakness; if i buy anymore HRH will kill me.

There's another one blade February challenge next year and i'm pretty sure that by then even if you were just stropping your razor you could manage that easily

T

 

[GearNoir]

Anything to get those tough to get bits on the jaw angle is all fair game; sometimes i think i can pull my old jowls up so far that i can see what a facelift would look like. Not a good look (you can do the same with a bulldog's face), but it sure helps the shave! Anytime you're not chopping yourself to bits you're making progress.

i have a couple of the Omega brushes and they lather really well and sandalwood anything, soap, aftershave you-name-it, has been my main weakness; if i buy anymore HRH will kill me.

There's another one blade February challenge next year and i'm pretty sure that by then even if you were just stropping your razor you could manage that easily

T

Yes the pulling and stretching was pretty weird, glad I shave most times out of sight.

Sandalwood is my SAD as well, can’t get enough of it, even though I have enough...

The Omega is really nice, it’s my only boar and will probably stay that way. I only have 2 other much smaller badger brushes. One synth in the near future and I think I’ll be ok in the brush dept.

And yes, hopefully by this time next year I’ll be more than skilled at the SR to not really need DE cleanup for my DFS/BBS preferences!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #14:

D.R. Harris Sandalwood day!

Very efficient day today, out (shower and shave) in under 50 minutes. Not quite a smooth shave day though, 2 minor nicks that took a while to reveal themselves, created a good burn with the alum, but ultimately did not last long as the tightening of the skin started. Let’s me know that even though the blade might feel more comfortable, it’s still razor sharp!

Making a conscious effort to have longer strokes where more blade is engaged as often as possible, with fewer scraping movements. Still adjusting to hand/arm angles to find what’s right.

Again reached only minor DE clean up stage by 2nd pass!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #15:

Oh happy AOS day!

Tried to be bold today, since I only have a day’s growth, and do only 2 ATG (one SR, one clean up DE). It started good...I actually got DFS on my cheeks and upper jawline with SR. The strokes felt a little “prickly” and there was a lot of audible feedback. Upper lip and front jaw/chin did not fare so well. Then the kids barged in on my cleanup pass. Serenity obliterated.

Needless to say, the alum did quite a bit of work of today...yeowch! Thankfully not much of the irritation is showing. Should disappear in an hour or so.

 

[Earcutter]

Hey GearNoir! Sounds like things are progressing along nicely. Sweet! Congrats.

I know for me, I had to commit to the notion that no matter what, I would only shave with a straight for a full year. In that year, I learned how to shave with a straight as quickly as I shave with a DE. I learned how to hone a blade properly, but more importantly, I learned how to maintain one. Stropping is huge. FYI, there is absolutely no reason to strop quickly other than to look cool.

Anyway, back to you. The alum stinging is a sign. You need to change something. My guess is reducing the angle, try going flatter to your face, and applying less pressure. The pressure thing is huge.

All the best of luck and congrats! You're going to love it!

 

[supertrunker]

My money's on too much pressure too, after all, most of us came it this from a cart or DE background where if the blade was a bit dull you just pressed harder! More often than not you could get away with it. No longer.

Two ATG passes might be a bit ambitious - i'd do one WTG and then one ATG on cheeks and neck, then whatever it took to navigate the mouth and chin. My thinking is that going ATG from the start is aggressive, doesn't really follow the idea of beard reduction on successive passes and for me at least is a sure fire path to irritation.

BTW 'Earcutter' is a great name and one i would have chosen after my first 15 shaves, so everyone seems to pick this up faster than me. i went with the avatar that describes my SR shaves at the start - pink face, keep missing 4 whiskers and can't stop rubbing my chin!

T

 

[GearNoir]

Thanks for your thoughts guys. Yes, two ATG was a little (the second one was really just DE cleanup). I was hoping I could get away with it as my day old stubble is pretty light. It was right for my easy cheek/rear jaw areas, but too soon for the lip/chin. It probably was the angle and improper stretching.

All good though...no permanent harm done!

 

[Earcutter]

BTW 'Earcutter' is a great name and one i would have chosen after my first 15 shaves,

T

That first year... man, my left ear. My poor daughter still speaks about it. White shaving cream and a bleeding ear is pretty dramatic looking.

@GearNoir I give you props. When I was starting, I didn't try an across the grain run for quite some time!! Years later, I'm pretty much a two pass kind of guy when I'm using my straights. One with and one against, but I BS you not, if I went with two with the grain passes, it'd still be a great shave.

Anyway, keep chugging away. I love nothing more than a great straight shave. I swear I walk taller lol. As it stands right now though, I'm trying to find a DE that'll do what my straights do for me. Arg - wish me luck.

 

[GearNoir]

That first year... man, my left ear. My poor daughter still speaks about it. White shaving cream and a bleeding ear is pretty dramatic looking.

@GearNoir I give you props. When I was starting, I didn't try an across the grain run for quite some time!! Years later, I'm pretty much a two pass kind of guy when I'm using my straights. One with and one against, but I BS you not, if I went with two with the grain passes, it'd still be a great shave.

Anyway, keep chugging away. I love nothing more than a great straight shave. I swear I walk taller lol. As it stands right now though, I'm trying to find a DE that'll do what my straights do for me. Arg - wish me luck.

I know right?! It’s great feels and a confidence booster knowing you just shaved with a sharp hunk of metal.

My shave just feels incomplete without an ATG or mostly ATG pass, so used to doing it with a DE. I’m always trying to up my shave techniques as long as my face allows for it. I do pay the price occasionally though when I make those miss-steps!

My current DE obsession is a Fatip Piccolo (we’ll see if that remains true once I get a Fat Boy and/or 6s). Has a healthy dose of blade feel and is highly efficient; it can be pretty smooth as well if you ride the cap more. It has totally dethroned my prewar Fat Handled Tech as my go to. The investment is pretty minimal for the value you’re getting - solid nickle plated brass? I mean come on!

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #15:

Today was my first time using Proraso Green cream (tub - many thanks to a very generous gifting from @Mceuph75) and consequently my first use of a mentholated product...WHOA!

I only had to load my brush for a couple seconds and I built enough lather from that for all 3 passes!

A bit of a step back today in terms of SR shaves. My cheeks didn’t come out as clean as they have been with the first two passes and I immediately sliced myself with a bad angle starting my upper lip under the nose. Chin also did not turn out well. Still I gave it as good an effort as I could!

Today I switched from the Piccolo to my prewar Fat Handled Tech for my clean up, that I had used before the Piccolo arrived so many months ago. What a different feel, I had forgotten how mild it is, even for a prewar. I did notice dramatically improved technique though due to my long stretch of Fatip use.

That Green cream though...amazing! It’ll be a great summer shaver.

 

[supertrunker]

i like the green in hot weather too. In case you didn't know - the Red is a sandalwood one and the white is for sensitive skin, i like the white soap but the red aftershave is wonderful for maybe $15 a bottle if you like that scent.

Chins and upper lips are why there are a load of SR shaving videos with guys sporting goatees! For my upper lip, i start at the edges because i can keep the blade flatter to my face and then work in to the middle - it allows me to try and gauge that blade angle before the under-nose scoop! If you are doing that philtrum first, be super gentle as you approach your face.

A lot of the SR shavers seem to be able to use DE's effortlessly because of their improved technique. Sadly, i'm not in that camp and i can cut myself with anything i use. It's a marathon yanno...

T

 

[GearNoir]

i like the green in hot weather too. In case you didn't know - the Red is a sandalwood one and the white is for sensitive skin, i like the white soap but the red aftershave is wonderful for maybe $15 a bottle if you like that scent.

Chins and upper lips are why there are a load of SR shaving videos with guys sporting goatees! For my upper lip, i start at the edges because i can keep the blade flatter to my face and then work in to the middle - it allows me to try and gauge that blade angle before the under-nose scoop! If you are doing that philtrum first, be super gentle as you approach your face.

A lot of the SR shavers seem to be able to use DE's effortlessly because of their improved technique. Sadly, i'm not in that camp and i can cut myself with anything i use. It's a marathon yanno...

T

I’m fortunate enough to have the Red AS, great product indeed! Used it just this morning.

Shave #16:

Satisfying shave today for the most part. Pulled the SR strokes back in to the decent range and my 2 SR passes gave me a mostly SAS. No nicks or cuts today and very little burn.

Today’s soap and AS were Proraso Red. Really beginning to get a feel for Proraso products and how they perform, which is excellently! A quick loading of the soap (less than 10 seconds) and I had enough product for easily over 4 passes, even though I only do 3. Lather was nice and rich and slick.

Today was a good day on all accounts.

 

[GearNoir]

Chris you forgot something important you learned today!

So right self, I did! Not sure how I could have forgotten or why it popped into my head just now...

I, from remembering SR videos and in a moment of inspiration, toyed with relathering from off the blade patches for cleanup. Wow! It’s totally easy and totally saves effort and time! Need to go back over a spot? Reverse the stroke you just made, spine leading, and voila! You just relathered the spot! Works best when there’s a little build up of lather from a stroke or two.

 

[ElMatador75]

I salute you, GearNoir. I still haven’t worked up the courage to try a straight. Much respect to you.

 

[GearNoir]

I salute you, GearNoir. I still haven’t worked up the courage to try a straight. Much respect to you.

No time like the present!

It took a lot of guts to start, but after a first, careful shave, I’m glad I’ve gotten going. You should take the plunge!