First, a little about myself. I'm a 22 year-old from Australia who has been shaving for long enough to forget when I started. I'm currently working at a retail store which sells 'personal grooming' products and I'm loving it. But I can't understand one thing; the amount of people who are willing to scrape their face with a disposable razor.
Like everyone else around me, I started shaving with cartridge razors, and soon discovered that both Gillette and Shick's canned goo invoked the wrath of the skin-gods; my previously smooth and healthy skin started to dry out and crack whenever I would shave. For the next few years I struggled with my patchy facial hair, unhappy skin, and a host of different products until I was convinced to buy a DE safety razor.
The first nervous passes with a single blade are vivid in my mind; feather blades (so sharp!) slide hair from flesh without any protest at all. Immediate love followed as my skin became healthy, and my now heavier beard stayed gone. This was about 3 years ago, I've since become so comfortable with my Merkur long-handle DE that I advocate a proper wet shave to almost everyone I meet. My last shave was a four pass shave which left me BBS and my cheeks burning in the cool winter air. But now it's the time for change; this time I'm swapping to a straight.
So, all in the name of science, I pooled my meager resources and bought myself a Dovo full-hollow 5/8 razor with olive wood handle, Gresham strop and new Omega silvertip brush (all at a bargain price because of my lovely place of employ). With my wallet feeling a fair bit lighter, I headed home with a bag full of beautiful craftsmanship.
The first shave:
First, a basin of hot water for my Omega brush, soaked and lathered a few times to soften the already silky knot. Then a nice long shower to relax; I wanted to be in the right state of mind for this shave. I loaded up with Truefitt and Hill soap and created the best face lather I could (I'm still waiting on a local potter for my scuttle). Taking a deep breath to calm the same nerves from my first DE shave, I took my stropped blade in hand, and started with my right cheek. Cool metal invokes a marvelous scratching sound as is passes over my cheek it takes me a few minutes and a little experimentation to become comfortable with the angle of my hand, but soon I find myself peeling lather and hair alike from my skin.
The right side of my face was clear, no nicks, no cuts, and feeling somewhat lighter without the 3-day growth I had started with. But now the left side remained, and a new wave of fear arrived with the sight of it. I'm no ambidextrous monster of shaving capability; surely I would cut myself!
I went back to my brush and whipped up more lather (I knew that I would take long enough on half of my face to warrant another application.) This time a little more tentative, I take the razor in my left hand. I can't quite seem to get the angle right, and it takes me a few minutes to progress much further than my cheek. But with each short stroke, I realise that I'm not likely to cut myself, and I might even get a decent shave out of my first pass.
The second pass WTG went much quicker, I know that I can avoid cutting myself, so I relax and even try a little blade buffing when I approach the unusual direction change of the grain at my jawline. Another lather and a third pass soon follows, this time XTG just to experiment. By now I know that the shave is passable and my skin probably doesn't want to take much more. So I wash out my brush, let the sink out and wash my face with ice-cold water.
Looking at the result of my first straight shave, I've come to the conclusion that there will be nothing more enjoyable than mastering this art. I didn't cut myself, which I count as a huge success, and a passable shave on the left side with a considerably closer one on the right side is ok by me. I've been back to the DE for my recent shaves just because I haven't had the time before work, but I'm eagerly awaiting tomorrow morning and a day off to spend happily pressing cool metal to my face.
So, in the name of science, I have discovered what will no doubt become one of my favourite activities. And I can not wait to buy some new soaps in the name of science too.
P.S. if anyone feels like it, I'd love to know how people keep their straights from accumulating soap-scum after use, I'm just a bit reluctant to wipe them down after use without knowing if there's a better way.
Like everyone else around me, I started shaving with cartridge razors, and soon discovered that both Gillette and Shick's canned goo invoked the wrath of the skin-gods; my previously smooth and healthy skin started to dry out and crack whenever I would shave. For the next few years I struggled with my patchy facial hair, unhappy skin, and a host of different products until I was convinced to buy a DE safety razor.
The first nervous passes with a single blade are vivid in my mind; feather blades (so sharp!) slide hair from flesh without any protest at all. Immediate love followed as my skin became healthy, and my now heavier beard stayed gone. This was about 3 years ago, I've since become so comfortable with my Merkur long-handle DE that I advocate a proper wet shave to almost everyone I meet. My last shave was a four pass shave which left me BBS and my cheeks burning in the cool winter air. But now it's the time for change; this time I'm swapping to a straight.
So, all in the name of science, I pooled my meager resources and bought myself a Dovo full-hollow 5/8 razor with olive wood handle, Gresham strop and new Omega silvertip brush (all at a bargain price because of my lovely place of employ). With my wallet feeling a fair bit lighter, I headed home with a bag full of beautiful craftsmanship.
The first shave:
First, a basin of hot water for my Omega brush, soaked and lathered a few times to soften the already silky knot. Then a nice long shower to relax; I wanted to be in the right state of mind for this shave. I loaded up with Truefitt and Hill soap and created the best face lather I could (I'm still waiting on a local potter for my scuttle). Taking a deep breath to calm the same nerves from my first DE shave, I took my stropped blade in hand, and started with my right cheek. Cool metal invokes a marvelous scratching sound as is passes over my cheek it takes me a few minutes and a little experimentation to become comfortable with the angle of my hand, but soon I find myself peeling lather and hair alike from my skin.
The right side of my face was clear, no nicks, no cuts, and feeling somewhat lighter without the 3-day growth I had started with. But now the left side remained, and a new wave of fear arrived with the sight of it. I'm no ambidextrous monster of shaving capability; surely I would cut myself!
I went back to my brush and whipped up more lather (I knew that I would take long enough on half of my face to warrant another application.) This time a little more tentative, I take the razor in my left hand. I can't quite seem to get the angle right, and it takes me a few minutes to progress much further than my cheek. But with each short stroke, I realise that I'm not likely to cut myself, and I might even get a decent shave out of my first pass.
The second pass WTG went much quicker, I know that I can avoid cutting myself, so I relax and even try a little blade buffing when I approach the unusual direction change of the grain at my jawline. Another lather and a third pass soon follows, this time XTG just to experiment. By now I know that the shave is passable and my skin probably doesn't want to take much more. So I wash out my brush, let the sink out and wash my face with ice-cold water.
Looking at the result of my first straight shave, I've come to the conclusion that there will be nothing more enjoyable than mastering this art. I didn't cut myself, which I count as a huge success, and a passable shave on the left side with a considerably closer one on the right side is ok by me. I've been back to the DE for my recent shaves just because I haven't had the time before work, but I'm eagerly awaiting tomorrow morning and a day off to spend happily pressing cool metal to my face.
So, in the name of science, I have discovered what will no doubt become one of my favourite activities. And I can not wait to buy some new soaps in the name of science too.
P.S. if anyone feels like it, I'd love to know how people keep their straights from accumulating soap-scum after use, I'm just a bit reluctant to wipe them down after use without knowing if there's a better way.
