Graduated sooner that expected!

[lev36]

Back in September when I got my Parker shavette as an inexpensive way to try out straight-razor shaving, I figured I'd use up the blades it came with and then move up to a traditional straight some time next year.

But I saw the custom razor I was admiring selling out - Portland Razor Co. had made three of them, and as I kept checking back, one went, then the second, and I didn't want to miss out, so I went for the last one.

And O.M.G. - I had gotten fairly OK with the shavette, though I did still have a nick or two most times, and it wasn't quite as close as I had hoped (I'm sure that was me more than the razor). But three shaves in with the new razor, I haven't had to use the styptic at all, and the shave is the smoothest I've ever had. The difference is astounding!

And here she is, C-01 carbon steel quarter-hollow with a Spanish tip, California buckeye burl scales lined with G10. I'm sure this was the last one to sell because neither of the other two had eyes in the wood, while this one has one on either side. To me, that just makes it more special.

The idea of honing it sounded daunting, but Portland Razor has classes right nearby so when that time comes I can learn hands-on from experts.

As for the rest of the kit, after trying a few things, I settled on a straight Proraso White setup (pre-shave cream, shaving cream, aftershave balm and repair gel), with an Edwin Jagger best-badger brush for face-lathering. I couldn't be more pleased!

 

[Lightcs1776]

Nice straight. Well done.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Steve56]

Nice!

 

[lev36]

I'm loving the Spanish point - it really gives me a lot of control for areas requiring finesse, but is a more forgiving than a square or French point.

 

[Bob L.]

Very Nice!

 

[Slash McCoy]

You really jumped in with both feet, didn't you? Welcome to the deep end of the pool.

As for honing, see the Newbie Honing Compendium | Badger & Blade, before spending any money. "The Method" will get you going on the cheap and have you creating and maintaining better than professional edges early on. The Method is meant to be a gateway into honing, but you could also just stick with it, because no other honing style will consistently give you a better edge. Or you could dabble in Jnats or coticules or other natural stones, or quality synthetics or vintage this or thats, and return to the fold any time you wish. It is not exclusive to other honing styles unless you decide you want it to be. And your complete Method setup will be about what one good synthetic finisher or medium size coticule would cost.

Your PRC being already sharp, would require at the most, a 1u piece of lapping film, and a progression of three balsa strops with .5u, .25u, and .1u diamond to bring the edge up to a higher level of sharpness and probably comfort than when you received it, and the .1u balsa would keep it going indefinitely.

And now that you have a real razor, what you need now, more than anything else, is another razor, so when the first one is out of action, you have another one to shave with in the interim. If you send your PRC out for honing, it could be as long as a couple weeks before it is back in your hands. If you decide to learn to hone and do it yourself, it could be a couple weeks gathering and setting up your equipment, and possibly needing as many as two or three attempts to get it right. Either way, you want to stick with straights exclusively for a while, do a total immersion thing, and really make straight shaving seem the natural thing to do.

But don't toss your shavette. After a year or two with the straights, you might want to revisit the shavette and see if your improved shaving skills make a difference. And I highly recommend Feather DE blades in a shavette, whether it is a cheap one or a more high shelf model. The Feather blade, when held at a nice tight angle with the skin properly stretched, can deliver an excellent one pass shave. The shavette offers one major advantage over the straight. It is more travel friendly. You don't have to bring strops with you, and theft is not a big concern.

 

[dmatcuk]

The PRC Hydra 6/8 is my daily shaver. It is a Spanish point like yours. I wish I lived closer, because those honing classes would have been fun when I was first starting out. I got a nice edge though using the same progression they used to with synthetic hones. I have Jnats now that put an amazing edge on my razor. They make some really nice razors though, that you should enjoy for a lifetime.