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Greetings from Switzerland + My Starting Gear

So, I had actually had my first experiment with a straight razor back in 2015/16, but I thought the shave lasted too long and the benefits weren't really there.

After years of irregular shaving, trying out cartridges and even top-of-the-line electric shavers, I remained disillusioned.

Went back to a straight razor set-up because of the bumps that cartridges were giving me. Not a lot, but I want zero bumps, so a few too many.

First shave back, I was able to give myself a socially-acceptable shave, already superior to all of my Gilettes. Awesome! Second day in, loving it. Today, I think I am seeing some some bumps.

I read somewhere that if your beard hair does not grow straight, a straight razor shave is more likely to give you bumps (than if your beard hair grows straight). I'm a black man with really nappy hair. My beard hair growth seems to be all over the place.

I am also quite sure that the bumps and slight irritation I feel are due to my shallow angle of attack - still learning the ropes. But perhaps, there is something else to it.

This time around, I'm both feet in swearing up and down the quality of a straight razor shave. I love everything about it, including the relatively steep learning curve, which makes of this shaving method a true art form.

Anyway, here is my set up. It is all on the cheap end, because I'm a noob.

Böker Manufaktur Classic Black Round Head - 109 Fr.
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Böker Manufaktur Hanging Strop - 59 Fr.
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MÜHLE VIVO brush - 48 Fr.
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MÜHLE shaving soap - ~ 9 Fr.

Please help. If I don't get BBS by tomorrow, I'll feel like my life has been a huge disappointment that will never be redeemed, and I really don't want to feel like that.
 
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hi and welcome from the uk , sorry cant help you with your shave as im a de bloke but all I can say is dont give in and dont think you have to chase the bbs shave it will come. also are you just going a one pass shave like when you used your cart's if so forget that and remember less pressure and maybee a few passes , your cart had multiple blades to do many passes in one your straight has one blade so play catch up and relax.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Kilunaji, you experimented with straight razor (SR) shaving 4 to 5 years ago. You have now started again with 3 SR shaves under your belt. You are effectively a noobie to SR shaving. For now stop trying to aim for a baby but smooth (BBS) shave. That will come as you develop your technique.

I am still refining my SR shaving technique as I am approaching my 150th SR shave. By about SR shave 80, I was doing all three passes, with the grain (WTG), across the grain (XTG) & against the grain (ATG) and starting to get a BBS finish.

I leave it to others here to guide you further. You still have a lot to learn but you will get there with the gentlemanly art of SR shaving. Most who have mastered the art wish they had only ever shaved with a SR.

Welcome to B&B from my little bit of paradise in the Philippines.
 
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Welcome to the Madnes!

The answer is in your own post “steep learning curve”. It took me months to acquire the muscle memory to shave comfortably daily with a DE - much, much longer with a straight. There are orders of magnitude difference between the two, especially around sharpness (DE is easy, change blade, a straight needs significant blade skill in honing, stropping etc). I thought my straights were sharp - until I had them professionally done and enjoyed a different shaving experience. Once you’ve mastered THAT you’ve only got prep, lather and technique to figure out.

Please don’t think of it as a problem - but as an opportunity to master skills that few others have. I wish you good fortune and patience in your journey.
 
That last line was a tongue in cheek (but not really) joke on my expectations. I know I don't even have the WTG down yet, and it will take a while.

I keep forgetting that sarcasm over the internet just makes you sound stupid.

Nice kit!

Cheers! Glad to hear it, as I don't know enough to judge it yet.

I am still refining my SR shaving technique as I am approaching my 150th SR shave. By about SR shave 80, I was doing all three passes, with the grain (WTG), across the grain (XTG) & against the grain (ATG) and starting to get a BBS finish.

Realistically, I'll be happy if I get BBS in a year from now. But I'm also not rushing things.

What about shaving every day, is that fine?
 
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Hello and welcome! I like to think of traditional shaving as a meditative practice. I think you'll do better and feel better as your perspective moves away from shaving being a chore and into shaving as being a practice of constant improvement. It's not so much a practice of leaps and bounds as it is a practice of marginal success spread out over time.

Cartridges really distort the expectations of a shave. A real blade is a skill that doesn't come over night. I have a good friend who hated DE shaving at first because he thought it took way too long. This was because he'd only ever shaved with a Mach 3. He changed his thinking though, and now he really enjoys it. I say stick with it. It takes a long time. But once you earn the skill through experience, it's extremely rewarding.
 
My straight razor shave is the best 3 hours of my day! :lol:

Seriously, I remember my first SR shaves, only WTG and only my cheeks, taking 30 - 45 minutes. And I considered a bloodless result to be a success regardless of how much hair was left on my face.

After two years of daily use, my 3-pass SR shaves are around 20 minutes (yes, I'm old and slow) and are extremely close and comfortable (as long as I'm paying attention).

The journey has been both fun and rewarding. Stick with it and be patient. Be very, very patient.
 

I was not. I really have to give it a good look. Cheers.

After two years of daily use, my 3-pass SR shaves are around 20 minutes (yes, I'm old and slow) and are extremely close and comfortable (as long as I'm paying attention).

Is that because you don't really care much for speed, or because the quality starts deteriorating if you go faster? Patience is a virtue that I often must grasp with haste, otherwise it alludes me. And I was hoping to hit the BBS in ten minutes in about a year's time. Wishful thinking?
 
Give yourself a 100 shaves to sort things out before you begin setting expectations.

Also, I’m never in a rush when SR shaving and don’t time myself. Why would I want to rush something so enjoyable? If you don‘t have enough time for a proper SR shave in the morning, try shaving the night before.
 
Hello dear neighbor from the Alps :)

What I am going to say is not intuitive so bear with me. It's probably not the razor, and I suppose the way you shave, coarse as a beginners' can be, are not the real issue.

There was a time when I would shave with a feather-blade mounted DE razor. And I started having bumps. I went to see a dermatologist about that (well, mainly for another thing, but while at it, you know), and he was not of much help.
And then I was told that there was a solution... Which was investing in a better soap and a better brush.

Not to say that what you have now is not an improvement already, but before you renounce everything, I would advise you try something like a silvertip badger and a very renown soap, such as, for example, Martin de Candres.
 

It's hard to tell how much of this is marketing and how much of this is real science.

And then I was told that there was a solution... Which was investing in a better soap and a better brush.

That, tbf could be it. I did default to the problem being in me because I still only have a handful of shaves under my belt, so of course I would suck. I'm still going to give it some time to first get confident in my shaves, then consider blaming the gear.
 
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Is that because you don't really care much for speed, or because the quality starts deteriorating if you go faster?

To be honest, I'd much prefer to get up 10 minutes earlier to get in a nice, relaxed, meditative shave to start my day, than to get 10 additional minutes of sleep.

Yes, I enjoy my shaves that much. Why would I rush through them?

I can't speak to deteriorating quality because that would imply that I had tried to hurry. I haven't ever tried to hurry, so I don't know if the quality would deteriorate.
 
Welcome @Kilunaji

Of course I cannot be certain this suggestion will help you, but if you are willing to purchase/experiment I believe that a Feather Artist Club SS will give you better results. I find that the lip near the blade provides some protection against getting too close. That if you did a 1 pass shave (and touch ups as needed) it would be possible to get a nice shave with limited irritation and bumps. I find myself reaching for my SS when I am in a hurry as I can shave very quickly without fear of nicks or irritation. With a shallow angle the lip can provide a slight hover board effect as you shave and reduce the closeness of the cut.
 
Welcome from the western USA! Sounds like you're doing just fine. Your hardware looks like an excellent starting kit. What soap or cream are are you using? Software is important too. Mitchell's Wool Fat is a mainstay for me. Take a look in the soaps sub-forum for gentle soaps or creams.

Hard to tell now, since most of my head hair is long gone, but I had really thick curly hair :001_rolle and had issues with bumps. I went back to DE shaving, where I started in the 60s, and then on to ST8 razors to reduce the irritation, much like you. I found that a good lightweight pre-shave treatment/oil and a very light touch with my razor is what helped me the most. Initially, I had tried for very close shaves, but still ended up with irritation, especially on my neck. Then, I just relaxed and tried for merely safe and comfortable, which is what worked. Not overnight, but over a few weeks, as my touch improved myshaves got better. As others have said, over time with your skills improving the shaves will just become closer without any added thought. With my beard, I also found that for me to consistently get the best shaves my razors like to be touched up fairly often. I've never been able to get away with just stropping indefinitely. Depending upon the blade, heavier grinds seem to last longer for me, I will often touch them up once a week. My intuition after a decade of regular shaving and experimentation is that tough, curly, or wiry beard hair may just be a bit harder on the razor's delicate edge.

Good luck on your SR shave journey.
 
Welcome Kilunaji, you sound like you are on the right track. Good equipment and your technique doesn't sound too bad. Initially you may find the shaves a bit hit and miss depending on how well you strop the razor and your skin's recovery.

I gave up on cartridges because of ingrown hairs, infections and irritation. I have psoriasis which can lead to my neck becoming red and splotchy. For me shaving every day helps, but also the use of a moisturizer after the shave. I find the soap based creams dry the skin & leads to problems, so I follow up with a cheap sorbolene cream.

Rome wasn't built in a day and often the jorney is the best part of the experience. Enjoy your shaves, don't pressure yourself into a all or none situation; "If its not BBS then I'm doing it wrong".
 
This is what I would consider some very sound advice from another thread.jmo
I Cheery picked it.
Btw, sarcasm over the internet does not make you sound stupid. Long live sarcasm, and the ability to comprehend it.

thombrogan said:
First off, dfresh, congratulations on moving up to straight razor shaving! I tell myself I’m on my way soon…

I can’t tell you how frustrated I was in repeatedly seeing the advice to not chase BBS starting out whether it was in videos, online guides, and from folks I’ve met on this interweb thingy.

In my skull, the reply was always “then why bother?! Might as well use the clippers when the stubble thickens to coconut husk levels…” and off I chased BBS day in/day out all well sporting a progressively chewed-up neck and now lower face.

Fast forward four months. The intellectually-accepted/emotionally-rejected mantra of “dOn’T cHaSe BbS“ is being taken to heart. In its place, the object to chase is the skillset that leads to consistent, irritation-free results of a DFS/BBS nature.

As I’m just starting out on what I learned 4 months ago, I certainly can’t tell you which skills lead to a consistent, comfortable, irritation-free BBS shave. I can tell you going for BBS without first developing said skills leads to a BBS shave that has pulsing irritation detracting from the glass-smooth surface it achieves and it‘s a lot harder to try dialing out the irritation-causing/damaging practices while keeping the forced BBS than it is learn how to not wreck face and neck and develop closer shaves from there.

My lesson on why no air bubbles should ever be left between lapping film and glass has much less drama…

TL ; DR:

Chase the skillset that brings the results you want, not the results themselves
 
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