Had my first shave today with a straight!

[blackhhawk]

And I loved every second of it. I shaved with my DE (been DE shaving for a month now) this morning. Then, my straight I bought on the BST came in in the afternoon, so I shaved again! I used way too much pressure and got a bit of irritation, however, I didn't really cut myself! My neck was the smoothest I have ever gotten it to be. Ever. I haven't figured out how to get it that smooth with a DE yet! I'm hooked. Unfortunately, I don't have a strop yet. I'm hoping my poor man's strop kit comes tomorrow or the next day. Can I still shave again tomorrow without a strop? Are you supposed to strop before every shave, or every few?

I also had a problem with my lather. I like to think I can make a decent LOOKING lather. Nice, thick, peaks...etc, but the slickness is where I lack. I try to add more water but I feel that it gets to the point where there is too much water and the lather breaks down after sitting on my face for a few minutes. Any tips here?? I have Tabac, Col Conk soap, CO Bigelow, and TOBS cream. I feel like I might even be better of using my Nivea shower gel for body/hair/shave because of how slick it is! I make practice lathers all the time, I just can't seem to get it down to where it's slick enough for this. It usually has been good enough for a safety razor shave.

Anyway, any tips or direction to some more resources I can look at would be great. Thanks guys.


PS - what are some good online stores that are more specific to straight users? I would like to start doing some research on another straight and a nicer strop for when the time is right and I'm ready.

 

[mwhitcraft]

Congratulations! Sounds like you did very well for your first attempt. I would go ahead and shave tomorrow without stropping. If you have a strop, it's a good idea to strop before each shave, but missing a day shouldn't be much of a problem, especially since you are just starting out. If you are worried about it, you can always strop on a long piece of newspaper draped over you towel rack.

As far as the lather is concerned, I would guess Tabac to be your slickest/easiest soap/cream. Try using more product and not whipping it up quite so much. IMHO, thick, yogurt density lather is slicker and more protective than fluff.

 

[oakeshott]

Congratulations! Sounds like you did very well for your first attempt. I would go ahead and shave tomorrow without stropping. If you have a strop, it's a good idea to strop before each shave, but missing a day shouldn't be much of a problem, especially since you are just starting out. If you are worried about it, you can always strop on a long piece of newspaper draped over you towel rack.

As far as the lather is concerned, I would guess Tabac to be your slickest/easiest soap/cream. Try using more product and not whipping it up quite so much. IMHO, thick, yogurt density lather is slicker and more protective than fluff.

What he said about the lather. I use mostly soaps and what I've been doing lately is shaking most of the water out of a soaked brush and then loading it. While loading, slowly add a few drops of water till you get the yogurt consistency mentioned above.

As for places to buy stuff, my best deals on quality stuff has come from other members. Some good deals on ebay and at antique stores, but the items off the BST are reliably terrific and come with far less risk. The straights are sharper, the stones are harder and the strops are ...stroppier.

Congrats on a great first shave.

edit for strop advice:
The most popular strops you'll see on this forum are the Tony Millers, Kanayama and Scrupleworks. I have two TM's and he's a deservedly respected craftsman and the lowest end Kanayama you can buy. Both are superb. Tony's craftmanship, imo, is better as is his choice of components. The kanayama leather, however, might be preferable. Not by much, though and if I had to only choose one, it would be Tony. When I bought my two, it was off the BST because he was recovering from surgery but I wish I had the pleasure of dealing with him as his reputation is that of being a pleasure to do business with. The Kanayamas you can get from aframestokyo.com . An excellent proprietor there as well.

 

[smalltank]

Skin stretch with alum block...for a strop...starshaving.com is a great place to start...in the meantime strop on a pair of jeans..pull down tight..strop up n down making sure the edge comes in contact with the material...remember strop before and after use

 

[jrp316]

Tabac soap + CO Bigelow (Proraso) cream = super slick lather. You're on the right track for wanting a slicker lather for straights versus DE. Straights seem to like slicker lather. Mix up a batch of Tabac & CO Bigelow and see how it goes. Usually by the time the lather has a 'shine' or light reflection on it (at least for me), it's where it needs to be.

As stropping goes, you can get away with another shave or two before it becomes an issue. I'd do like the others above recommend and strop on denim. Pick a straight piece (no seams) on the leg and have at it. The PMSK will keep you going for a long time when you get it.

What kind of razor did you get?

 

[Slash McCoy]

Newspaper strop works. Not quite as good as leather but better than nothing at all. Plus, if you hack it up, you haven't destroyed anything.

Take a sheet of newspaper and fold it longways again and again until it is 2-1/2" to 3" wide. Pass an end over your towel rod or whatever. Pinch both ends together and pull tight. Strop. Grin at your resourcefulness. Shave.

Welcome to the elite brotherhood of the straight razor and congratulations on your first true manly shave. You are one of us now.

Stropping on newspaper the first week or so might save your Poor Man from destruction. If it survives your learning stage, it will work for a travel or backup strop when you upgrade, and I do suggest that when you are confident in your stropping, that you do so. I like the Big Daddy from www.starshaving.com for its great price, detachable hardware (you can swap ends or replace the leather altogether) and tremendous size. I have never seen a bigger one than the BD. Mark's recommendations cost more but they are definitely of higher workmanship and worth having a look at.

BTW The slickest lather I have ever made was with Godrej. The stuff is slicker than frog snot and stays wet a long time. But in the meantime when you see dry spots in your lather, simply reapply. A quick swipe of the badger and you are good to go. You can also try 3 or 4 drops of glycerine on the soap puck before you hit it with the brush. Is your water very hard? If it is, you might want to wet brush and puck with distilled or spring water instead of tap water. Try picking up more soap in the brush, or soaking the soap a little.

 

[blackhhawk]

It's a sta-sharp... I can't remember anything else about it and the SWMBO is sleeping in bed next to me right now so I don't want to get up and look. I tracked my poor man's strop kit today and it was still far away in texas, so I made a few calls and found a barber supply store close by that sold a linen/leather strop for 40 bucks. not sure on the brand, but it looked to be adequate. I will probably damage this one anyway, so it doesn't hurt to have more than one when learning. I stropped up after watching some videos and doing some reading and had my second shave today. the lather was a little better today with the tabac. I did a three pass shave - WTG, XTG, and ATG. I probably shouldn't have tried the ATG but oh well. Nothing terrible happened, I was just in the bathroom for an hour and I have 2 little nicks. I do have an extremely close shave as well, and thanks to my trusty alum block the irritation isn't bad either. I really like this straight, I'm afraid my DEs might not see much action anymore. I am a bit quicker with them so once I'm off of leave and working mon-fri I will probably use them in the morning before work when I'm in a rush.

I've been watching the BST like a hawk to try and find a second straight for a decent price. I want to have one has a back up, or maybe just a second one to put in a rotation. Especially if I send them out to be honed. Thanks for the help guys, I love this forum. My life has definitely changed since finding this place!

 

[blackhhawk]

Newspaper strop works. Not quite as good as leather but better than nothing at all. Plus, if you hack it up, you haven't destroyed anything.

Take a sheet of newspaper and fold it longways again and again until it is 2-1/2" to 3" wide. Pass an end over your towel rod or whatever. Pinch both ends together and pull tight. Strop. Grin at your resourcefulness. Shave.

Welcome to the elite brotherhood of the straight razor and congratulations on your first true manly shave. You are one of us now.

Stropping on newspaper the first week or so might save your Poor Man from destruction. If it survives your learning stage, it will work for a travel or backup strop when you upgrade, and I do suggest that when you are confident in your stropping, that you do so. I like the Big Daddy from www.starshaving.com for its great price, detachable hardware (you can swap ends or replace the leather altogether) and tremendous size. I have never seen a bigger one than the BD. Mark's recommendations cost more but they are definitely of higher workmanship and worth having a look at.

BTW The slickest lather I have ever made was with Godrej. The stuff is slicker than frog snot and stays wet a long time. But in the meantime when you see dry spots in your lather, simply reapply. A quick swipe of the badger and you are good to go. You can also try 3 or 4 drops of glycerine on the soap puck before you hit it with the brush. Is your water very hard? If it is, you might want to wet brush and puck with distilled or spring water instead of tap water. Try picking up more soap in the brush, or soaking the soap a little.

Not really sure on the hard water thing... we have well water. I don't know what makes water hard or soft... I've been meaning to grab some distilled at the store to try it out and see what difference it makes. I think my problem with the lather was shaking too much water out of the brush when loading and then whipping/adding water for way too long. It was good enough for DE shaving, but definitely not good enough for this. I left a bit more water in today when loading and then didn't spend as much time adding water and whipping and it seemed to work out much better. Thanks for the help.


EDIT: Another question... what is this strop paste? Should I be using it?

EDIT2(I'm just full of questions...): How the heck do you get the part of your neck that is concave next to your asophogus/adams apple? It's not flat. Its a deep valley. I also have this problem with a DE, or cart razor. My asophogus/adams apple comes out so much so that the parts next to it, where my hair grows sideways, is impossible to get! I poke my head out like a chicken, I try pulling the skin off to the sides, I just can't seem to get it... EVER.

 

[blackhhawk]

My poor mans strop came in and it came with the chromium and iron oxide. What are these for??

 

[jrp316]

My poor mans strop came in and it came with the chromium and iron oxide. What are these for??

If you ordered the poor man's strop kit, it came with a piece of balsa with the green (chromium) on one side and red (iron) on the other. This is for touching up your razor's edge when it starts getting tired (i.e., tugging/starting to feel duller). Larry usually sends a packet of each of the abrasives to refresh the balsa strop when it's needed. If you just got the packets and no balsa strop, then you can apply the abrasives to either the cloth component of your strop, the rough side of the leather strop or a piece of balsa.

 

[California Cajun]

And I loved every second of it. I shaved with my DE (been DE shaving for a month now) this morning. Then, my straight I bought on the BST came in in the afternoon, so I shaved again! I used way too much pressure and got a bit of irritation, however, I didn't really cut myself! My neck was the smoothest I have ever gotten it to be. Ever. I haven't figured out how to get it that smooth with a DE yet! I'm hooked. Unfortunately, I don't have a strop yet. I'm hoping my poor man's strop kit comes tomorrow or the next day. Can I still shave again tomorrow without a strop? Are you supposed to strop before every shave, or every few?

I also had a problem with my lather. I like to think I can make a decent LOOKING lather. Nice, thick, peaks...etc, but the slickness is where I lack. I try to add more water but I feel that it gets to the point where there is too much water and the lather breaks down after sitting on my face for a few minutes. Any tips here?? I have Tabac, Col Conk soap, CO Bigelow, and TOBS cream. I feel like I might even be better of using my Nivea shower gel for body/hair/shave because of how slick it is! I make practice lathers all the time, I just can't seem to get it down to where it's slick enough for this. It usually has been good enough for a safety razor shave.

Anyway, any tips or direction to some more resources I can look at would be great. Thanks guys.


PS - what are some good online stores that are more specific to straight users? I would like to start doing some research on another straight and a nicer strop for when the time is right and I'm ready.

Sounds like you are light years ahead of me on my first attempt. Just keep on doing what you're doing and the finer points of your shave will come.

 

[blackhhawk]

Good to know. Thanks guys. Always a good help.

 

[Attila]

Go light on the paste when you do refresh it. Very little is needed. If you wipe your strop wih a paper towel and can barely see any paste on it at all after applying, it's good.

 

[blackhhawk]

I have the balsa strop with the poor mans strop kit, which to my understanding already has paste on it and the extra stuff is for down the road when I need it. I didn't realize instructions came with everything! Dur! Thanks guys, I will probably revisit this in a month or two when I need to touch up. Hopefully I stick with the straight in the morning before work, but needing a closer, faster shave I might be jumping back to the DE during the week.

 

[TauntingBull]

I'm glad it all worked out for ya...

 

[Slash McCoy]

Generally speaking, the best use for paste is on a balsa strop. It can be applied to a hanging leather strop but this is for particular tasks such as toning down a harsh edge from a fine synthetic stone, and not really to be recommended for general stropping or edge maintenance. When used on balsa, only a very small amount is used, and it is rubbed well into the balsa. My favorite use is for routine post-shave edge maintenance. I strop about 4 dozen light laps, sometimes more, on balsa loaded with .1u diamond, and it usually keeps my edge quite sharp basically forever. If an edge does seem to be going dull, I strop on .5u or .25u diamond until it is sharp again, and then hit the .1u as normal.

Some guys prefer to use the pasted balsa only when the edge seems to be going dull, but I feel it is better to prevent dullness than to simply attempt to cure it. YMMV. .1u or finer abrasives will not cause significantly faster wear when used after every shave. Coarser abrasives ought to be reserved for bringing back a dull edge IMHO.

A good combination is .5u on one side, .1u on the other side of the balsa. You might also want to try 1u for particularly dull razors.

It is important when stropping on balsa to use very light pressure. The balsa is somewhat yielding and pressing down on it will probably turn your flat bevel into a convex one. To an extent, a slight amount of convexing can be desireable, such as with a razor having a very acute bevel angle, or a very very sharp edge such as from a very fine Shapton. Convexing gives a very comfortable edge, though it can have slightly degraded cutting power. Too much convexing definitely reduces cutting power, because at the edge, the localized bevel angle will be very obtuse even if the edge appears quite smooth under a microscope. This is all relative, of course. So, if there is some reason why you want a more convexed bevel, you can increase the pressure slightly, but in general, and especially for daily use, light pressure is what you want.

If it feels like you got enough paste, you probably have way too much. You do not want a coating of paste. More like a light stain of it. Too much can give a slurrying effect... it will cut fast but not leave the edge as sharp as it could be. CrOx is nominally around .3u to .5u. FeOx is around .1u grit.

CrOx and FeOx (the green and the red paste) work okay but I prefer diamond, for its faster cutting and more consistent particle size. I also like a fairly big balsa, like 3" wide and 12" long or a bit longer. Even though it may look flat, it is a good idea to lap it on a sheet of 320 or 400 grit sandpaper before applying paste. The flatter, the better. Remember also that age and humidity can warp the balsa and so relapping once in a while is a good idea. You can prevent warp by glueing thin balsa to heavy glass or tile, instead of using a solid plank of balsa.

You need to really stretch the neck skin tightly. It may be impossible for you to get true WTG on your neck, due to the direction of the grain in places. That's okay. Limit your shave direction to those that are possible, and if you are like 45 degrees or even more from actual WTG, don't let it worry you too much. Me, I simply go N-S on neck and it is mostly in the ballpark over most of my neck. Hard stretching will make the skin stand off from concave areas so they are flat for the razor. Use your off hand fingers and also use facial contortions, "shaving faces", to stretch. When you SHOULD be going WTG but CAN'T, use a lower shave angle, almost dragging the spine on the skin, light pressure, and lots of stretching.

Your personal shave technique in time will vary greatly from typical, as you find little tricks that work for you. It will get better as your skills improve and you catch on to the best way to shave your face. Just keep at it and once you master the basics, don't be shy about experimenting.

 

[blackhhawk]

Generally speaking, the best use for paste is on a balsa strop. It can be applied to a hanging leather strop but this is for particular tasks such as toning down a harsh edge from a fine synthetic stone, and not really to be recommended for general stropping or edge maintenance. When used on balsa, only a very small amount is used, and it is rubbed well into the balsa. My favorite use is for routine post-shave edge maintenance. I strop about 4 dozen light laps, sometimes more, on balsa loaded with .1u diamond, and it usually keeps my edge quite sharp basically forever. If an edge does seem to be going dull, I strop on .5u or .25u diamond until it is sharp again, and then hit the .1u as normal.

Some guys prefer to use the pasted balsa only when the edge seems to be going dull, but I feel it is better to prevent dullness than to simply attempt to cure it. YMMV. .1u or finer abrasives will not cause significantly faster wear when used after every shave. Coarser abrasives ought to be reserved for bringing back a dull edge IMHO.

A good combination is .5u on one side, .1u on the other side of the balsa. You might also want to try 1u for particularly dull razors.

It is important when stropping on balsa to use very light pressure. The balsa is somewhat yielding and pressing down on it will probably turn your flat bevel into a convex one. To an extent, a slight amount of convexing can be desireable, such as with a razor having a very acute bevel angle, or a very very sharp edge such as from a very fine Shapton. Convexing gives a very comfortable edge, though it can have slightly degraded cutting power. Too much convexing definitely reduces cutting power, because at the edge, the localized bevel angle will be very obtuse even if the edge appears quite smooth under a microscope. This is all relative, of course. So, if there is some reason why you want a more convexed bevel, you can increase the pressure slightly, but in general, and especially for daily use, light pressure is what you want.

If it feels like you got enough paste, you probably have way too much. You do not want a coating of paste. More like a light stain of it. Too much can give a slurrying effect... it will cut fast but not leave the edge as sharp as it could be. CrOx is nominally around .3u to .5u. FeOx is around .1u grit.

CrOx and FeOx (the green and the red paste) work okay but I prefer diamond, for its faster cutting and more consistent particle size. I also like a fairly big balsa, like 3" wide and 12" long or a bit longer. Even though it may look flat, it is a good idea to lap it on a sheet of 320 or 400 grit sandpaper before applying paste. The flatter, the better. Remember also that age and humidity can warp the balsa and so relapping once in a while is a good idea. You can prevent warp by glueing thin balsa to heavy glass or tile, instead of using a solid plank of balsa.

You need to really stretch the neck skin tightly. It may be impossible for you to get true WTG on your neck, due to the direction of the grain in places. That's okay. Limit your shave direction to those that are possible, and if you are like 45 degrees or even more from actual WTG, don't let it worry you too much. Me, I simply go N-S on neck and it is mostly in the ballpark over most of my neck. Hard stretching will make the skin stand off from concave areas so they are flat for the razor. Use your off hand fingers and also use facial contortions, "shaving faces", to stretch. When you SHOULD be going WTG but CAN'T, use a lower shave angle, almost dragging the spine on the skin, light pressure, and lots of stretching.

Your personal shave technique in time will vary greatly from typical, as you find little tricks that work for you. It will get better as your skills improve and you catch on to the best way to shave your face. Just keep at it and once you master the basics, don't be shy about experimenting.

Great, thanks a lot for the info this was very informative. Where do you get the diamond stuff from? I like the idea of constantly maintaining the edge like you explained - it makes sense to me. Can this also be done on lapping film rather than balsa? I might head to home depot and see if I can get more balsa and something to glue them down on so I can ensure that they are flat.

As for the neck advice, this is pretty much what I have been doing. I get a considerably closer shave with my straight than my DE gives me on the neck, especially when only doing a WTG pass. I tend to tear my neck up more when I go at it with the DE doing multiple passes. I think I just need to keep working at the stretching/head movements/etc and I will figure out a technique that works for me. Huge help again, thanks! Thanks to everyone!

 

[Slash McCoy]

www.tedpella.com is where I get my diamond pastes, but there are other vendors. This is just the one I happen to buy from. You don't have to buy often. A little dab lasts a long long time. I actually use most of mine for polishing GD mods. The balsa, I refresh with about a BB's worth about once a month or two.

Daily maintenance honing with film? I don't know... the finest film that it is easy to get a comfortable edge on, is 1u, and that is maybe a little aggressive to be using after each shave. .3u might be okay except if you have not truly mastered the use of picopaper your edge will be a bit harsh. Film is fantastic for initial honing, or occasional touchup honing, but I think the pasted balsa is the best option for post-shave maintenance of the edge. Possibly if you score some .1u film and use that over picopaper, that would be okay for post-shave treatment but it is a hassle dampening paper, applying it, applying the film, etc compared to just reaching for your balsa and giving it 4 dozen of your best. I don't think film is practical for that, but I can definitely vouch for the diamond on balsa.

 

[blackhhawk]

I will stick with the balsa. Was just curious if the film and balsa/paste were the same. Thanks Slash!

 

[BlenheimBadger94]

When I started I first thought I needed to jump in and learn it all, for now my advice would be don't mess with any pasted or lapping film or honing or anything like that. Learn to shave and strop. Once that is perfected move onto the next thing. Congratulations btw! Best of luck. Ton's of great resources on B&B (especially the people!)