How close is close?

[Bjlefebvre]

Officially finished me third full-on straight razor shave. I’ve been using a Tanifuji Cape 1000 after about a month or so of shavette shaving. I’m at the point where I’m successfully avoiding nicks (knock on balsa wood) and suffering only one or two weepers that disappear after a cold water rinse. But I’m not at BBS level yet. After two passes, I’ve knocked down all the stubble even at the jawline, chin and mustache areas - I definitely “look” shaved - I’d rate most patches at DFS/CCS (smooth WTG, soft stubble AGT), with the neck being closer to CCS/SAS.

Is it possible to get a BBS shave with a straight? I enjoy using one, but still eye my DE with longing occasionally for its ability to get me BBS each and every time. Right now I’m pretty damn proud to be wiping the hair away under my nose and across my chin with no blood in the process, but still miss that smoooooooth feeling after its all done.

I used Proraso pre-shave and Mitchell’s shave soap, but I may not be getting the lather quite right yet with this boar brush I’ve started using. Post shave is Nivea post-shave balm and a splash of Fine American blend on the neck and back of the head.

 

[stone and strop]

Keep the lather really wet, near dripping for a straight shave.
Pulling tight with your off hand yields the closest shave.
Yes its possible. Being only on your third shave give it a bit of time.
Sounds like you are doing great so far.

 

[bluesman 7]

The less pressure that I use, the closer the shave.

 

[MO1]

For me, going from the SR to the DE gives me a noticeable worse shave, in closeness, feel, smoothness and cutting power.
Once you get used to the SR it will be the only real choice. Or maybe my DE skills has just plummeted after mainly using my SRs.
But my skin hates the feel of DE blades, that I'm sure of.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Chasing BBS is frustrating. Let go. Let it be. If you look shaved, that's good enough.

What were you using before the boar?

So you are doing two passes. My edges are very very sharp, and I won't have full all over BBS with two passes. Which is fine cause I only do a single pass and I am quite happy with DFS or even SAS. But if you really want to up your game a bit, you could go with three passes. The first two, WTG. You should have it knocked way down after two WTG passes, with no trauma to the face. Then do a careful ATG pass. Keep the lather wet, and reapply as needed. Lower your shave angle for that ATG action and stretch the skin tightly. Stretch upstream, against the grain. This exposes more whisker. Do that on the WTG passes, too. If the razor is extremely sharp, comparable to a good DE blade, and the angle is dead flat, practically dragging the spine on the face, then you can try a little more pressure. TRY, anyway. It might not be a thing for you. Also if you shave in the morning, get up early. Take a walk. Have a nice quad shot cappuccino to get your day off to a good start. THEN hydrate (preferably in the shower) and shave. Don't shave when your face is still all bloaty in the morning and you are barely awake. You could also try a cold water lather on the final pass. Might work for you, might not. A good alum rub before the ATG might help, too. Try different stuff.

A big fluffy badger holds a lot more lather, easier to re-lather and kinder to your skin. Sure, a boar attacks hard soap with a fury, but blooming the soap makes it easy for a badger to pick up plenty. Sure, a boar exfoliates, but three sessions under a big silvertip does, too. Try a Virginia Sheng 30mm silvertip, or one from Whipped Dog. It's like a tank of lather. It will help you keep your face slick as you carefully navigate your face with that sharp razor in the deadly direction.

And another thing... make sure you are getting all the sharp you can on that razor. Try refreshing on a three stage balsa progression, and thereafter hit it after every shave with only the .1u balsa, light pressure, balsa held in hand, one end up and one end down.

 

[ajduplessis]

Is it possible to get a BBS shave with a straight? Yes it is very possible but there are details thats important to achieve this, some already covered. It took me around 120 shaves to have the experience and knowledge to get to BBS. Your shaving knowledge and experience must evolve in order to improve. The devil is in the details...

Hydrated beard
Wet lather
Sharp razor acroos the entire blade lenght
Map your beard and follow this during shaving
Perform 3 passes wtg, xtg, atg following beard map
Stretch the skin
No blade pressure
Use short overlapping strokes
Be patient and become proficient using both hand (ambidextrous)
Stop using DE crutches
Buffing on difficult/multi directional beard areas

Getting a close comfortable shave is a lot easier with 2 wtg passes than chasing BBS.

 

[ajduplessis]

XTG and ATG following beard map

http://instagr.am/p/B8EqvxRnseU/

 

[Seveneighth]

Is it possible to get a BBS shave with a straight?

Yes. Eventually you should be able to achieve BBS with fewer passes than with your DE, and grow back might be slower than with the DE. It will take time to get to this though. The different elements of shaving (lather, brush, stropping, prep) need to be more precise to make the whole shave good, covered by the advice from others, above.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

Thanks. I'm going to go at it again next weekend after I return from work travel. I've bought a Whipped Dog badger from BST forum and also a horsehair brush - we'll see if those help. Also planning on the balsa + 0.1u diamond paste. I've been shaving at night to allow myself time and to make sure any weepers/ nicks don't look fresh at the office. But still doing a long warm water face wash before the shaves.

 

[RayClem]

Whether you need a BBS shave may depend more on your rate of beard growth than anything else. It also depends upon your circumstances. If you shave in the morning, but often have meetings at night where you need to look clean-shaven, a BBS shave might enable you to achieve that look without shaving in the evening.

Also, remember that a straight razor is simply a tool for shaving. Sometimes I will shave with a straight razor and then pick up a DE razor for clean-up of those areas of the jawline and chin that are difficult for me to get BBS using a straight due to weird changes in grain direction. Although that method might not be acceptable to the straight razor purist, if you are unable to achieve the closeness of shave you want with a straight alone, you might want to add a DE to your shave routine.

 

[steveclarkus]

Officially finished me third full-on straight razor shave. I’ve been using a Tanifuji Cape 1000 after about a month or so of shavette shaving. I’m at the point where I’m successfully avoiding nicks (knock on balsa wood) and suffering only one or two weepers that disappear after a cold water rinse. But I’m not at BBS level yet. After two passes, I’ve knocked down all the stubble even at the jawline, chin and mustache areas - I definitely “look” shaved - I’d rate most patches at DFS/CCS (smooth WTG, soft stubble AGT), with the neck being closer to CCS/SAS.

Is it possible to get a BBS shave with a straight? I enjoy using one, but still eye my DE with longing occasionally for its ability to get me BBS each and every time. Right now I’m pretty damn proud to be wiping the hair away under my nose and across my chin with no blood in the process, but still miss that smoooooooth feeling after its all done.

I used Proraso pre-shave and Mitchell’s shave soap, but I may not be getting the lather quite right yet with this boar brush I’ve started using. Post shave is Nivea post-shave balm and a splash of Fine American blend on the neck and back of the head.

Eventually, yes. The SR will give you the best shaves you have ever had. The way you get there is to keep shaving. All will fall into place a bit at a time.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

Used the straight today after nearly a week on the road for work. I used my shavette in the hotel Tuesday night and probably had the worst shave in my life - too many variables from home - so just let the beard grow the rest of the time. This morning’s SR shave was nice, noticeably better than last time around - there are definitely patches of BBS on my face and even the neck is DFS. I’m finding for whatever reason the space between my cheekbone and my upper lip is where I’m still nicking myself. I think the major transition for me is having like only an inch of blade to work with on the shavette while the SR obviously is twice the length and therefore requiring different lateral angles.

Getting there. I also have a slightly used Norton 4k/8k on the way and also a 10k Naniwa that was half-price on Amazon because of a broken corner. I bought a used Radiumite SR to practice honing on. Next (and hopefully last for a while) purchase will be some diamond spray and balsa wood.

Upward and onward.

 

[steveclarkus]

For the cheek bone to the upper lip, I stretch my skin toward my ear and go ATG toward my lip. Works for me. Also would suggest diamond paste rather than spray so you can control the amount more easily. Very little diamond should be used.

 

[Tom Gabison]

For me, going from the SR to the DE gives me a noticeable worse shave, in closeness, feel, smoothness and cutting power.
Once you get used to the SR it will be the only real choice. Or maybe my DE skills has just plummeted after mainly using my SRs.
But my skin hates the feel of DE blades, that I'm sure of.

Yep I always come back to straights. It is just much more comfortable.

 

[Jakebullet]

I get a bbs every single morning from any straight I use. I think it took around 40-50 shaves to be getting daily bbs but once you unlock the potential of the straight there’s no going back.

 

[Bjlefebvre]

Used a Radiumite 6/8” razor that I picked up butter-knife dull and was able (with some beginner’s luck) to hone to a serviceable sharpness, finishing with a Naniwa 10k. This was probably my best straight shave so far. Really close, and only a nick on my chin to mar the overall. I kind of like the feel of 10k on my cheeks and neck - a little more smooth than my Tanifuji with a sharper edge - but I feel I need something more for my chin. I had to go over that area several times to completely clear the stubble (hence the nick).

But I’m definitely getting there. Muscle memory is taking over. I’m going ambidextrous and remembering to skin stretch.