I'm embarking on my SR shaving journey

[icemanjs4]

Time for today's update. SR Shave #6, this time with my brand new Dovo Bismarck.

Definitely a different experience from using the shavette (Feather SS). For starters, there were lots of subtle misses that with the shavette would have led to gashes, that didn't draw blood at all. MUCH more forgiving.

The counterpoint is that it wasn't nearly as sharp as the shavette. I could feel the friction/resistance of each pass.
Because it was my first shave with a real straight, I opted for a 3 pass. I know I promised I'd tone it down, and I will from now on - but I just needed the comparison to the previous 5 shaves.

All said and done, I ended up with a DFS (BBS in a few spots), with 0 major cuts, and a handful of nicks/weepers. MUCH better.
I do have a specific grip/technique question, but I'll move that to a separate thread.

Also, to @Slash McCoy and @Biltong & Boerewors , I cannot thank you enough for the tip to approach strokes with a swooping in motion. There were many spots (XTG/ATG) where starting from a standstill wouldn't work, but adding the motion beforehand made a huge difference.

This is going to be a fun and painful journey!

 

[rbscebu]

Once you get into diamond pasted balsa strops, the Bismarck's edge will be getting closer to (or possibly even better than) a Feather blade's edge.

 

[icemanjs4]

Once you get into diamond pasted balsa strops, the Bismarck's edge will be getting closer to (or better than) a Feather blade's edge.

Hahaha, y'all are really pushing me into the balsa strops. As soon as I finish reading a very long thread - I'm ordering the parts!

On a different note - I've spent my whole life HATING shaving, and now I look forward to it as the best part of my day. I also haven't gone a day without shaving in months (between DE and now SR shaving). Who knew.

 

[rbscebu]

Hahaha, y'all are really pushing me into the balsa strops. As soon as I finish reading a very long thread - I'm ordering the parts!

On a different note - I've spent my whole life HATING shaving, and now I look forward to it as the best part of my day. I also haven't gone a day without shaving in months (between DE and now SR shaving). Who knew.

We knew. We just had to convince you.

 

[rbscebu]

For decades I shaved Monday, Wednesday and Friday only and hated it. Then I discover SR's almost two years ago. Since then I have happily shaved daily and twice a day if I can think of any reason to do so.

 

[icemanjs4]

Nothing but solid advice from the gents on this thread. My advice in the beginning that I think is most important “Stick with it, don’t give up”. If you do that you will find your technique. Pay attention to every detail in the shave, it tells a story. When you get a memory line and donate a bit of blood, figure out at that moment how you did it. Don’t repeat. I would also advise that you take the Heirloom strop purchased and put it away until you can strop any other strop for at least 5 weeks without a nick. Cheers!

Wow - I love the way you phrased that "memory line" .

Out of curiosity, are the nicks to the strop inevitable? When I practice the stroke on my leg with an unloaded Feather SS, the motion seems easy. Spine leading stroke. Come to a complete stop. Rotate on the spine. Spine leading stroke. Come to a complete stop, rotate on the spine. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Is it just the mindless motion that gets away from you leading to the nicks?

 

[rbscebu]

....
Is it just the mindless motion that gets away from you leading to the nicks?

Yes, and the same happens when you are shaving with a SR.

 

[Mountain Grown]

Wow - I love the way you phrased that "memory line" .

Out of curiosity, are the nicks to the strop inevitable? When I practice the stroke on my leg with an unloaded Feather SS, the motion seems easy. Spine leading stroke. Come to a complete stop. Rotate on the spine. Spine leading stroke. Come to a complete stop, rotate on the spine. Rinse, lather, repeat.

Is it just the mindless motion that gets away from you leading to the nicks?

For me it was more muscle memory and it took time to learn, just like shaving with SR without getting nicked up. Good news your face heals up quick, not so much with the strop.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Time for today's update. SR Shave #6, this time with my brand new Dovo Bismarck.

Definitely a different experience from using the shavette (Feather SS). For starters, there were lots of subtle misses that with the shavette would have led to gashes, that didn't draw blood at all. MUCH more forgiving.

The counterpoint is that it wasn't nearly as sharp as the shavette. I could feel the friction/resistance of each pass.
Because it was my first shave with a real straight, I opted for a 3 pass. I know I promised I'd tone it down, and I will from now on - but I just needed the comparison to the previous 5 shaves.

All said and done, I ended up with a DFS (BBS in a few spots), with 0 major cuts, and a handful of nicks/weepers. MUCH better.
I do have a specific grip/technique question, but I'll move that to a separate thread.

Also, to @Slash McCoy and @Biltong & Boerewors , I cannot thank you enough for the tip to approach strokes with a swooping in motion. There were many spots (XTG/ATG) where starting from a standstill wouldn't work, but adding the motion beforehand made a huge difference.

This is going to be a fun and painful journey!

View attachment 1310517View attachment 1310518

The Bismarck style blade is the most ergonomic of any of the commercial offerings. Dead easy to use and learn. I must echo @rbscebu remark that the balsa will be a total game changer. When you master that, you will find that your Bismarck can indeed match a shavette for sharpness.

Just remember everything in the thread. Don't dismiss any detail as unimportant if you want best results. Some details will seem unnecessarily difficult to implement but they all have a reason. You will be starting with what, for us, is a very dull edge, and it may require several hundred laps on the .5u balsa to catch up. After that, the usual 50 to 100 laps on the other two, and then daily use of just the .1u and the edge should actually improve slightly during the first couple weeks of use.

Remember to keep your shave angle low and tight, when you begin shaving with your balsa edge. Stretch tightly! Bismarck blade + balsa edge = shaving bliss. It won't bite you quite as eagerly as the shavette due to the solid one piece blade and well muted toe and heel, but don't get careless or you will pay.

Here's what you can do when you have a Method edge. Keep in mind that this is a significantly inferior razor to the Bismarck, mostly due to the very crude and rude bevel angle.
More Gold Dollar Stunt Shaving! Shaving several weeks growth with a Gold Dollar #66 Straight Razor! - YouTube

Notice the start of the shave, ATG in the face of significant growth. You won't do that comfortably with any other sort of edge. And I get a perfectly acceptable shave with a single pass, in spite of having just removed probably 6 weeks worth of beard. Bismarck performance with the same edge is even slightly better. It's magic. But don't let your edge fall off too much or the .5u won't be able to catch up and you will need a finishing stone or film first. You COULD go with four stages, starting with 1.0u but I generally do not like to do that.

 

[icemanjs4]

hey @Slash McCoy, all of this reminds me - Do you have any more of the cheap Gold Dollar razors for sale? It might be nice to have a "practice razor" to go along with my practice strop and balsa strops.

 

[McBlade]

Out of curiosity, are the nicks to the strop inevitable? When I practice the stroke on my leg with an unloaded Feather SS, the motion seems easy. Spine leading stroke. Come to a complete stop. Rotate on the spine. Spine leading stroke. Come to a complete stop, rotate on the spine. Rinse, lather, repeat.

When I got my first strop - a cheap one, thankfully - I thought to myself "no way I'm going to nick this. I'm not stupid.... oh bugger."

Cut to pieces.

 

[McBlade]

PS: I've been using straights for almost a year and I hardly ever do more than a single WTG pass.

If I am chasing BBS I'll use a DE. It just seems a better tool for that job.

 

[Slash McCoy]

hey @Slash McCoy, all of this reminds me - Do you have any more of the cheap Gold Dollar razors for sale? It might be nice to have a "practice razor" to go along with my practice strop and balsa strops.

Nah. I haven't been messing with them lately. Too much on my plate so taking sabbatical from that. I am actually surprised someone else hasn't stepped up to the plate in my absence. But you can always get one on fleabay or ali express. An unhoned one shouldn't cost over $5 as the wholesale price is like $2 per, IIRC for the model 66. I used to have a guy on fleabay who sold them to me, shipped free, 10 for $32.70 and I would buy from him instead of the factory until he failed to ship an order for 60 razors. That's when I started dealing with the factory and they are kind of a PITA to work with. Anyway if you just want one, I suggest instead you get a half dozen at least, try to get a break on the price, and then you have material for the annual GD modification competition. WHen you only have one, you will be scared to try anything.

For your own shaving use, I recommend the P-81 as it is much easier to tune up and hone up for use than the 66. Expect to pay around $7 to $10 for a single one, unhoned. You will know this razor by the "1996" mark on the shank and the 2 dimensional scales cut out of a sheet of 1/8" red or white acrylic. The 100, 200, 300 models are available in either carbon or stainless steel but they are not marked accordingly. They cost a good bit more but nicer razors. I had a favorite but I forget which one. The 800 is stainless and I like it a lot. It was GD's premium model but now there is the 900 and it has heavy clunky scales and is way overpriced. THe "00" series can be hard to find at a good price. So I recommend first choice the P-81, second choice the 208, third choice good ol' #66.

 

[icemanjs4]

My Heirloom strops have arrived today - and they look fantastic! Pictures coming soon.
The original plan was to use the "fast bridle strop" as a practice strop - but even that one is a beauty that I hate to ruin... I don't think I can justify buying a cheap one on Amazon to shred though...

 

[rbscebu]

A strop is just a tool to use in shaving and a consumable item. It is designed to be cut up. That gives you a reason to buy more of @Tony Miller's strops and keep him in business.

 

[icemanjs4]

A strop is just a tool to use in shaving and a consumable item. It is designed to be cut up. That gives you a reason to buy more of @Tony Miller's strops and keep him in business.

But it's literally called "Heirloom"

 

[Robert Anderson]

My Heirloom strops have arrived today - and they look fantastic! Pictures coming soon.
The original plan was to use the "fast bridle strop" as a practice strop - but even that one is a beauty that I hate to ruin... I don't think I can justify buying a cheap one on Amazon to shred though...

Well, you are probably going to shred your first one. So would you rather it be one from Amazon or one from Tony?

 

[Mountain Grown]

My Heirloom strops have arrived today - and they look fantastic! Pictures coming soon.
The original plan was to use the "fast bridle strop" as a practice strop - but even that one is a beauty that I hate to ruin... I don't think I can justify buying a cheap one on Amazon to shred though...

Put that practice strop to use! If I remember it’s less than 3” width. Great time to practice your X strokes. You will need it when you pick up honing with your new stones. The practice strop is just as good as the heirloom, enjoy.

 

[icemanjs4]

Ok so I did a bunch of practice stropping on my Shavette (sans blade) on the fast bridle practice strop and felt confident. So I moved over to the Bismarck on the practice strop... somewhere around 20 laps in, I got my first minor nick. It's crazy what a tiny lapse of concentration it takes. Ended up hitting the strop 2 or 3 times, but no real damage (yet) - always on the end of the up-stroke (strop hanging from top of a door).

 

[rbscebu]

Be careful when stropping with your Bismarck. Damaging the strop can also easily damage the edge. A properly honed edge is very delicate and can be easily damaged.

Try lowering the attachment of the strop. I prefer my Strops attached at about navel height. It's just a personal preference thing.