I guess I can still start late. Better late than never! I guess I have to skip over the first month of this, but I will give a summary.
I started off about a month ago, June, with a double edged safety razor. I believe it was a Merkur Classic, but the "set" I got didn't specify. I got a razor, stand, and Col Conk brush. I also got an EJ stainless bowl. Once I realized that the razor wasn't a Merkur HD, I went and ordered one of those! The AD was already setting in. I started out with Col Conk soaps and a tube of CO Bigelow cream. My lathering abilities weren't the best. I ended up picking up a Flair Tip on the BST and my desire to acquire vintage razors began. I then got a Slim Adjustable, Fat Boy, British Tech, Super Adjustable Black Handle... A bunch of stuff. I ordered some better soaps and creams, so I got some Tabac and TOBS Sandalwood. I picked up a bigger bowl at Walmart as well and the combination of the two helped improve my lather immensely. My shaves were ok. Not the best, but I was usually pressed on time in the morning and being in the military, I tried real hard to get a BBS every day so I didn't show up to work with stubble and get yelled at. After a month I started to get a decent technique down, especially with my Slim Adjustable which became my razor of choice. I liked that I could keep it dialed down to something really mild, but turn it up a little bit if I had to. I narrowed my blade preference down...etc. Everything was coming into place... until... a straight I ordered from the BST came in. I was hooked! I picked up a linen and leather strop from a local barber supply store while waiting for my poor man's strop kit to come in.
Shave 1 wasn't a HUGE disaster. I managed to do 3 passes, though I got a TON of irritation. Not much blood was shed. I was using wayyy too much pressure. I loved every second of it though.
Shave 2 was a bit better. I was able to make much slicker lather after realizing that my lathering abilities were not up to par for straight shaving. I got an almost BBS shave in with out too much irritation, but I did leave some nice lines on my face from horizontal movement of the blade. I wasn't confident in my strokes and when putting the blade down to my face I slipped up a little. No biggie. I think it looks cool, the SWMBO says it looks like I was attacked by a cat. Whatever.
Shave 3 was just a WTG pass. Not bad, but not very close at all. No complaints, still learning. My stropping abilities aren't too bad I assume, being that I'm not getting any tugging and I am able to cut whiskers.
Shave 4, today, was with some Tabac. I washed my face first with a Col Conk puck I have. My lather was slick. I did a one pass shave, WTG, and I really went slow and focused on getting as close as possible with one pass without causing damage. I still have trouble with the neck and chin, as my neck hairs grow in crazy directions and the chin, well, the chin is just difficult. I also tried going ATG on my mustache after going WTG and that was very hard to get a smooth stroke in. I cut myself a little bit. Maybe because I didn't do an XTG pass first? I find it hard to really stretch/flatten the skin on my mustache in a way where I don't end up cutting my lip.
Tomorrow is my first day back at work, I was on leave for a week so I had all the time in the world this past week to shave and take my time. I'm hoping I don't revert back to the DE tomorrow morning but I might have to in order to get a quicker/closer shave while I'm in a rush in the morning. I don't have to be in until 9 because I'm going somewhere for training so that buys me a little extra time to shave. I can't wait!
Thanks for reading. I welcome any constructive criticism to anyone who wants to read through my rambling. I will try and be as brutally honest as possible here so that any issues I have can be fixed.
I started off about a month ago, June, with a double edged safety razor. I believe it was a Merkur Classic, but the "set" I got didn't specify. I got a razor, stand, and Col Conk brush. I also got an EJ stainless bowl. Once I realized that the razor wasn't a Merkur HD, I went and ordered one of those! The AD was already setting in. I started out with Col Conk soaps and a tube of CO Bigelow cream. My lathering abilities weren't the best. I ended up picking up a Flair Tip on the BST and my desire to acquire vintage razors began. I then got a Slim Adjustable, Fat Boy, British Tech, Super Adjustable Black Handle... A bunch of stuff. I ordered some better soaps and creams, so I got some Tabac and TOBS Sandalwood. I picked up a bigger bowl at Walmart as well and the combination of the two helped improve my lather immensely. My shaves were ok. Not the best, but I was usually pressed on time in the morning and being in the military, I tried real hard to get a BBS every day so I didn't show up to work with stubble and get yelled at. After a month I started to get a decent technique down, especially with my Slim Adjustable which became my razor of choice. I liked that I could keep it dialed down to something really mild, but turn it up a little bit if I had to. I narrowed my blade preference down...etc. Everything was coming into place... until... a straight I ordered from the BST came in. I was hooked! I picked up a linen and leather strop from a local barber supply store while waiting for my poor man's strop kit to come in.
Shave 1 wasn't a HUGE disaster. I managed to do 3 passes, though I got a TON of irritation. Not much blood was shed. I was using wayyy too much pressure. I loved every second of it though.
Shave 2 was a bit better. I was able to make much slicker lather after realizing that my lathering abilities were not up to par for straight shaving. I got an almost BBS shave in with out too much irritation, but I did leave some nice lines on my face from horizontal movement of the blade. I wasn't confident in my strokes and when putting the blade down to my face I slipped up a little. No biggie. I think it looks cool, the SWMBO says it looks like I was attacked by a cat. Whatever.
Shave 3 was just a WTG pass. Not bad, but not very close at all. No complaints, still learning. My stropping abilities aren't too bad I assume, being that I'm not getting any tugging and I am able to cut whiskers.
Shave 4, today, was with some Tabac. I washed my face first with a Col Conk puck I have. My lather was slick. I did a one pass shave, WTG, and I really went slow and focused on getting as close as possible with one pass without causing damage. I still have trouble with the neck and chin, as my neck hairs grow in crazy directions and the chin, well, the chin is just difficult. I also tried going ATG on my mustache after going WTG and that was very hard to get a smooth stroke in. I cut myself a little bit. Maybe because I didn't do an XTG pass first? I find it hard to really stretch/flatten the skin on my mustache in a way where I don't end up cutting my lip.
Tomorrow is my first day back at work, I was on leave for a week so I had all the time in the world this past week to shave and take my time. I'm hoping I don't revert back to the DE tomorrow morning but I might have to in order to get a quicker/closer shave while I'm in a rush in the morning. I don't have to be in until 9 because I'm going somewhere for training so that buys me a little extra time to shave. I can't wait!
Thanks for reading. I welcome any constructive criticism to anyone who wants to read through my rambling. I will try and be as brutally honest as possible here so that any issues I have can be fixed.
My samples of Mikes soaps came in yesterday, finally. It took about a month so I guess he's really backed up. I'll try a practice lather tonight or use it tomorrow morning.
