My straight razor journey

[McBlade]

It could take a bit of trial and error before you figure out a stropping/honing routine which delivers your perfect edge. That's where I'm at in my own cut-throat apprenticeship. I feel comfortable (but slow) shaving with a straight but I'm still trying to figure out how to keep it sharp.

I've got aluminium oxide lapping film, 30u-0.3u, plus CrOx and FeOx balsa strops. In the right hands I think this should be all you need but so far I can only just get an edge sharp enough to be usable.

On the plus side a mild blade is an easy, gentle shave. I picked up my (half DE) shavette recently and I actually got some blood on the wall. A milder edge does have some advantages even if it seems to scritch & scrape a bit.

 

[global_dev]

It's funny because with DE razors I prefer a milder razor with a mild-medium blade. But with this SR it's not cutting too well going with the grain, but okay with against the grain. Too much tugging in both directions. So maybe I'll consider trying to hone it on my 12k shapton then going back to the balsa strops before my next shave. If it's not sharp enough I'll consider taking it to the 8k stone, then 12k, then balsa. Worse case I can take it back to the 4k stone before progressing forward I think. I've never honed before so I'm a little hesitant to start on my ralf aust but I'm willing to give it a go.

Aidah, i've been using a straight for a while and i can tell you the edge you prefer is based on what you like.. i don't care much for very fine abrasives, they work great, but it doesn't at all stop me from enjoying the edges from naturals.

 

[Aidah]

Aidah, i've been using a straight for a while and i can tell you the edge you prefer is based on what you like.. i don't care much for very fine abrasives, they work great, but it doesn't at all stop me from enjoying the edges from naturals.

So it sounds like I want to get my straight's edge to a mild-medium sharpness as opposed to it's current mild one.

 

[trentr]

It's funny because with DE razors I prefer a milder razor with a mild-medium blade. But with this SR it's not cutting too well going with the grain, but okay with against the grain. Too much tugging in both directions. So maybe I'll consider trying to hone it on my 12k shapton then going back to the balsa strops before my next shave. If it's not sharp enough I'll consider taking it to the 8k stone, then 12k, then balsa. Worse case I can take it back to the 4k stone before progressing forward I think. I've never honed before so I'm a little hesitant to start on my ralf aust but I'm willing to give it a go.

Did I read where you were using a shavette? In my experience (limited) and in my reading, it seems that is not a good comparison. I was unsure about the sharpness of my edges. I only had used a shavette and I could not make my SR feel like the shavette. I bought a straight from a reputable seller known to make a sharp edge. Shaved with that and found my edge to be very comparable. However still feels far different from the shavette.

If you never have, try using a "known sharp" razor to get a base line.

Just throwing my limited experience out there in case it helps. I am by no means an expert as I am only a few months into my journey as well.

 

[global_dev]

So it sounds like I want to get my straight's edge to a mild-medium sharpness as opposed to it's current mild one.

this is where you need to step back and understand what's what in the world of edge preference.

It's funny because with DE razors I prefer a milder razor with a mild-medium blade. But with this SR it's not cutting too well going with the grain, but okay with against the grain. Too much tugging in both directions.

If you don't mind not chasing BBS read on, if you have to have BBS, this is where we part ways..

From my experience, WTG should feel really really good, it doesn't get 100% , but it should feel smooth and be super close, XTG should more or less get the rest for a really really nice shave, this is where i leave the shave.. no buffing, no major touch ups, no ATG for me.. in all honesty, mapping my beard felt tedious and unnecessary since i was never going for BBS anymore.

But the blade still needs to be sharp enough to do the ATG, and it all starts in the bevel set, not the polishing.. 2 things can be happening if you feel like an edge isn't nice enough, either the bevel isn't set anymore or it wasn't done well through the mid range and in both cases, i'm not sure 12K is gonna fix it, but there is no harm in trying it out.

If it's the bevel, then some time on 4K is warranted... if the jump from bevel to polish was made without great mid range, the polish isn't refining much..

Some people really enjoy the coticule or jnat finish, much softer and very keen, both very nuanced differences. still a great shave when the hones are up to the task.

 

[Aidah]

this is where you need to step back and understand what's what in the world of edge preference.



If you don't mind not chasing BBS read on, if you have to have BBS, this is where we part ways..

From my experience, WTG should feel really really good, it doesn't get 100% , but it should feel smooth and be super close, XTG should more or less get the rest for a really really nice shave, this is where i leave the shave.. no buffing, no major touch ups, no ATG for me.. in all honesty, mapping my beard felt tedious and unnecessary since i was never going for BBS anymore.

But the blade still needs to be sharp enough to do the ATG, and it all starts in the bevel set, not the polishing.. 2 things can be happening if you feel like an edge isn't nice enough, either the bevel isn't set anymore or it wasn't done well through the mid range and in both cases, i'm not sure 12K is gonna fix it, but there is no harm in trying it out.

If it's the bevel, then some time on 4K is warranted... if the jump from bevel to polish was made without great mid range, the polish isn't refining much..

Some people really enjoy the coticule or jnat finish, much softer and very keen, both very nuanced differences. still a great shave when the hones are up to the task.

Thanks for your input. I'm not chasing a BBS just hoping to get most of the hair shaved off in two passes with a SR. Ideally I'd have to look to see the hairs or I can feel them when rubbing ATG. From my understanding Ralf Aust Razors are supposed to come real shave ready, but seeing as how this is my first real straight razor I'm not sure what to compare it to. It could be sharp enough to shave but I'm thinking I want a sharper edge. So maybe I'll start off with the 4K stone then move to 8, 12, then the balsa strops. Time to watch 20 honing videos on youtube.

 

[global_dev]

Get yourself a second inexpensive razor. Try one of the gold monkeys or gold dollars that come modified/honed. Not oem.

its not the hardest thing ever to learn to hone while learning to shave, but its nice to have a reference.

its also not hard to muckup a decent edge.

 

[GraveDigger78]

Whatever you do don't rinse your Aust under the faucet! I dinged the blade on my 6/8 round tip Ralf Aust on the faucet by accident. It was like my 5th shave or so!

 

[Straight up]

GraveDigger78, I agree.
I have never rinsed my blades for two reasons:1 you might ding it, 2 water gets into the pivot & can lead to rust (long term issue). I prefer to wipe the cream & whiskers off onto a piece of toilet paper, similar to the way barbers do it. In this way the blade stays dry, I don't ding it, and I get less hair going down the drain.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I am also a newcomer. You might want to buy a Gold Dollar to practice your honing on, @Aidah. My recommendation is not to put your new Aust on anything courser than a 12k until you have done so with a practice razor. If you want to be really careful, use the practice razor on the 12k before the Aust. I bought my Gold Dollar P81/1996 from Amazon. I am no expert, but I was able to shave with the GD after a little work on a King 6k followed by my Naniwa 12k.

Then after stropping the GD on diamond paste on balsa, the sucker is really sharp.

 

[Aidah]

I am also a newcomer. You might want to buy a Gold Dollar to practice your honing on, @Aidah. My recommendation is not to put your new Aust on anything courser than a 12k until you have done so with a practice razor. If you want to be really careful, use the practice razor on the 12k before the Aust. I bought my Gold Dollar P81/1996 from Amazon. I am no expert, but I was able to shave with the GD after a little work on a King 6k followed by my Naniwa 12k.

Then after stropping the GD on diamond paste on balsa, the sucker is really sharp.

I got a cheap gold dollar 66 on amazon at the same time I ordered my Aust. I followed your journey on the other thread and used that as the basis for what I ordered. So thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Great! I would also spend some time watching honing videos to get the big picture and to develop intuition. I started out using two hands with my non-dominant hand helping to guide the blade and I am now beginning to develop a sense of touch for where the edge and spine of the blade are when using only one hand. This is definitely going to take time and practice!

This is one of my favorite videos because 1) he takes you through a full progression and 2) you can really see his motions and almost sense the feeling of the blade on the stone:

.

 

[Aidah]

Today was day 3 of using my Ralf Aust 5/8. Today's shave was a 7/10 but I tried a few new things to see if they improved the shave. I applied more pressure then I normally do when DE shaving as well as held it at a closer angle to my skin. My lather was on point so there was not as much tugging as I had been used to but there was still plenty of tugging involved.

I also cut myself in three places, very minor weepers and honestly I'm happy to see the blade cut more. I did two passes, with the grain and across the grain for my shave. I think taking it to the diamond pasted balsa strops after my last shave has helped out in making it a bit sharper. But it's still not as sharp as I would like it to be I think. So my next step will be to either attempt to hone it myself or send it off to be honed. I have a gold dollar 66 that I will practice my honing on before hand, but I'm still hesitant to take my Ralf Aust to the stone myself.

My stropping technique has definingly improved (after cutting my first cheap stop up). I've been practicing my stropping most days and I think I have a technique I'm now happy with. As an incentive to keep myself motivated I bought myself I got a Tony Miller strop to use in a few months when I'm more confident in my technique, as well as one of his practice strops. His practice strop is much nicer then the last one I used and after two days of using it, hasn't show any signs of cuts.

I'd like to thank you all with your suggestions for SR shaving. I plan to keep using it at least once or twice a week to work on my technique and have no intention of giving up. I won't be giving up DE shaving anytime soon but I'm dead set on reaching a point where I can get as good of a shave if not better with my SR than with my Karve. I'll keep this thread updated with my next shave.

 

[Aidah]

Sorry for the delay in posting. I didn't post after shave 4, as I was pretty sure my ralf aust isn't sharp enough to shave and I gave up halfway through. I ended up swapping to my de and finishing the shave that way. However I just acquired a recently honed Japanese Vintage 15/16 Hollow grind Razor and used it today for Straight shave #5. First off I can now say for sure that my ralf aust needs to be honed. This Japanese SR was decently sharp and as a result I was able to cut hair which resulted in me actually getting a shave in. Now I used too much pressure and cut myself about 5 times, but I'm overall happy. It's not my best shave by far but it gives me a real good starting point to practice my SR shaving. I'll be using this for most of my SR shave for the foreseeable future while I get my Ralf Aust honed. It's a much bigger blade at 15/16 but I think I like the extra weight in my hands. Now I really need to work on my technique to hopefully avoid as many nicks in the future, as well as cut down on irritation. I know I started building bad habits using a dull blade, but I'll be shaving at least 1-2 times a week with my SR to get it down. Does anyone have any suggestions for shaving the chin area? I found that gave me the most trouble and is where I cut myself.

 

[rbscebu]

My suggestion would be to shave every time with an SR. You can still use your DE to tidy up if needed. The best way to develop your SR technique is to use it and use it often. With each SR shave you learn a little bit more and start to solve those problem areas.

Maintain your Japanese SR with 50 laps on 0.1um hanging balsa after every shave. It just works!

 

[Aidah]

My suggestion would be to shave every time with an SR. You can still use your DE to tidy up if needed. The best way to develop your SR technique is to use it and use it often. With each SR shave you learn a little bit more and start to solve those problem areas.

Maintain your Japanese SR with 50 laps on 0.1um hanging balsa after every shave. It just works!

It'll likely end up being every other shave. I like my wolfman and Karve too much to not have them in my rotation. Plus as I learn I'll need to give my face some easy recovery after irritation. But speaking of the balsa strops I've already taken your advice there. When I got the japanese sr the first thing I did was do 50 passes each on the .5u .25u and .1 strop. After I finished shaving today I stopped it on cloth to dry it out then did 50 passes on the .1u before doing another 50 on my leather strop. I think that added to the increased sharpness on my shave tonight

 

[Frank Shaves]

Does anyone have any suggestions for shaving the chin area? I found that gave me the most trouble and is where I cut myself.

It sounds like you have made a lot of progress - so congrats on that and your determination!

I suspect there is no single key to shaving the chin area. I would watch some videos to get some ideas, try different facial expressions/contortions to stretch the skin, and try to gently shave downward over the chin/jaw line adjusting your angle as you go. Another idea is to practice shaving over your chin line using a butter knife or a Feather Artist Club straight without a blade.

BTW, the Feather Artist Club razor is a sweet little razor that is very convenient when traveling. I have a black SS which I really like.

 

[rbscebu]

It'll likely end up being every other shave. I like my wolfman and Karve too much to not have them in my rotation. Plus as I learn I'll need to give my face some easy recovery after irritation. But speaking of the balsa strops I've already taken your advice there. When I got the japanese sr the first thing I did was do 50 passes each on the .5u .25u and .1 strop. After I finished shaving today I stopped it on cloth to dry it out then did 50 passes on the .1u before doing another 50 on my leather strop. I think that added to the increased sharpness on my shave tonight

I was the same with my DE razors when I ventured into SR shaving. It can be a hard habit to break. In hindsight I now realise that I would have been better off doing more SR shaves early. You then soon learn that SR shaving can give you a longer lasting smooth shave without any irritation. I now only shave about once every month with my best DE razor, just to be sure to keep my skill level up.

When using your 0.1um diamond pasted balsa strop to maintain your SR edges, be sure to use it "hanging" and finish with about a dozen short X laps. You will notice the difference.

 

[global_dev]

just acquired a recently honed Japanese Vintage 15/16 Hollow grind Razor and used it today for Straight shave #5.

Beautiful blade! Use it in good health

 

[SterFry]

Some people really enjoy the coticule or jnat finish, much softer and very keen, both very nuanced differences. still a great shave when the hones are up to the task.

I'm about to take up honing myself and have been reading up on different types of finishers to purchase with a Norton 4/8k and Naniwa 12k. Which finisher do you recommend for somebody looking for smooth, comfortable and soft rather than crazy sharp?