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My Straight Shaving Journey

Before going out tonight, I saved up some New Year's stubble. I used a plain hot shower for prep, and lathered up some Proraso right onto my face.

Deciding to use the above-mentioned 13/16 Faultless for shave #64, I went to work. I wanted to get a really smooth shave, so I took my new 3 pass approach: opposing double XTG passes, and a regular ATG. I've got to say, I love the size of the blade. It lends some rigidity and quietness, which I like, but I'm really liking the way hollow ground razors maneuver on my face. Maybe it was the weight or something, but it cut ATG very easily. I experienced none of the pulling on my follicles I usually do when going ATG on a hollow.

I've managed to get BBS everywhere except my chin, which is still pretty DFS. No irritation on this one, but one small nick which closed up with a splash of cold water.
 
Quick double XTG this morning with the Faultless, which I'm going to try for awhile to see how I like it. Prepped with a regular hot shower, washed my face with some Noxzema, and lathered up the ol' Monsavon in my scuttle.

Got a close, comfortable shave. I'm really big on the larger hollow - less blade chatter than a 5/8, but more feedback than a wedge. The edge is nice and sharp, but not ultimo sharpness like my former Yankee hollow. And it shaves fairly smooth, but not quite as smooth as my Sheffield wedge. But for some reason, it feels as gentle as can be on my face. No nicks, or even a bit of irritation on this one. Very quick - for me - at under 10 minutes, from when I start building lather, to the splash of ASB on my face.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Quick double XTG this morning with the Faultless, which I'm going to try for awhile to see how I like it. Prepped with a regular hot shower, washed my face with some Noxzema, and lathered up the ol' Monsavon in my scuttle.

Got a close, comfortable shave. I'm really big on the larger hollow - less blade chatter than a 5/8, but more feedback than a wedge. The edge is nice and sharp, but not ultimo sharpness like my former Yankee hollow. And it shaves fairly smooth, but not quite as smooth as my Sheffield wedge. But for some reason, it feels as gentle as can be on my face. No nicks, or even a bit of irritation on this one. Very quick - for me - at under 10 minutes, from when I start building lather, to the splash of ASB on my face.

I have that sometimes with a new blade, time to adjust and then it becomes better!
 
Right you are. In fact, it improved just a touch this morning. Where am I, 66? My usual stropping routine is 50 on fabric and 50 on latigo right after shaving. Then just before shaving, while my scuttle water is heating up, I do another 50 on horse hide. Really smoothens out the edge. Very comfortable. ATG/XTG on my cheeks. WTG/XTG/ATG everywhere else. I'd put everything as BBS, except that gloriously difficult spot on the right side of my neck, right above by adam's apple. The angle is just impossible with the way it grows (sideways), and the length of an ordinary straight razor. Still DFS, but it's going to nag me until the end of time.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Right you are. In fact, it improved just a touch this morning. Where am I, 66? My usual stropping routine is 50 on fabric and 50 on latigo right after shaving. Then just before shaving, while my scuttle water is heating up, I do another 50 on horse hide. Really smoothens out the edge. Very comfortable. ATG/XTG on my cheeks. WTG/XTG/ATG everywhere else. I'd put everything as BBS, except that gloriously difficult spot on the right side of my neck, right above by adam's apple. The angle is just impossible with the way it grows (sideways), and the length of an ordinary straight razor. Still DFS, but it's going to nag me until the end of time.

You will get there eventually... That's a lot of stropping but if it works better, why not!
 
67 was done a touch differently. Normal triple pass shave; however, instead of using my big old Faultless on my neck, I switched to my much small Crown razor and added an extra pass. That seemed to take care of things. My face was as smooth as an android's bottom. Now, I'm not saying Cella is better than other soaps out there..... but that's just what I happened to be using, and it always leaves my skin very soft.
 
68 today, and it was wonderful. Hand lathered an amazingly dense, creamy Monsavon lather to start, then proceeded with my full wedge. Triple pass, with a touch up on my trouble area (stupid adam's apple!), but there isn't a patch of ubble on my face. My girlfriend can only wish she was this hairless. A little bit of burn on my upper lip, but that generally comes with the territory.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
68 today, and it was wonderful. Hand lathered an amazingly dense, creamy Monsavon lather to start, then proceeded with my full wedge. Triple pass, with a touch up on my trouble area (stupid adam's apple!), but there isn't a patch of ubble on my face. My girlfriend can only wish she was this hairless. A little bit of burn on my upper lip, but that generally comes with the territory.

On your upper lip try WTG-XTG-XTG. For some reason, I get a BBS on that spot when I do that with a straight.
 
I'm getting the feeling that won't really work (I'll try it though). WTG on my upper lip doesn't do all that much, and a XTG/XTG is DFS anyway. Impossible tot ell really, unless you happen to run your hand right agaisnt the grain..... uh, which I happen to do during the day, from time to time.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I'm getting the feeling that won't really work (I'll try it though). WTG on my upper lip doesn't do all that much, and a XTG/XTG is DFS anyway. Impossible tot ell really, unless you happen to run your hand right agaisnt the grain..... uh, which I happen to do during the day, from time to time.

The other way around would be to do a between XTG-ATG. We shall call this BXATG :tongue_sm (Between Across-Against the grain)
 
69 dude.

Walked to a little antique mall down the road this morning, looking for salvageable straights or hones - big fat waste of time. So, I had a soup and sandwich, and went home for a hot shower, since it was so cold outside. Hand lathered some Cella, which turns out much more dense than lathering in my scuttle. Went back to my full wedge instead of my Faultless, along with a triple pass shave. With a little touch up, I managed a BBS shave. So, so smooth. I cleaned up with an alum block, no irritation. All that was required afterward was a thin layer of aftershave balm.

A big difference I noticed was my big german razor has a much longer blade and thicker scales, making fine maneuvering a bit on the tough side. Makes me think I should have it shortened and rescaled into a light mini razor.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
I would recommend getting a smaller razor before you do that! Anyways, that's how it started for me...
 
Number 70.

It felt like a Monsavon day today, so I washed my face in some hot water, and just started with a face lather. Excellent, thick lather using my Rooney 1/1. I went with the ol' 3 pass shave, because smooth is what I was craving. Of course, my neck required a couple of touch up passes. Wonderfully smooth, but my neck received some irritation from all the passes. Everywhere else felt great when the alum block hit my skin, though. It's over 12 hours, and I'm still feeling DFS.
 
71, and not much different today than yesterday. Except using my new Semogue Limited Edition boar. Triple pass, along with a touchup on my right jaw/neck. Smooth as anything I've achieved, so i think I'm getting used to my bigger Faultless and its obscenely thick scales.
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
71, and not much different today than yesterday. Except using my new Semogue Limited Edition boar. Triple pass, along with a touchup on my right jaw/neck. Smooth as anything I've achieved, so i think I'm getting used to my bigger Faultless and its obscenely thick scales.

That's interesting. I used different straights on a regular basis instead of using a single one. You're progression is awesome!

At one stage it feels that you don't notice any improvement. Then, it's a lot closer. I'm guessing it's getting closer and closer without you noticing it.

:thumbup1:
 
It's just the scales. They're gigantic, man! The blade itself isn't even 1/4" longer than my wedge, but the scales give it an inch in length, and are almost double the thickness of my other 5/8 razors.

I really like using just one razor for a while, especially when it's brand new to me. Really helps me to develop a feel for things, and then I'll be able to trade off and use a different razor whenever I feel like. i've got a Genco coming my way too, so I'd better get things handled in the meantime.
 
I could've sworn I posted yesterday.

Oh well. I'm up to 73 shaves, and it's going well. I was short on time, and ended up using almost no prep aside from face lathering with some hot water. Good lord, my Semogue LE 2009 hogs lather like it was going extinct. However, it's got a nice density, and the tips are pretty soft. Since I didn't prep well, I only did a double XTG pass. Good DFS. Still looks clean, and my skin is smooth, but with just a bit of stubble.
 
So my latest razor acquisition came in yesterday, found it after coming home from work and the gym. A Genco fluid steel, with some celluloid ivory scales. Left Coast DJ packaged it amazing... both packaged in bubble wrap and boxed with some foam packaging peanuts.


I decided to run up shave #74 today, after a nice hot shower. A little Proraso face lather and I was set. A small pass on my cheek revealed a bit of a touch up, so I ran it on the CrOx. Man, it just cut through my facial hair like it was nothing. Really smooth and sharp, even though I see a very small chip in the blade, so I guess it doesn't affect performance any. Just when I thought I liked larger, heavier blades, this light, little Genco comes through and proves itself a winner. Love to have some american steel back in the shave den.
 
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