Hello there folks
I've been a blade nerd for decades. If I had to choose the time that I decided I was a blade nerd, it was when my late uncle John took a look at a Russel belt knife that I had sharpened and said to my father "I can't put a better edge on that than he already has." That's spilled over into my EDC pocket knives (my favorite is a Zero Tolerance 0561 with a semi-tanto tip that I put on it after the original tip chipped) and my kitchen knives (pre-WWII Sabatier or hand-forged Japanese). I've also ended up with a reasonable range of sharpening paraphenalia - the ones that see the most use are handheld ceramic hones for my kitchen knives and an Edge Pro fixed-angle sharpener with Naniwa Chosera water stones up to 10K. Yes, I'm actually that weirdo that actually wore out his 400 water stone by fixing other people's knives and had to replace it. (Don't worry, I bought two this time).
I've also been wet shaving for a half-dozen years. Using a safety razor gets me a closer shave with less irritation than I ever experienced with a cartridge razor. My all-time favorites are Shark blades and the Blades Grim Smolder soap.
I did experiment with a shavette using those same Shark blades, but found that it was a substantially less comfortable shave than the safety razor, and was more likely to end up in nicks. No surprise.
After coveting a good straight razor for the entire time that I've been wet shaving, I finally bit the bullet last week and bought a Dovo Bismark from a reputable vendor here in Canada. They promise that everything they ship will arrive shave-ready. I have no straight razor point of comparison - but a quick hair test on my arm demonstrated that right out of the box, the edge was hair-popping sharp and then some.
Prior to my first shave, I took care of one other detail - I made a strop. It's 3" wide, no handle. The front side is 4 ounce "glass jack" - a vegetable tanned harness leather. It's the smoothest leather that I've been able to source. The back side is a 4 ounce oil tanned, and is the softest leather that I've ever gotten my hands on. Because the flesh side of that leather is so smooth and has so little additional material, I went flesh side out. My hope is that it will approximate canvas or coarse denim/dungaree material.
After availing myself of the great resources here on stropping - and how to hold a razor when stropping - I did 20 laps on each side, and set to shaving. I had a few days growth on my cheeks and neck (I have a beard, and working from home does offer some perks!). I focused on being slow and consistent and did not worry about getting the closest shave possible. Using a combo of shave oil and soap that I know works well for me, I was able to achieve a comfortable shave with no nicks and minimal irritation after the fact.
A big thank you to this forum for the knowledge that I've gleaned in my years of lurking...the wet shaving techniques that I've been using for a long time are 100% from the wiki posted here, and I can guarantee that without the knowledge I've found here I would not have ended up with such a positive first experience with a straight razor.
I've been a blade nerd for decades. If I had to choose the time that I decided I was a blade nerd, it was when my late uncle John took a look at a Russel belt knife that I had sharpened and said to my father "I can't put a better edge on that than he already has." That's spilled over into my EDC pocket knives (my favorite is a Zero Tolerance 0561 with a semi-tanto tip that I put on it after the original tip chipped) and my kitchen knives (pre-WWII Sabatier or hand-forged Japanese). I've also ended up with a reasonable range of sharpening paraphenalia - the ones that see the most use are handheld ceramic hones for my kitchen knives and an Edge Pro fixed-angle sharpener with Naniwa Chosera water stones up to 10K. Yes, I'm actually that weirdo that actually wore out his 400 water stone by fixing other people's knives and had to replace it. (Don't worry, I bought two this time).
I've also been wet shaving for a half-dozen years. Using a safety razor gets me a closer shave with less irritation than I ever experienced with a cartridge razor. My all-time favorites are Shark blades and the Blades Grim Smolder soap.
I did experiment with a shavette using those same Shark blades, but found that it was a substantially less comfortable shave than the safety razor, and was more likely to end up in nicks. No surprise.
After coveting a good straight razor for the entire time that I've been wet shaving, I finally bit the bullet last week and bought a Dovo Bismark from a reputable vendor here in Canada. They promise that everything they ship will arrive shave-ready. I have no straight razor point of comparison - but a quick hair test on my arm demonstrated that right out of the box, the edge was hair-popping sharp and then some.
Prior to my first shave, I took care of one other detail - I made a strop. It's 3" wide, no handle. The front side is 4 ounce "glass jack" - a vegetable tanned harness leather. It's the smoothest leather that I've been able to source. The back side is a 4 ounce oil tanned, and is the softest leather that I've ever gotten my hands on. Because the flesh side of that leather is so smooth and has so little additional material, I went flesh side out. My hope is that it will approximate canvas or coarse denim/dungaree material.
After availing myself of the great resources here on stropping - and how to hold a razor when stropping - I did 20 laps on each side, and set to shaving. I had a few days growth on my cheeks and neck (I have a beard, and working from home does offer some perks!). I focused on being slow and consistent and did not worry about getting the closest shave possible. Using a combo of shave oil and soap that I know works well for me, I was able to achieve a comfortable shave with no nicks and minimal irritation after the fact.
A big thank you to this forum for the knowledge that I've gleaned in my years of lurking...the wet shaving techniques that I've been using for a long time are 100% from the wiki posted here, and I can guarantee that without the knowledge I've found here I would not have ended up with such a positive first experience with a straight razor.