What's new

Newbie Checking in, $400 spent, no shave yet

Welcome to B & B where the people are amazing and the information abounds by all of us occasionally exploring rabbit holes along with bouts of RAD, SAD, BAD.... and several other related acquisition disorders 😆

But seriously you did your homework and it sounds like you are starting on a firm foundation.
I'm trying to keep it under control. Been browsing and shopping a lot lately, so I don't know for sure. I do realize something is that, me like a lot of other guys/gals in here are into old, long (depends), and hard things like vintage cast iron, knives, hones, and razors. Razor was the last thing I got myself into. I feel like I belong, but at the same time, some folks in here with these acquisition disorders are at another level, which scares me. Tim got enough whetstones to build himself a castle/tomb.
 
Last edited:

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
@WenC you will be good SR shaving with Proraso. I started my SR journey with Proraso green cream. Then I discovered ARKO. My girlfriends loved ARKO's citrus scent with floral undertones.
 
@WenC you will be good SR shaving with Proraso. I started my SR journey with Proraso green cream. Then I discovered ARKO. My girlfriends loved ARKO's citrus scent with floral undertones.
And they say it smells like urinal pucks.
Yeah. .right! I don't know of any urinal pucks that smell anything close to your description of this fine soap.
 
Anyone who begins using a straight razor not only on their dominant hand side but both sides of their face is cool in my book. Crazy likely, yet very cool. Welcome and share some pics and lots of progress reports please.
 
Just had my first shave today. I think my fili is in good condition to begin with so u just honed it on 8k, Dan's surgical black, then stropped. I nic the strop, in my head thinking no way that happened. I moved on to lathering. I wiped out a good thick lather straight from the container. Put some in my hand and turned it upside-down. Stays in shape with a tip (check). Then I used the brush on my face. Man this thing is thick. It's like peanut butter thick. I'm thinking this probably ain't right. As long it shaves I'm good right. So I moved on. Took out the SR and shaved. Going very slow. First pass. All good. Tiny blood from pimple I never noticed. Not my fault. However while I was going slow, left to right, the lather already starting to dry up. As I got to my right side. The lather is flicking off like snowflakes. Yup I got confirmation lather is too thick. I went and grabbed a dipping bowl so I can lather again. I added a little bit more water to the bowl and wiped almost a pint of ice cream out (happy national ice cream day, I guess). Moving on to second pass, ATG, the struggle is real while I go slow, still manage to cut myself on the left top lip. Not too bad, washed my face. Feeling my face for third pass to use my bowl of lather. Two whiskers above the lip where I cut myself at. Damn.
 

Attachments

  • 20220709_151244.jpg
    20220709_151244.jpg
    686.1 KB · Views: 9
Nice job! I have always had trouble with Proraso if I need to shave slow, even if well hydrated. I would think you should probably stick to WTG and/or XTG for the first few shaves, you can always do multiple XTG passes. Try to think about areas where the mechanics of getting the blade angle/position right are difficult before beginning a stroke, the consequences are high for guessing without experience. This applies more to ATG passes, but still watch BOTH the toe and heel at the beginning of the stroke and where it will end up at the end.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
@WenC, congratulations on your first traditional straight razor shave.

Sounds like you had the wrong lather for SR shaving. Start with a very wet relatively thin lather. Most SR shavers are not concerned about "cushion", whatever that is. Later, as your technique improves, you can gradually thicken up and/or dry out your lather to your preference.

Nicks from SR shaving are usually caused by a recalcitrant razer. Have some stern words with it to try and correct its behaviour 😁.

As usual, watch your edge pressure against the skin (even lighter than you think is possible), shave angle (keep it at about ½ or even a bit less to 1 spine thickness) and skin stretching.

Stop trying to cut your whiskers. Just try and remove the lather without cutting whiskers. If the edge is keen enough, you will fail and end up with a close shave.
 
Last edited:

Whisky

ATF. I use all three.
Staff member
Welcome to B&B. When you get a chance head over to the Hall of Fame and tell us a little about yourself.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
@WenC how you making out? Get your lather squared away yet? Try face lathering. You don't shave your bowl, so no sense lathering it. Wet your brush, give it one gentle flick to dump the excess water, and swirl around on top of your proraso a bit to pick up some product on the bristle ends. Wet your face again, apply brush. The lather should explode. Wet your brush again as needed, make a perfect lather right there on your face, while you are exfoliating and working those whiskers at the same time. If your lather dries out, just pass the brush tips quickly under the faucet and hit your face with it, repeat as necessary. A good brush holds enough product for a three pass shave right there in the brush. Water and a little action is all it takes to bring it out.

Nearly EVERYBODY nicks up their first strop, which is why we generally recommend not getting a premium strop right off the bat. If it is a leather only strop, with a D ring on either end, just hang it the other way up, assuming that the nick is near the right hand edge. This puts it on the left hand edge where it isn't much of an issue unless you have a narrow strop. Otherwise you may be able to disassemble your strop and swap ends with the leather and put it back together with that nick on the far edge.

I didn't see this thread until now so I didn't post the shave vid but you can find it elsewhere on the forum. I have posted it about a kadiddlyjillion times already but I will put it up here again if you haven't already ran across it and want to see it.

Only one cut on first shave isn't bad. Some guys end up looking like they have been sorting wildcats all morning.
 
@WenC how you making out? Get your lather squared away yet? Try face lathering. You don't shave your bowl, so no sense lathering it. Wet your brush, give it one gentle flick to dump the excess water, and swirl around on top of your proraso a bit to pick up some product on the bristle ends. Wet your face again, apply brush. The lather should explode. Wet your brush again as needed, make a perfect lather right there on your face, while you are exfoliating and working those whiskers at the same time. If your lather dries out, just pass the brush tips quickly under the faucet and hit your face with it, repeat as necessary. A good brush holds enough product for a three pass shave right there in the brush. Water and a little action is all it takes to bring it out.

Nearly EVERYBODY nicks up their first strop, which is why we generally recommend not getting a premium strop right off the bat. If it is a leather only strop, with a D ring on either end, just hang it the other way up, assuming that the nick is near the right hand edge. This puts it on the left hand edge where it isn't much of an issue unless you have a narrow strop. Otherwise you may be able to disassemble your strop and swap ends with the leather and put it back together with that nick on the far edge.

I didn't see this thread until now so I didn't post the shave vid but you can find it elsewhere on the forum. I have posted it about a kadiddlyjillion times already but I will put it up here again if you haven't already ran across it and want to see it.

Only one cut on first shave isn't bad. Some guys end up looking like they have been sorting wildcats all morning.
Hey thanks. I saw your video. Crazy to start shaving from throat up. Mad man. Yeah. I have been watching videos about face lathering. Trying to see if that's the way to go for me. I will do that next time. I'm still figuring out the balance between light to heavy lather. My first lather was too heavy. I have been switching between DE shaving and SR Shaving. I won't stop, don't worry. I love sharpening. I'm taking my time finding the best sharpness for my SR. Thanks. I will update once I see improvement with more free time.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Hey thanks. I saw your video. Crazy to start shaving from throat up. Mad man. Yeah. I have been watching videos about face lathering. Trying to see if that's the way to go for me. I will do that next time. I'm still figuring out the balance between light to heavy lather. My first lather was too heavy. I have been switching between DE shaving and SR Shaving. I won't stop, don't worry. I love sharpening. I'm taking my time finding the best sharpness for my SR. Thanks. I will update once I see improvement with more free time.
Well, if you want sharp, if you REALLY want sharp, you could try The Method. However, it only works as advertised if you follow the directions exactly as directed. Most guys don't, and get "good" results but not "sharper than DE" results. The guys who do everything exactly according to The Method get very very sharp edges, sharp enough that you have to change your shave a bit, lowering the shave angle to minimum, and stretching the skin with extra care and vigor. I think it is worth it.
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
I have been lurking in the forum for about two weeks now. I started with one shaving cream gift from a friend but I don't even shave with DE or SR. However, I'm a knife user with enough whetstones (1K/6K combo, and 3K/8K combo). I'm always practicing to get better. After 2 years, I finally want to start shaving with SR. First, I'm a person who likes to be practical and use everything I have without being wasteful, so I try to get the best of things within a reasonable budget. I got my Filarmonica 13 for first razor, then I figured I need gold dollar 66 to practice before I ruin my fili. After that, I need a strop. Researching in the forum, I got TM No.2 Strop. Then 0.5 micron films and Dan's ultra fine Black Arkansas, just to be safe. Stirling Soap Co full badger brush. I'm ready to go to the flea market this weekend to check if I can find some stones.



Nice gear.



Am I one of you now, what else am I missing?



1662652460809.png



Happy shaves,

Jim
 
Top Bottom