Hello all,
I've just done my first 'real' shave. I've used cartridge razors since I began shaving around 28 years ago, yet have wanted to get into using a straight razor for the longest time. Today feels almost like a rite of passage, and so I recorded the process with pics and a couple of videos.
It went amazingly well. I shaved my head, and edged my beard. Demerits to me:
- shaky hands at the start. My heart was bumping along as I prepared, and began shaving!
- one small nick, I think of a spot at the back of my head
- a little diffuse razor burn, and some small hotter spots around my skull
- some instant, angry red spots on my neck where I tried to go ATG with minimal lather
I had around 3-4 days growth. I washed my scalp and beard beforehand with hot water and Body Shop sensitive skin soap. Lather was courtesy of Castle Forbes Sandalwood and a Vulfix 374s brush, whipped in a (too) small Anbbas bowl. The shave used my brand new Feather Artist Club SS with Proguard blade - arrived today from Japan. It felt incredibly forgiving, and I could quickly find a good angle of attack using auditory feedback as the blade began shaving.
(I should state I researched the process of straight shaving quite a bit beforehand, learning about good methodology. I watched some great videos by people including Geofatboy and Michael Freedberg, which helped immensely!)
With my cartridge razor I typically go ATG on my initial pass (my hair is quite fine). I touch up as required based on feel, and I can get BBS with no difficulty. Here, I went WTG, and performed between one and three passes. I went XTG over my temples and parietal cranium, but wasn't comfortable enough to even attempt this at the rear.
After between one and four passes, patiently re-lathering as required, I felt I was probably done. Today the WTG shave could not provide the instant feedback I usually get from feel, and I don't use a mirror to do the back of my head. So I asked my partner to come and evaluate the results. She pointed out just three small spots to touch up, which were quickly sorted. I rinsed, used an alum block which gave feedback but was not unpleasant, re-rinsed then applied my usual post-shave preparation: a light application of aqueous cream followed by some Old Spice lotion.
I had expected more cuts and more 'burn'. I was really careful, but I do also think the Proguard blades forgave a great deal. What I didn't expect, was how great my scalp and beard edges feel, following the shave! This may be down to the (excellent) Castle Forbes shave cream, or perhaps the alum, or maybe the razor itself.
What I do know for sure, is that I'm excited to do the next one!
Luke
I've just done my first 'real' shave. I've used cartridge razors since I began shaving around 28 years ago, yet have wanted to get into using a straight razor for the longest time. Today feels almost like a rite of passage, and so I recorded the process with pics and a couple of videos.
It went amazingly well. I shaved my head, and edged my beard. Demerits to me:
- shaky hands at the start. My heart was bumping along as I prepared, and began shaving!
- one small nick, I think of a spot at the back of my head
- a little diffuse razor burn, and some small hotter spots around my skull
- some instant, angry red spots on my neck where I tried to go ATG with minimal lather
I had around 3-4 days growth. I washed my scalp and beard beforehand with hot water and Body Shop sensitive skin soap. Lather was courtesy of Castle Forbes Sandalwood and a Vulfix 374s brush, whipped in a (too) small Anbbas bowl. The shave used my brand new Feather Artist Club SS with Proguard blade - arrived today from Japan. It felt incredibly forgiving, and I could quickly find a good angle of attack using auditory feedback as the blade began shaving.
(I should state I researched the process of straight shaving quite a bit beforehand, learning about good methodology. I watched some great videos by people including Geofatboy and Michael Freedberg, which helped immensely!)
With my cartridge razor I typically go ATG on my initial pass (my hair is quite fine). I touch up as required based on feel, and I can get BBS with no difficulty. Here, I went WTG, and performed between one and three passes. I went XTG over my temples and parietal cranium, but wasn't comfortable enough to even attempt this at the rear.
After between one and four passes, patiently re-lathering as required, I felt I was probably done. Today the WTG shave could not provide the instant feedback I usually get from feel, and I don't use a mirror to do the back of my head. So I asked my partner to come and evaluate the results. She pointed out just three small spots to touch up, which were quickly sorted. I rinsed, used an alum block which gave feedback but was not unpleasant, re-rinsed then applied my usual post-shave preparation: a light application of aqueous cream followed by some Old Spice lotion.
I had expected more cuts and more 'burn'. I was really careful, but I do also think the Proguard blades forgave a great deal. What I didn't expect, was how great my scalp and beard edges feel, following the shave! This may be down to the (excellent) Castle Forbes shave cream, or perhaps the alum, or maybe the razor itself.
What I do know for sure, is that I'm excited to do the next one!
Luke
