Perfecting your technique as you perfect your honing

[Seg85]

Is hard. Lots of troubleshooting to be done and it's always an interesting exercise to tell opportunities for technique improvement over a dull razor. Today I shaved with the newest project I've been working with (No scales, but can ping / cut arm hair without touching the skin) and just the initial pass on my cheeks was good enough to leave no stubble. Shaved the other side with my previous project (which I already believed to be quite sharp!) and found a very resounding contrast.

Wish I knew that factory SR's weren't shave ready and started sending one off to a honemeister! This will be my legacy to anyone starting, and hopefully by then I'll be able to put a great edge on any piece of metal

Today's shave was 8/10 comfort, but 6/10 results and had to finish it off with a gilette

Looking forward to my next shave!

 

[global_dev]

good luck! doesn't take too long t work out the basics. what are you using to hone?

 

[Seg85]

Cheers! Definitely having a blast and can achieve a decent shave, the main idea is to keep at it and see where we get to. I've read enough to understand that chasing a BBS is not ideal

I'm currently using about 600 grit sandpaper to set the bevel and then working a 12,9,5,3,1,0.5 lapping film progression , waiting on CrOx and IrOx to be delivered to put on a balsa strop.

 

[rbscebu]

Seg85, I was like you when I started in SR shaving. I had no reasonable access to a shave-ready SR or someone who could hone. I had the buy a "sharp" SR from China and try to properly sharpen it with the limited equipment that I then had. I started with a 1k synthetic, 3k Cnat, 8k Tnat, pasted denim strop and a clean leather strop.

Fortunately, I got that razor shaveable with my limited gear and started to learn what technique was all about.

While developing my technique, I read up on and set up my lapping films and diamond pasted balsa. With the guidance on B&B, I further developed that edge while also trying to improve my technique. It wasn't easy as I had trouble determining if a problem was technique or edge.

Over a couple of months of exclusive SR , it all started to come together. After over 150 SR shaves and 8 SR's, I now feel that my technique is pretty good and that I can get a SR to my shave-ready standard with little trouble.

The main thing is that I am now enjoying every shave I have.

 

[ajduplessis]

BBS lasts only 2-4 hours before you will start feeling hairs on the tough/difficult areas. Getting a quality shave is a lot more important IME.

 

[Seg85]

Great input everyone! I'll take the learning curve as it comes with the benefit of truly enjoying and being challenged by something that's just a chore otherwise

 

[Slash McCoy]

Since the ultimate test of a razor's edge is the shave test, obviously one must have a pretty decent shaving skill set before "perfecting" the honing skills. Plenty of guys have tried to start out with a dull razor and sharpen it themselves while learning to shave. Most throw in the towel after wasting considerable money and time. A few succeed but the process is frustrating and confusing.

 

[Seg85]

Hey Slash! Quitters gonna quit

 

[MurderousCrow]

Maybe to help your shaving skill evolve you could invest in a quality shavette, and perhaps use this every 2-3 shaves? With a fresh blade, you will know that any errors are down to your technique.

I used this method to get good at SR shaving, and the skills I got from using the shavette transferred directly to vastly improved SR shaves. Furthermore, when I was beginning I used far too high an angle which reduced the longevity of the edge a lot.

I now know that the edges on my self-honed SRs are not up to scratch - at least for head shaving. They do my beard area very well, but are slow going on the densely-haired parts of my scalp. I tend to use my AC SS razor for the overwhelming majority of my shaves, but plan to use a method outlined by @Slash McCoy for SR honing to improve the edges I get with the kit I have (Japanese synthetics).

I don't feel it's easy to chase both skillsets as a beginner; there are just too many variables in SR honing and stropping.

 

[Seg85]

Shavette is a great idea!! I'm pretty happy with how things are evolving at the moment but I'll definitely keep it in mind! Head shaving sounds hard, good on you mate! The Method by Slash is absolutely fantastic and got my razors to a new level of sharp! Can definitely preach it.

Cheers!

 

[quijas23]

you going to the gillete was what I did when I started: if I wasn't comfortable I would switch to the gillete.
After a while though it becomes second nature.
Only regret is that I did not start straight razor shaving sooner.

 

[LJS]

Don’t overlook or underestimate the importance of stropping and good stropping technique

 

[Seg85]

Great input from everyone, cheers for that!! I'll have to eventually get a new strop as mine was butchered by my first few passes when I started, but she'll be right Pretty happy with where things are at, the gilette is used less and less, just to touch up incredibly hard to get patches on my chin atm.

 

[duke762]

As my honing and stropping skills progressed, the trouble spots became less troubling. Better edges really helped things along. Still learning. Will always be learning. In a good spot now and I expect things to get even better.

 

[Ron991]

I have been using the same technique and in fact the same stone's since the mid 70's or there bouts. This soft Ark.stone I purchased in the early 70's. Soft stone first, then onto the black surgical Ark. A good stropping and I am good to go. Perhaps a bit "old school" but seems to be working out rather well for me.

 

[MickeyFinn]

I agree with Seg85 on using a shavette. I only recently dove into the SR shaving pool to add a little luxury to an otherwise mundane task and add a notch on my "real man" belt. When starting out there are two different variables us newbs have to work out: 1. shaving process & technique, 2. SR sharpening/honing & what sharp means. After trial and error trying to master both skills at once using my face as a canvas, I realized it's easier to split them into two different learning pathways.

Yes I wanted to jump in, buy a nice razor (I already bought 4), and start shaving. But it ended up being more "carving" as I didn't know if my technique was bad, the razor wasn't sharp enough, or most likely both. So I found it best to separate them into two learning pathways.

First, I took a step back and bought a shavette (based on BB reviews I went with a Feather Artist SS) got some blades (once again based on BB, I went with Feather Pro-guards to start) and worked on SR shaving technique with the knowledge that the blade isn't the problem. My advice: read a lot of BB, watch youtube videos, and practice.

For me the keys to a good shave are: Soak my brush in a mug of hot water while I'm in the shower, apply Proraso Pre-Shave after I dry off, smear a thumb tip of quality soap in a shaving bowl, squeeze the water out of my brush and work up a good lather (this is a skill by itself - remember it's easier to add water than take it away!), brush the lather into my face and get to work. I find it better to start from my neck and work my way up to my nose. That way I can stretch the skin with my free hand where there is no soap. I finish by rinsing my face with cold water, applying alum stick (if necessary), cleaning with witch hazel, and smooth it all out with Nivea sensitive post-shave balm.

Second, on a parallel thread, I started on sharpening/honing skills. In my case, I got a leather strop, lapping film, balsa, and diamond paste. Pulled out a razor and started on the lapping film. Sliced up the first piece in three strokes. Here's where I took a step back. I realized I had no idea what I was doing. How could I believe I could sharpen/hone a razor to a fine edge using delicate lapping film, when I don't even have the skills to hand sharpen a kitchen knife to slice paper-thin tomato slices?

My current learning process (and my recommendation for newb honers like me) is to pause on the advanced razor honing techniques and learn how to sharpen knives as an intro course. Burrfection has great set of youtube videos to teach knife sharpening on stones. I bought his Suehiro 4-Piece sharpening kit (which is nice: all stainless holders and comes with a great 1K and 5K stone that can be used to sharpen razors later), a diamond bench stone and have been working on all my old kitchen knives. I am learning how to set a bevel, sharpen, polish, and lap. Once I feel completely comfortable in that world, I'll take one of my old SR razors from eBay/Etsy and work on it using the stones, then lapping film and diamond pasted balsa.

I'm just enjoying the journey! My razor technique is getting better every day and my kitchen knives have never been sharper!

 

[Seg85]

Great post @MickeyFinn !! Awesome to hear you are enjoying your journey.
I just don't like buying stuff I don't need so I'd rather avoid the disposale SR step, even though that definitely would have helped!!! A few things clicked over the last month and I'm now able to pass HHT with my newest razor project, paired with some breakthroughs in the technique I'm more than excited to shave today

Cheers!

 

[MickeyFinn]

Great post @MickeyFinn !! Awesome to hear you are enjoying your journey.
I just don't like buying stuff I don't need so I'd rather avoid the disposale SR step, even though that definitely would have helped!!! A few things clicked over the last month and I'm now able to pass HHT with my newest razor project, paired with some breakthroughs in the technique I'm more than excited to shave today

Cheers!

Thanks Seg85! To be clear my SR practice razor isn't a throw away. Just an easy to use a 20-40 dollar rounded 5/8 hollow vintage dixie blade vs a 7/8 smiling 150-200 dollar high end razor. I still plan on putting it in the dopp kit for travel after the learning process.

 

[Seg85]

Great looking setup! And definitely a great idea. If I were to start over I'd consider it as it's always best to work individual variables at a time. The 7/8 has an impressive feel to it!! Keen to hear your experience with it vs the other ones