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- #421
@AimlessWanderer and @Clay S -- Very helpful information. Thank you. I am going to give this a try. I have some Frankincense and Lavender EO...and I enjoy both scents. I must do some small batch testing. Stay tuned!
Rusty Blades Wet Shaving Journey
- Thread starter Rusty Blade
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- #422
Random Thought #19: Last year I did a little experiment to pass the long winter months to determine the best preshave routine. I concluded that glycerin soap and Proraso preshave creams worked the best, followed in third place by a warm water splash. Since that time I have come to realize that the best preshave is no preshave product at all or just warm water. Now, I should clarify that this is for DE shaving only and this preshave routine works best when I shave before I shower. And I get incredible shaves.
I still go through a more rigorous preshave routine when I shave with a SR. This includes a hot towel and usually Proraso Preshave Cream. I find I need to really soften my whiskers when I put a straight razor blade to my face.
I still go through a more rigorous preshave routine when I shave with a SR. This includes a hot towel and usually Proraso Preshave Cream. I find I need to really soften my whiskers when I put a straight razor blade to my face.
When you use them do you use the glycerin soap in conjunction with the Proraso or is it one or the other?
I read an article - a reproduction of 1960s shaving advice a few months back saying that the most important preshave step was to wash the protein covering the hairs - best done by washing with hot water. Since then I have washed with glycerin and applied a softening preshave - usually Proraso.
I can't work out if it makes a noticeable difference but I certainly don't haven't had a bad shave any time I've prepped that way.
Interested in your experiences - especially with straight shaving. As I get older it is a harder battle to soften the beard to shave ...
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- #424
I generally use one or the other. You can use both. I enjoy Proraso preshave because I like the scent. But glycerin soap does the job adequately as well. I think I have come to the conclusion that you really don't need any preshave product to get a good shave...other than warm water. And for that matter, to get a good shave all you really need is a razor and a soap puck. You wet the soap puck and rub it on your face. No fancy stuff like a brush and no need for a post shave product either. But that's no fun. It is so much more enjoyable to purchase nice gear and products and enjoy the journey as much as you enjoy the outcome. I like a nice preshave cream that goes on slick and even if it is just in my imagination, I like to think it improves my shave. Certainly my grandfathers didn't go for any of the creams and fragrances and often they didn't have a brush. They just stropped their razor, splashed on some warm water, lathered up and shaved. For me I find the extra effort to soften my beard before a straight razor shave makes a difference.
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- #425
Random Thought #20: Yesterday all the planets lined up and I scored two tubes of Institut Karite Post Shave Balm at Marshalls...for a third of their retail price. In the past I have used the Institut Karite shave soap and it was very nice. I have been wanting to try this product for some time now, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the $29 they were asking online. I was practically giddy walking to the cash to pay for them. The scent is mild...I would say a 3 on a scent-strength scale out of 10...so that is acceptable. I have been lucky on more than one occasion at Marshalls or Winners to find wet-shaving products. Always a treat to score a good deal.
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- #426
Random thought #21: When I have with a straight razor I use both hands. I learned this very early in my SR shaving experience because it is darn near impossible to safely shave your whole face with just your dominant hand. This morning I was shaving with a DE razor and it occurred to me that I shave with only my dominant hand. And it feels very awkward using my non-dominant hand to shave the other side of my face. I suppose it is just like SR shaving in that I would quickly adapt, but I think for now I will just use my dominant hand. Just an observation. That was it...carry on.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
Dominant hand only for me. I've far more control there, than I'll ever have with the left hand. I have tried left handed, but it was more hassle than it was worth.
Yeah, some of the areas are tricky using just one hand, but I'm not drawing blood, and would prefer to keep it that way. I'll stick to the left hand being in charge of checking for missed stubble, smearing lather in areas I need to overshave, and generally playing a supporting role.
Yeah, some of the areas are tricky using just one hand, but I'm not drawing blood, and would prefer to keep it that way. I'll stick to the left hand being in charge of checking for missed stubble, smearing lather in areas I need to overshave, and generally playing a supporting role.
Safety Razor always my dominant hand - can't imagine using my other.
Straight razor: I used to only use my dominant hand. In fact that's how I was taught. Something about you only use your sword hand...
But what I've come to realise in recent years is that you need more skill to shave one handed because you have fewer angle options - that and a sharper blade. I thought I would try the two handed malarky and now it seems an effort to go back. Sometimes when I'm tired I find myself falling back into one handedness.
Straight razor: I used to only use my dominant hand. In fact that's how I was taught. Something about you only use your sword hand...
But what I've come to realise in recent years is that you need more skill to shave one handed because you have fewer angle options - that and a sharper blade. I thought I would try the two handed malarky and now it seems an effort to go back. Sometimes when I'm tired I find myself falling back into one handedness.
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- #429
Random thought #22: Pasted strops. I have never used a pasted strop and I don't really see the need to use one. I know many swear by them as a way to keep a keen edge on a blade, but I just don't see the value. I like a clean strop. Pasted strops is one of those classic YMMV SR things. I hone my blades, use them regularly and strop on leather before each shave and a few laps after to ensure the edge is dry. And my blades are very sharp. I fall back on the maxim that my grandfather never used pasted strops, therefore I don't need to use one either.
Have always used paste. But that's only because I didn't know any better.
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- #431
I am curious...did you find that using paste affected your blade in a negative way? And did you have a second strop that did not have paste?
So ... Don't forget I was shaving looong before the internet and just off what I was taught originally. I didn't have access to proper shaving supplies and I didn't know what was correct.
I basically used a couple of paddle strops and when the leather started to wear I would dress them with neatsfoot.
On one of the strops I was very blasé about pastes. I would get different jewelers rouges and work them in. I had some diamond paste I threw on at one stage. No idea what micron rating that was. If it was too harsh I would dilute with tivoli paste. There was no science. Just an abrasive strop and a plain one.
I was shaving exclusively with a couple of Sheffield razors and I suspect that made things easier maintenance wise.
These days I am more precise based on what I've read on the forums. On leather I like the Solingen paste crayons and a good CrOx. The black crayon gives a nice buff before the leather.
For stainless blades I do like the diamond pasted balsa, but to be honest I find it effort to maintain and get out so I don't use it much.
I have never got into canvas strops.
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- #433
Random thought #23: Linen or canvas Strops. It seems every strop you buy comes with a leather and a linen strop. I am not sure why this is so. As I understand it, the purpose of stropping is to polish the mirror edge. And leather alone does this quite well. When I first started shaving with a straight razor I used a leather board strop and that worked just fine. I even used a newspaper strop for a while and that seemed to do the trick as well. I did try the linen / canvas strop for a bit, but it didn't seem to do what I wanted in terms of polishing an edge. I appreciate this is a YMMV thing, and everyone seems to have a different philosophy about stropping. On what kind of surface and for how many laps on each...before and after shaving...and sometimes during (I just don't get the purpose of stropping between passes).
I have tried all different combinations (with the exception of pastes) and I have found my Goldilocks zone for stropping. Before a shave I strop 30 laps on leather. After my shave I dry my edge with a tissue and then strop for 10 laps on leather. No linen, no newspaper, no pastes. My edges are good, my shaves are great. I think the key is to not shave with a SR unless you have a properly honed blade. Stropping a dull blade is not going to do very much. My grandfathers used a simple leather strop. That's good enough for me. I like to keep it simple.
I have tried all different combinations (with the exception of pastes) and I have found my Goldilocks zone for stropping. Before a shave I strop 30 laps on leather. After my shave I dry my edge with a tissue and then strop for 10 laps on leather. No linen, no newspaper, no pastes. My edges are good, my shaves are great. I think the key is to not shave with a SR unless you have a properly honed blade. Stropping a dull blade is not going to do very much. My grandfathers used a simple leather strop. That's good enough for me. I like to keep it simple.
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- #434
Thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like you have found what works for you. The forums have been a great place to learn from the experience of others.
Well I am always messing around ... Easily bored and I like trying new things. At the moment I am on a quest with Coticules!
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- #436
Random thought #24. Strop maintenance. This one is easy. Nothing more than rubbing an open palm on it for a few strokes before I strop my blade. No oils, conditioners...nothing. Over time my strops have developed a wonderful feel.
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- #437
Random thought #25: My daily DE blade is the Gillette Silver Blue. I have tried many and I do have a few favourites (Derby Extra, Astra SP) that I use on occasion, but the GSB is my absolute favourite. I get a smooth shave from day one and they easily last 7 shaves. And every shave is smooth. I am sure I could stretch it to 10 or maybe even 14 shaves, but I like to switch my blade every Sunday. Just my habit.
But, having said all that, the one thing I don't like about the GSB is the little dabs of wax on the blade. These little dabs of wax do accumulate on the inside of my razor and I have to take a moment when I switch my blade to scrape off the wax. Now I acknowledge that if this is my biggest complaint, that I am doing well, but it is just a minor annoyance. I am not even sure of the purpose of the wax. Is it to close the wrapping? Or is it the by-product of production?
But, having said all that, the one thing I don't like about the GSB is the little dabs of wax on the blade. These little dabs of wax do accumulate on the inside of my razor and I have to take a moment when I switch my blade to scrape off the wax. Now I acknowledge that if this is my biggest complaint, that I am doing well, but it is just a minor annoyance. I am not even sure of the purpose of the wax. Is it to close the wrapping? Or is it the by-product of production?
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- #438
Random thought #26. One, two or three pass shave. Some time ago I challenged myself to do full 3 pass shaves every day for one week. I did this challenge to prove to myself that having a BBS shave was not the end of the rainbow of wet-shaving. It was okay, but it just seemed to take a lot of time every morning only to feel skin with no stubble on it. And even then that feeling only lasted a couple of hours. I abandoned that pursuit quickly and went back to my one pass with buffing to obtain a perfectly acceptable morning shave without all the fuss of three passes.
In my view trying to obtain a BBS shave is like trying to shovel the driveway in the middle of a snow storm. It just keeps growing. Not only that, in the morning when I did shave, there didn't seem to be much stubble to work with. My father only did a one pass shave with some buffing in the difficult areas. If it was good enough for him it is good enough for me. I am not sure where the three pass shave originated. Just not my thing I guess. YMMV...of course.
In my view trying to obtain a BBS shave is like trying to shovel the driveway in the middle of a snow storm. It just keeps growing. Not only that, in the morning when I did shave, there didn't seem to be much stubble to work with. My father only did a one pass shave with some buffing in the difficult areas. If it was good enough for him it is good enough for me. I am not sure where the three pass shave originated. Just not my thing I guess. YMMV...of course.
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- #439
Random thought #27: When I am home during the day I like to reapply my aftershave mid-morning...just because I enjoy the scent...and because it feels good. Kinda weird eh?
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- #440
Random thought #28: I seem to be leaning away from my minimalist leanings. I am going to eliminate my pre-shave and post-shave astringent products. Once I finish my two tubs of Proraso preshave cream and my Lucky Tiger...I am going to simplify my shave to razor, brush and soap (or cream)...preferably unscented...and an ASB (also preferably unscented).
I may keep a stick of alum handy on the shelf in the bathroom just for those days when a weeper may appear mysteriously. Eventually I will use up the few remaining scented soaps and ASBs in my closet shoe box...and then I will select one unscented soap or cream and ASB to form the basis for my minimalist kit.
It all sounds so simple doesn't it...but yet, I know the little demon on my left shoulder (appropriately called "The Enabler") is always tempting me with another purchase.
I may keep a stick of alum handy on the shelf in the bathroom just for those days when a weeper may appear mysteriously. Eventually I will use up the few remaining scented soaps and ASBs in my closet shoe box...and then I will select one unscented soap or cream and ASB to form the basis for my minimalist kit.
It all sounds so simple doesn't it...but yet, I know the little demon on my left shoulder (appropriately called "The Enabler") is always tempting me with another purchase.
