Hi all!
So, first a little background. I’ve been DE shaving since 2009, and in 2014, I traded a SuperSpeed I wasn’t using for a Gold Dollar straight and a Whipped Dog Poor Man’s Strop. I used it a few times, nicked the hell out of the strip, and gave up on it. The straight sat In a drawer for 6 years, unused. The strip eventually got tossed away, because it was so nicked and cut up.
I decided a few weeks ago to give it another shot. I’m working from home for at least a few more months, which means I have a little more time on my hands, to give the straight razor another go. So, thanks to a fellow B&B member who honed my razor up for me (thanks global_dev!), and a new Poor Man’s Strop, today was my first straight razor shave in six years!
it had been long enough, and I’d had so little experience, I basically approached this like a complete beginner, and had low expectations. I did two passes: one WTG, and one XTG, which is exactly what I do with my DE. Some things I noticed:
1.) I was experiencing the blade dragging a little on my first pass. I chalk this up primarily to an under-hydrated lather; slick enough for DE and slick enough for the straight are not the same thing, and I need to remember that. I wet my face between passes and when I re-lathered, I could tell that helped. The second pass was better.
2.) Six additional years of DE shaving experience made me more confident this time around, and made this go much faster than I remember. The whole process, including a shower beforehand, took about 40 minutes. Longer than the DE takes me, but not too bad.
3.) in some spots, the results are equal to what I get with a DE, which actually surprised me for a first shave! In other areas it’s not quite as good, but still a decent shave. This is encouraging, as I’m bound to improve.
4.) With the DE, my XTG pass starts from the ears and goes inward, ok both cheeks. I could not find a way to feel comfortable doing that with the SR, so instead I went from my cheeks outward towards my ear. I don’t know if this is how everyone else does it, but it seemed to work for me.
After the shave, I did 30 very slow laps on the strop, ready to go tomorrow or Monday (I usually shave every other day). I’m planning to stick with the SR at least through the end of the year, and then we’ll see from there.
So, first a little background. I’ve been DE shaving since 2009, and in 2014, I traded a SuperSpeed I wasn’t using for a Gold Dollar straight and a Whipped Dog Poor Man’s Strop. I used it a few times, nicked the hell out of the strip, and gave up on it. The straight sat In a drawer for 6 years, unused. The strip eventually got tossed away, because it was so nicked and cut up.
I decided a few weeks ago to give it another shot. I’m working from home for at least a few more months, which means I have a little more time on my hands, to give the straight razor another go. So, thanks to a fellow B&B member who honed my razor up for me (thanks global_dev!), and a new Poor Man’s Strop, today was my first straight razor shave in six years!
it had been long enough, and I’d had so little experience, I basically approached this like a complete beginner, and had low expectations. I did two passes: one WTG, and one XTG, which is exactly what I do with my DE. Some things I noticed:
1.) I was experiencing the blade dragging a little on my first pass. I chalk this up primarily to an under-hydrated lather; slick enough for DE and slick enough for the straight are not the same thing, and I need to remember that. I wet my face between passes and when I re-lathered, I could tell that helped. The second pass was better.
2.) Six additional years of DE shaving experience made me more confident this time around, and made this go much faster than I remember. The whole process, including a shower beforehand, took about 40 minutes. Longer than the DE takes me, but not too bad.
3.) in some spots, the results are equal to what I get with a DE, which actually surprised me for a first shave! In other areas it’s not quite as good, but still a decent shave. This is encouraging, as I’m bound to improve.
4.) With the DE, my XTG pass starts from the ears and goes inward, ok both cheeks. I could not find a way to feel comfortable doing that with the SR, so instead I went from my cheeks outward towards my ear. I don’t know if this is how everyone else does it, but it seemed to work for me.
After the shave, I did 30 very slow laps on the strop, ready to go tomorrow or Monday (I usually shave every other day). I’m planning to stick with the SR at least through the end of the year, and then we’ll see from there.
