Sotiris' straight razor journal

[Sotiris_A]

It is very common that the temperature rises in the beginning of January here. And then it suddenly drops to normal temperature for the period, around 5 degrees Celcius. Fellow Greek wet shavers can use MdC during the winter, too. I just don't get along with it.

 

[Sotiris_A]

SR Shave #46 (#6):

• Pre-shave: Warm water and GFT Spanish Leather skin food
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Omega evo
• Cream: Geo F. Trumper Spanish Leather
• ASB: Geo F. Trumper Spanish Leather skin food

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: Excellent

Notes:

Pre-shave: 30 on English bridle. Post-shave stropping: 10 laps on napped leather, 30 on English bridle.

I forgot to write yesterday that I bowl lathered. I resort to it from time to time, in order to minimize irritation. In these cases, I also use my softest synthetics. I repeated the same today. Despite my inexperience with the bowl, it went remarkably well.

The edge feels great and my skin condition has significantly improved.

Happy shaves and have a great day!

 

[Billy T.]

The Spanish boy hasn't seen some love in quite a while. What's up with that

 

[Sotiris_A]

The Spanish boy hasn't seen some love in quite a while. What's up with that

I am a creature of habit, what can I say? If it works, don't fix it.

Mainly, I'm curious how many good shaves I can get with the edge I put in the round point one. I also feel safer having a shave ready razor as a backup, instead of two used up edges.

 

[Sotiris_A]

SR Shave #47 (#7):

• Pre-shave: Hot water and GFT Eucris skin food
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Omega evo
• Cream: Baume.be (sample)
• ASL: Furbo blu
• ASB: Noxzema 7 in 1

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: Not as close as yesterday, super comfortable.

Notes:

Pre-shave: 10 laps on napped leather, 20 on latigo, 20 on English bridle. Post-shave stropping: 10 laps on canvas, 20 laps on the leather side of my hanging strop and 20 on English bridle on the paddle. I wanted to check my technique with the hanging strop. It has improved, but I still feel that the paddle is doing a better job.

Since I am into creams and bowl lathering lately, I tried a sample of the Baume.be I have. This is the first cream I use that rivals soaps as far as slickness, residual slickness and ability to hold water. The scent isn't as great as the English creams I've been using lately, but performance is so good that I am tempted to get a tub.

The razor still does its part very well. Today it was at a disadvantage as my stubble was very short and I could have skipped the day, but what fun is that? So I did my best with the prep and the result is very good, though not as super close as yesterday.

Happy shaves and have a great day!

 

[Rosseforp]

Today it was at a disadvantage as my stubble was very short and I could have skipped the day, but what fun is that? So I did my best with the prep and the result is very good, though not as super close as yesterday.

I hate when that happens That sounds just like my Friday shave

 

[Sotiris_A]

I hate when that happens That sounds just like my Friday shave

There was no discomfort during or after the shave. It just wasn't perfect.

At least for the learning phase, I want to keep shaving daily. Once I feel more proficient, on days like today, I might switch to a mild DE or skip it. Of course, by that time, the weather will be warmer and stubble will be growing back quicker.

 

[TinyT]

Result: Not as close as yesterday, super comfortable.

You got the main part right.

 

[Sotiris_A]

SR Shave #48 (#8):

• Pre-shave: Hot water and GFT Eucris skin food
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Omega 10018
• Cream: MWF
• ASL: Speick
• ASB: Noxzema 7 in 1

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: Almost perfect.

Notes:

Pre-shave: 30 laps on English bridle. Post-shave stropping: 10 laps on napped cow leather and 40 on English bridle.

Back to face lathering, today. Not my best MWF lather, but it was good enough. I am tempted to stick to bowl lathering for now.

The razor feels very good. I inspected it today under the loupe. There are signs of use and the edge is definitely not straight near the tip, but it doesn't show during the shave.

Happy shaves and have a nice day!

 

[Sotiris_A]

Mail call!

I wanted to try some new soaps. Both of them are made in Italy. The Officina Artigiana is a quite new product and the cheapest of the two. Typical modern-era croap with 5 different oils in it, non-tallow. Nice modern scent and quite strong. I hope I won't get bored with it.

The other one is the Dolomiti from SV in the latest 4.3 base. It is also strong scented. I used to have a puck of Felce Aromatica. I liked it with a DE and I wanted to check this soap base out with a SR.

My favorite scent of the pack, was the no.89 EdT sample from Floris. Actually, after getting a sniff, I went straight to my computer to find where to buy a full bottle from...

On the late morning shave now.


SR Shave #49 (#9):

• Pre-shave: Hot water and bar of soap
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Omega evo
• Cream: Officina Artigiana Oli de Benessere
• ASL: None

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: Easy DFS, part BBS.

Notes:

Pre- and post-shave stropping: 20 on latigo, 20 laps on English bridle.

I took a sample out of the tub and bowl lathered. The soap is very thirsty and requires a very small amount, unless you want to spend more time adding water than shaving. It prefers a drier method. The slickness is very good, though at my first attempt and some test lathers later it seemed less slick than the Fat and Tabac at the maximum. However, for someone who likes a bit thicker lather and tons of residual slickness, its all there. Lather stability is very good, better than the Fat but worse than Tabac, though I don't know many soaps that rival it. By the end of the shave I managed to water it down too much but it got the job done well.

There was a bit of hesitation from the razor today but I will attribute that to the new soap and my technique. It felt somewhat sticky at times and I opened the angle, perhaps a bit too much at some spots. However, there was no blood.

I was afraid that the post-shave would be excessive. That wasn't the case. In fact, the face felt great, not heavy at all, contrary to some modern artisan soaps. I like it.

Cheers everyone!

 

[Rosseforp]

Interesting handle on the Evo

 

[Sotiris_A]

Interesting handle on the Evo

I find that one and the "ovale"

very comfortable.

 

[Sotiris_A]

This one is for my friend, Billy.

SR Shave #50 (#10):

• Pre-shave: Hot water
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Omega evo
• Cream: Saponificio Varesino Dolomiti 4.3
• ASL: None

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: Close and comfortable.

Notes:

Pre- and post-shave stropping: 20 on latigo, 30 laps on English bridle.

Time flies by so quickly. Halfway to the hundred-shaves mark.

SV is a superb soap. I followed the manufacturer's instructions, adding a thin layer of hot water at the top and use that water to make the lather. 10'' loading was more than enough for 4 passes. I had to add quite a bit of water to reach my preferred consistency. Maximum slickness can be easily reached and maintained throughout the shave. The level of slickness is one of the best I have experienced. At the same time it is reached in a medium to thin density, just as I like it. No need to have a creamy lather. It can also withstand quite some beating without turning frothy.

The scent of Dolomiti is present but not over-the-top strong. It felt nice during the shave and wouldn't distract from the task at hand. I prefer to the stronger-scented Felce Aromatica.

The post-shave was great for me. No aftershave needed and I didn't use one so as to assess the result the whole day.

The razor felt good, however it wasn't very efficient during the first two passes and I felt some tugging ATG on the chin. A small angle adjustment and it was back working properly. I think that I started developing the habit of increasing my angle and this is something to work on on the next 50 shaves. Most probably, I can get away with it while the razor is very sharp, but after a few shaves it shows. I'll pay attention to it tomorrow and assess if a retouch is due again.

Happy shaves everyone!

 

[Sotiris_A]

SR Shave #51 (#11):

• Pre-shave: Hot water
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Muhle STF XL
• Soap: MWF
• ASL: Aqua Velva

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: Close but not my most comfortable.

Notes:

Pre- and post-shave stropping: 40 laps on English bridle.

Something was off from the start, as I managed to cut my thumb after the pre-shave stropping session. It appears that the heel lies near the bottom of the scales, when the razor is closed. I placed my thumb there and was rewarded with a nice cut, around 7mm long. So today's first was shaving with a rubber glove.

The lather was great and if the edge was at a better shape this would have been a great shave. I need more shaves with the new soaps to make a more educated assessment, however my impression today is that the Fat is still my favorite.

Moving on to the shave itself, the razor felt great until the ATG pass, during which the edge felt prickly and there was a bit of tugging at some tougher spots. The angle wasn't the problem as I tried to lower it even further and the comfort didn't improve, on the contrary the razor became stickier. In the end I walked out of the bathroom without any nicks or irritation. But I didn't enjoy it.

This leaves me with some questions. It is a fact that with my current shaving and honing technique, finishing stone etc. I get 7 great shaves, and 3 more spanning from good to acceptable. I think that with the paddle strop, my stropping is decent. So far, by shave #11, I need to retouch the edge. This is quite a bit less than the supposed 30+ shaves that people report to get from a newly honed razor. I could just live with it, but it bugs me why is that.

At this point, I feel that the sensible thing to do, is to switch to the Spanish point and see how many shaves I can get from that one. If the number is comparable then it is only my technique, prep and beard that affect the result. If not, then the round point needs some more work on the stones to even out the bevel on both sides. The other thing is to use the Chromox paste I have, probably after retouching the round point again.

Happy shaves everyone and have a wonderful day!

 

[Sotiris_A]

As a follow up, I stropped it again very thoroughly and it passes the HHT very easily. Hair hitting the part of the edge from the center to the heel at 1.5-2cm distance get cut cleanly, while I need to drop to 1-1.5cm distance for a clean cut on the other half. In this range there might be some hair splitting at larger distances.

This makes me curious. Perhaps I need to use it again tomorrow and see if that made any difference.

 

[TinyT]

It appears that the heel lies near the bottom of the scales, when the razor is closed. I placed my thumb there and was rewarded with a nice cut, around 7mm long. So today's first was shaving with a rubber glove.

 

[Sotiris_A]

View attachment 1214715

I wish...

 

[thombrogan]

I wish...

Yeah, most of the rubber gloves these days are nitrile (for allergy reasons) and that guy’s wearing latex.

 

[Sotiris_A]

Today's title is:

Finest Classics
... or it's your bloody technique you fool​

SR Shave #52 (#12):

• Pre-shave: Hot water and GFT Eucris skin food
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Omega 10065
• Soap: MWF
• ASL: Aqua Velva

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: Perfection

Notes:

Pre-shave stropping: A lot, I didn't count. Post-shave stropping: None yet

The Spaniard was stand by to save the day. The glove was also nearby, in case the cut opened again like last night.

I need to keep reminding myself of the Excalibur's rules or at least my interpretation of them. Blades last a long time and they usually just become less and less effective, but rarely do they stop working abruptly. If you experience tugging, it is probably your technique and not the tool. Prep is king and technique is everything! Add more water. Go shallower. No pressure. Hold the razor securely but not overly tight as it helps pressure creep in. Mind each stroke. For SR, mind your skin stretching as a bit more skin tightening and a shallower angle are more efficient and equally comfortable as less tightening and a larger angle. Also for SR pay attention to your stropping technique.

The stubble felt very stiff today so I use the skin food to soften it up. Then, Mitchell's, Ω boar, Aqua Velva and my RA 6/8. My favorite setup, some fine classics. One of my best lathers. It didn't look shiny, fluffy, creamy, sexy. But it works for me. The edge was like new. Any hesitation was fixed by adjusting the angle and tightening the skin a bit more. Keep these spots in mind for the next shaves.

The Spaniard's assistance wasn't needed. And the glove's, too.

Happy shaves everyone and have a wonderful day!

 

[Sotiris_A]

SR Shave #53 (#13):

• Pre-shave: Hot water and GFT Eucris skin food
• Razor: Ralf Aust 6/8 round point
• Brush: Omega 10065
• Soap: Valobra Patchouly
• ASL: LPL Oud-Santal

• Method: 1st pass WTG, 2nd XTG, 3rd ATG
• Result: As close as it gets and extremely comfortable. Unfortunately, I managed to make a tiny cut when attempting an awkward, new stroke. Nothing serious, it will probably be gone by tomorrow.

Notes:

Stropping: 40+ laps on latigo and 50+ on English bridle.

I sincerely wish that Proraso relaunches Valobra hard soaps with the old formula and some updated scents in order to appeal to new wet shavers. The performance is great. It worked well with the cheap Ω boar.

The edge felt fantastic once again. After the post-shave stropping it passes the HHT very easily. First time reaching 13 shaves and the same RA will certainly be on the deck for tomorrow.

I need to look into two things. The first one is tea stains and tiny black spots appearing on the sides which probably mean the beginning of pitting. I started applying oil on the blade after the shave. This leads to the second "issue", the pin getting looser after applying the oil. Is it possible to fix it with a hammer? A weekend watching restoration videos. It should be fun!

I'm in a happy place, despite some ups and downs or being confined since November due to the current situation. I would like to share a photo I made a couple of years ago from a happy place, just for the mind to travel a bit.

Lake Doxa, May 2019​

Happy shaves everyone and have a lovely weekend!