Cow has been tried, however I have heard that horse (no particular breed) works faster.
I was hoping for something more exotic. Alpaca, Howler Monkee, Camel, Agouti, etc.
camo
SR shave reports (probably do my first dozen IDK)
- Thread starter Ssandstorms
- Start date
I was hoping for something more exotic. Alpaca, Howler Monkee, Camel, Agouti, etc.
camo
You will find a comfortable grip as you go along. Best to start by using both hands and you will be glad you did later on. It is awkward at first but after a couple of weeks it will feel pretty normal. I am left handed to the extreme but I did it. My right hand doesn’t behave as well as my left but it works well enough. Actually, I could never figure out how to shave with one hand.
- Thread starter
- #23
Shave #2 (things came early
)
Summary: Buy cheap toys get cheap shaves. I should have seen that coming
Soap: ARKO
Razor: 11/16 Della Bella
Brush: IDK some cheap crap (claimed to be badger) quickly swapped to Van Der Hagen (boar hair)
Aftershave: Stetson original
Finally received the strop and other supplies that were supposed to be here last week! Excited to shave, I quickly grabbed all my supplies and but my brush in warm water to soak while I shower.
Came back, the water was brown and the brush had become flat and flaccid. I couldn't get it to lather no matter how much I strained the water off the brush and it smelled awful like deer/goat rut (or I guess a wet badger). The seller had warned about the smell and really that wasn't the problem. I soaked up the soap I rubbed on my face but left nothing for me to lather with
Fortunately, I had my Van Der Hagen as a backup. Worked great! lathered fast, and BOY ARKO certainly does have a particular smell haha!
I did have issues with it drying up quickly. How do people avoid this issue? It might be me.
The shave was alright except I noticed a number of missed spots this time. I was able to figure out how to keep the angle and even managed to do 3 passes! No knicks too which is a plus.
Feedback is always appreciated!
Thanks everyone
)Summary: Buy cheap toys get cheap shaves. I should have seen that coming
Soap: ARKO
Razor: 11/16 Della Bella
Brush: IDK some cheap crap (claimed to be badger) quickly swapped to Van Der Hagen (boar hair)
Aftershave: Stetson original
Finally received the strop and other supplies that were supposed to be here last week! Excited to shave, I quickly grabbed all my supplies and but my brush in warm water to soak while I shower.
Came back, the water was brown and the brush had become flat and flaccid. I couldn't get it to lather no matter how much I strained the water off the brush and it smelled awful like deer/goat rut (or I guess a wet badger). The seller had warned about the smell and really that wasn't the problem. I soaked up the soap I rubbed on my face but left nothing for me to lather with
Fortunately, I had my Van Der Hagen as a backup. Worked great! lathered fast, and BOY ARKO certainly does have a particular smell haha!
I did have issues with it drying up quickly. How do people avoid this issue? It might be me.
The shave was alright except I noticed a number of missed spots this time. I was able to figure out how to keep the angle and even managed to do 3 passes! No knicks too which is a plus.
Feedback is always appreciated!
Thanks everyone
Dont give up on that badger brush yet!
Soak it in white vinegar for about an hour or so,and it will change the smell from badger to vinegar. Then shampoo it with regular hair shampoo to get rid of the vinegar smell.
From the description it sounds like you may have used too much water for the product, and the smelly brush gathered all the excess water away from it, so when you put in brush #2, it was at the correct balance of water to soap. Maybe.
But dont give up on that badger just yet!
Soak it in white vinegar for about an hour or so,and it will change the smell from badger to vinegar. Then shampoo it with regular hair shampoo to get rid of the vinegar smell.
From the description it sounds like you may have used too much water for the product, and the smelly brush gathered all the excess water away from it, so when you put in brush #2, it was at the correct balance of water to soap. Maybe.
But dont give up on that badger just yet!
- Thread starter
- #25
I will give it another go. As I said I am more concerned about the lathering, or lack thereof, then I am the smell haha!Dont give up on that badger brush yet!
Soak it in white vinegar for about an hour or so,and it will change the smell from badger to vinegar. Then shampoo it with regular hair shampoo to get rid of the vinegar smell.
From the description it sounds like you may have used too much water for the product, and the smelly brush gathered all the excess water away from it, so when you put in brush #2, it was at the correct balance of water to soap. Maybe.
But dont give up on that badger just yet!
Thank you for the advice though! When I used my second brush It was just a quick rinse. No soaking or anything really. Maybe that's what it needs?
I have read people on here soaking so I thought to try myself.
- Thread starter
- #26
SR3
Summary: best one yet
(No picture today)
Blade: same as before
Brush: combination of my boar and badger
Soap: MWF!
Aftershave: Stetson original
This report I don't have much to say. Mostly because I'm on mobile.
Was able to get a 3+ pass (went ATH twice to catch any missed areas)
I guess my only area that I am looking for better skill is shaving around the lip. I am the most uneasy when shaving my soul patch/mustache area
Any tips?
Summary: best one yet
(No picture today)
Blade: same as before
Brush: combination of my boar and badger
Soap: MWF!
Aftershave: Stetson original
This report I don't have much to say. Mostly because I'm on mobile.
Was able to get a 3+ pass (went ATH twice to catch any missed areas)
I guess my only area that I am looking for better skill is shaving around the lip. I am the most uneasy when shaving my soul patch/mustache area
Any tips?
Those are the hardest areas to shave by miles especially atg. I see loads of YouTube straight razor shavers wearing goatees. At first I thought ‘what and odd coincidence’ but then I thought that maybe the difficulty in shaving those areas has something to do with it. If I had a goatee id’ve learned to do a 3 pass shave In a week or two, it’s the chin and top lip that take up most of the learning during the first 100 shaves.
I've had it for like almost 20 years......even when I shaved with those plastic contraptions (which was up to the end of Sept. last year.)
wife approved and I'm kinda used to it. she'd be even happier if I grew the goat out longer and went completely bald. got me on that one???......not too far of from it now!!!!!!
camo
- Thread starter
- #29
I wish mine would approve of the 'stash
but I also start to dislike it once it gets really bushy. Now that I have been doing SR nothing has been longer than 1-4 days of stubble
but I also start to dislike it once it gets really bushy. Now that I have been doing SR nothing has been longer than 1-4 days of stubble
If you are referring to the upper lip as it gets close to the nose, stretch the skin as you get to the "corners" of the nose and if you have a blade with a rounded tip use that to get those hard to reach areas.
If you are trying ATG under the nose, make sure you shave it as close as you can before the ATG pass. Go XTG first. When you try the ATG hold the blade with two hands and just move your head a little, like a slow nod.
- Thread starter
- #31
Both the upper lip and lower lip. Cutting towards my mouth in any way really.
I have a 11/16 square but I typically use the point for cutting towards my nostrils
Cutting the chin up to your lower lip is difficult because that area isn't smooth. I just do it the way, more or less, that I would do with a DE. The S to N pass there isn't great. The E to W pass is the closest one. The N to S get the initial hair shaved down.
Regarding the downward pass with either lip I tend to use the middle of the blade.
- Thread starter
- #33
SR4-6(?)
Dull razors are dull
An update is a little overdue for my shaves, but a lot has been holding me back unrelated to the shaves itself. I had taken a temporary hiatus while I waited for my Tony Miller strop (3" Vanilla) to arrive!! A lovely tool, almost makes me wish I had spent a little extra for his high-end product, but astronomically better then the cheap starter I was using prior.
Shaves 4 and 5 had very low quality and it was then that I really decided my blade was dull. If you are reading my other posts you know that this has become my most recent roadblock in the journey. Fortunately, Ian had sent me two of his shave ready drivers from a WTS and that was what I used for Shave 6.
Instead of describing my shave 6 (which was leagues better with the new razor). I would instead like to ask the community a few questions:
* When is it time to rehone your blade? What is the dead giveaway?
* I was under the impression that honing was only a bi-annual (or so) event, is this just a noob error that dulled my SR so fast?
*I Still struggle with face lathering (used to bowl)... too little product/too much water/etc. any tips here?
*XTG shaving the neck is a trouble for me. I have read people just skip this but I am definitely after the BBS
*More of a fragrance topic, but what's the point of scented soaps if you're putting aftershave on?
Thanks, I'll post another update later on. Happy shaving!
Dull razors are dull
An update is a little overdue for my shaves, but a lot has been holding me back unrelated to the shaves itself. I had taken a temporary hiatus while I waited for my Tony Miller strop (3" Vanilla) to arrive!! A lovely tool, almost makes me wish I had spent a little extra for his high-end product, but astronomically better then the cheap starter I was using prior.
Shaves 4 and 5 had very low quality and it was then that I really decided my blade was dull. If you are reading my other posts you know that this has become my most recent roadblock in the journey. Fortunately, Ian had sent me two of his shave ready drivers from a WTS and that was what I used for Shave 6.
Instead of describing my shave 6 (which was leagues better with the new razor). I would instead like to ask the community a few questions:
* When is it time to rehone your blade? What is the dead giveaway?
* I was under the impression that honing was only a bi-annual (or so) event, is this just a noob error that dulled my SR so fast?
*I Still struggle with face lathering (used to bowl)... too little product/too much water/etc. any tips here?
*XTG shaving the neck is a trouble for me. I have read people just skip this but I am definitely after the BBS
*More of a fragrance topic, but what's the point of scented soaps if you're putting aftershave on?
Thanks, I'll post another update later on. Happy shaving!
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
For those that experience blade dulling, it is a progressive thing. The is no magic trigger that tells you a refresh honing is required. It all depends on your perception of when is my blade not sharp enough for a comfortable shave.
Others, like myself, never experience blade dulling. Indeed, my blade edges improve with use. I only ever hone my blades once followed by a diamond pasted balsa progression. After that it is just 50 or so laps on a 0.1u diamond pasted hanging balsa strop after each use and a similar number of laps on a clean leather strop before each shave.
The 0.1u diamond paste routine adds a minute or two to each shave but for me it is worth it for the knowledge that the blade's edge is always "there".
Others, like myself, never experience blade dulling. Indeed, my blade edges improve with use. I only ever hone my blades once followed by a diamond pasted balsa progression. After that it is just 50 or so laps on a 0.1u diamond pasted hanging balsa strop after each use and a similar number of laps on a clean leather strop before each shave.
The 0.1u diamond paste routine adds a minute or two to each shave but for me it is worth it for the knowledge that the blade's edge is always "there".
- Thread starter
- #35
I have floated between using the method or sticking with stones. I definitely like the concept of an always sharp, always fine shave, but I am not a fan of carrying around a bunch of balsawood strops. Stones can be stored away much easier and are (in a general sense) more permanent. Unfortunately for me, I think I'm in need of a full scale honing on the blade before I make a decision on stones vs. paste
Nothing against those that use the method. Slash McCoy has probably used everything at one point or another and if he says its the way, I believe it. That being said there are lots of people who still use stones and claim they offer a fantastic shave just like its always been
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Each balsa strop is about 300mm x 75mm x 25mm. You need three of these initially, then you only have to "carry around" one - the 0.1u.
I only need to get my lapping film and the other two balsa strops out when I get a new SR.
I only need to get my lapping film and the other two balsa strops out when I get a new SR.
That new razor you’ve got, I’d say say the moment it shaves any worse than on day 1 give it a touch up on the hone. Honing only takes a few mins on a 1 micron film or a 12k stone and can be enjoyable. As for duration all my razors are a bit different I’d say most get a touch up between 15 and 20 uses but I’ve had over 60 shaves out of my Friodur and only stopped there because I chipped the blade.
