SR Shaving Class

[rbscebu]

It is too bad you can't offer this class online, somehow. More people could attend.

I reckon that would be like trying to herd 'roos. Even Levy, my Kelpie dog, can't manage that.

 

[rbscebu]

I was expecting 2 or 3 students to turn up for the first lesson, a demonstration SR shave and discuss on technical issues. I end up with eight students. They were all very much taken in with my demonstration shave and all wanted to learn the gentlemanly art. The class took about one hour, 30 minutes discussion and 30 minutes shave demonstration.

The demo shave went very well. Two passed; WTG and XTG+CdM using a Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60 off diamond pasted balsa and Palmolive regular cream face lathered with a Chinese synthetic brush. No blood and they were all very impressed with the substandard (to me) smooth result.

I had a problem. I restrict my classes to no more than three students at a time. I have three starter shaving kit ready to go for AU$50 (about US$33) each. This is about at-cost to me with free honing. I told the students that the first to buy my 3 kits will be my only students at the next class. Here is the kit contents.

​

The SR is shave-ready finished on diamond pasted balsa. The little V tin contains petroleum jelly for blade protection.

The first kit sold immediately to Francis. Two more to go.

The next lesson will be on Thursday 22 June as my time is fully booked until then. I'm retired you know.

 

[rbscebu]

For those who may be interested, here is a copy of the class notes:

 

[ZeelandsRoem]

For those who may be interested, here is a copy of the class notes:

Isn't the lather too thin? I don't think I would have a comfortable shave, especially not with a diamond stropped edge.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

"Do not loose"

 

[rbscebu]

Isn't the lather too thin? I don't think I would have a comfortable shave, especially not with a diamond stropped edge.

Yes, the kid leather is thin but it is adhered to the denim which gives the kid leather strength and thickness. The odds are that a student's first and possibly second strop are going to get cut up so I need to keep them cheap. My beginners tend to baulk at a AU$100 initial SR setup.

Very few people have a "comfortable" shave with their first SR shaves, whatever the edge. The main thing is to persist regularly with SR shaving as it gets better with each shave.

Those who feel that a pasted balsa edge is not comfortable, have generally started SR shaving with a non-balsa edge. When starting with a balsa edge, you develop your technique so that a balsa edge is comfortable to shave with. I have guided (quite a) few gentleman into SR shaving and who have started with balsa edges. They often later try non-balsa edges, find them comfortable (less keen), but will return to balsa edges for their cutting ability. I guess it is just what you get use to using.

I have also found that SRs with a more obtuse bevel angle, like about 18° to 19°, to be more forgiving for beginner shavers. I don't know why as the more obtuse bevel angle seems to cut whiskers just as well as a 17° bevel angle, all else being equal.

 

[ZeelandsRoem]

Yes, the kid leather is thin but it is adhered to the denim which gives it strength and thickness.

I believe I was being misunderstood here. I meant the lather on (presummably) your face seems to be too thin, which might make a diamond stropped edge uncomfortable.

Those who feel that a pasted balsa edge is not comfortable, have generally started SR shaving with a non-balsa edge.

I tend to agree with you here. At least, I am biased as what you say applies in my case.

I hone my razors on synth and Jnats and I gave diamond compounds a chance for about two, maybe three months earlier this year. I used 0.5u, 0.1u and 0.025u after a full progression of synth. I was curious to see if it could improve the full synth edge and how it would feel. What I found out was that my skin could not bear it, at least not the progression of the three grits. If I jumped from 20k or 30k synth down to 0.025u and do 5-10 laps max, then the edges would be sharper yet not loosing too much comfort on some of my razors (which are made out of a soft(er) steel.

There were exceptions, of course. For example, none of my modern TI could give me a shave without a painful aftershave feeling. And the steel would retain that edge for about two weeks, and then slowly start to mellow a bit. I could not bear putting some razors aside, so I eventually quit "playing the game" and went back to my honing routines.

During this "experiment", I ended up throwing in the bin some shaving soaps and creams though, and somehow I stopped buying different products and got more selective. Diamond edge definitely taught me something. But shaving can be fun experimenting all different sort of things and finding out or simply learning other ways of doing things.

 

[rbscebu]

I think that many who give advice to beginner SR shavers have forgotten what it is like to be a beginner in the gentlemanly art. Over time, those giving the advice have developed their technique that suits themselves and advise to what they now prefer.

There are no set rules to SR shaving. It is important when teaching SR shaving to be open-minded to the innumerable ways of SR shaving and allow the student to develop their own technique. That's what I do.

I probably would have also forgotten what it was like as a beginner. Fortunately, teaching beginner SR shaving continually reminds me and brings me back to my roots.

 

[rbscebu]

@ZeelandsRoem, sorry for my mistake. I read your "lather" as "leather". What's a little "e" between friends ?

I have found that it is better for beginners to start with a fairly wet thin lather compared to what they may have been use to when shaving with canned goo or lather for carts/"safety" razors. This provides good slickness without distracting them from the blade attitude. SR shavers generally don't consider "cushion" or even know what that is (myself included).

Lather consistency is very easily modified and is probably one of the first things a beginner starts to play with in developing their technique that suits them. I do remind my students to occasionally change their preferred lather style as their technique develops, just to see if there is an improvement for them. Over the years, I have developed a preference for a slightly thicker lather but still fairly wet.

Remember, there are no rules.

 

[rbscebu]

Next class starts on Wednesday 16 August, currently with just one student. I'm happy with that as it makes it easier for me and the student gets my total attention.

This student is an old Italian friend, Silvano. He will be shaving with his father's pride and joy, a T.R. Cadman "Bengall" post-1924 6/8 full-hollow. This razor was in poor condition so I restored and honed it up for him.

From this;


to this

 

[Doc Dan]

Why don't you make a series of videos on YouTube and share your knowledge with a wider audience. There would have to be a warning so people wouldn't get shocked looking at you , but it is still a good idea. I know I would benefit from them.

 

[rbscebu]

Only Silvano was my student this morning. We started out spending about an hour going through and discussing the beginner's instructions (rev. H). Then it was into the bathroom for his first SR shave.

I lent Silvano a GD66 with muted edge to first practice his stropping. That took a while but eventually he got the hang of it. From there I guided him through face preparation and lathering to where he was finally able to use his father's SR, the restored post 1924 Cadman "Bengall" 6/8.

Silvano's first SR shave was N-S cheeks only. He was a natural for light pressure, probably because he was so scared to cut himself, but needed to watch his shave angle and lean the best skin stretching for his face.

After doing his first cheek, he compared the result against his unshaved other cheek and was amazed. He said that he didn't even feel the blade cutting his whiskers and was sure that the shave was doing nothing except remove the lather. His comment was that he had never achieved such a smooth result before from a single N-S pass with his DE razor.

I feel that Silvano is now at the start of his addiction. I feel like a heroin dealer giving out deals to get people hooked .

 

[5whiskey]

God bless you for your outreach sir. Start them out right.

I wanted to teach my son SR shaving. Can't even convince him to try DE. He watched me shave the other day and said I was using a katana on my face. And he's 28!

 

[rbscebu]

Why don't you make a series of videos on YouTube and share your knowledge with a wider audience. There would have to be a warning so people wouldn't get shocked looking at you , but it is still a good idea. I know I would benefit from them.

I did consider making a series of videos. After assessing what is involved with teaching SR shaving, I realised that my efforts are more tutoring rather than lecturing. The lecturing part is already well covered in my written instructions. The tutoring needs to be in person and taylored for each individual student.

Their are plenty of videos and articles already published purporting to show how to SR shave. As I tell my students, most of these videos give good instructions (except for that 30° thing), however they are all based on what that person has found works best for them. Everyone's face is different so each person needs to develop their own style that best suits them.

I tell my students that the videos should only be used as a guide and not how a SR shave should necessarily be performed by them.