Stages of str8 razor enlightenment

[Baz4262]

Hi, I was wondering if there were stages of progress that people who started up str8 razor shaving have noted.
I've been using straights daily now for about 2 months (but still fairly often with a DE final touch-up admittedly). I'm always pleased with the results on the cheeks, although it's variable under the jaw.
It would be encouraging to get an idea how long it took people to the fairly consistent all over BBS stage. I intend to keep at the gentlemanly art until I finally achieve BBS nirvana.

Thanks for any comments

Bas

 

[mrlandpirate]

Enjoy the journey , it took me a bit of time and there's always more to learn

 

[rbscebu]

It took me about three months of daily SR shaving to be able to get the occasional BBS all over, including the neck. I didn't like it because a SR BBS result left me with nothing to shave 24 hours later. I have since modified my technique so that I can do three passes and get a DFS+ result, giving me something to shave the next day.

Two things you need to do; SR shave daily and don't chase BBS. SR shaving daily is all about building up your muscle memory quickly. SR shaving only every second will triple the time. Don't worry about trying to get BBS. That will just happen as your technique develops.

Enjoy the journey. It never ends.

 

[Kyle89]

It took me a while. I can't quite remember specific timeframes at this point but I'll make a short list of my own "oh wow" moments with some estimated timeframes.

1. Didn't cut myself- Not counting "weepers", as a cut versus a weeper is a lot more apparent with a straight razor. Probably within about 2 weeks I stopped getting a cut or two pretty consistently. Funny enough my first shave didn't draw blood at all, but I was so timid with it and took so long. The sweat probably added to the slickness

2. Zero irritaiton/aftershave burn- Maybe a month and a half in? I remember specifically I was having a really good shave and I plopped on some Lilac Vegetal afterwards and felt nothing, of which I didn't even think was possible. Was it the closest shave? Nope. Neck hallows were a problem for a while.

3. Finally got those darn neck hallows as close as I wanted - I read somewhere on this board (from an older thread) and tried out a piece of advice on to better deal with your neck hallows. A member stated that they use the heel or the toe of their razor instead of the middle to combat those areas, and after experimenting with different skin stretching methods I remember finally hitting those areas on my neck in a way that I was satisfied. Perhaps 3 months in?

4. Finally was able to be satisfied with my own edge- At this point I've already shaved with my own edge on a Rolls Razor, but those blades aren't as long as a straight razor and are a LOT easier to hone. After a lot of experimenting on my Gold Dollar and putting down some cheddar on some good stones, I was finally able to hone an edge from scratch to my own satisfaction. Maybe 6 months in?

5. Finally matched a DE shave in terms of closeness consistently- I never go against the grain with any shaving instrument, albeit on some rare occasions I'll attempt it with DE but only for fun and on days I know I don't have to leave my place- Perhaps also about 6 months in. A lot of this progress has to do with shaving on an edge that was good enough for my wire brush sort of beard.

The first 3 months or so were exclusively straight razor shaves but after that it was a mix and match, which probably slowed down my progress a little bit. I think I got my first straight razor about a year ago, and I feel like I'm in a pretty good place, but like @rbscebu says, it never ends!