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Successful 1st shavette shave & some ?'s

*If you simply are here to help with a few questions you can skip the first 3 or so lengthy paragraphs, otherwise enjoy my story*

My wife is working an early morning shift at her weekend job so I am home alone, bored, listening to some classic country on Sunday Morning Coming Down on realradio 104.1 Orlando and decided to dive into my first full shavette shave. Before we get started I'll give you a very quick background: I started wet shaving slightly over 4 years ago. In that time I went through so many different DEs and SEs as well as carts, blades, soaps, creams, brushes, and aftershaves. After a long time of dialing in technique and still not ending up with satisfactory shaves (for different reasons, why I tried so many combos) I got to a point where I found a Braun series 7 foil shaver to be the best for me in terms of the final result I was looking for in relation to the journey to get there. I got rid of all my actual razors besides a hair shaper style shavette that was my mom's from beauty school that she won styling awards with and a Parker SRW 1/2 de style shavette. I kept 1 brush and proraso green because my braun can be used wet if wanted. I've grown very comfortable using it to line up my moustache and sideburns as well as clean up my cheeks after the Braun for occasional "date nights" but never full shaves. Until today...

I did my ususal wet shave prep of working cold water into my face (1 day growth, pre shower shave) then face lathering with proraso green soap and my razorock 22mm Bruce synth. I let the lather sit on my face a moment while I poured a drink then pulled out my parker SRW loaded with a fresh derby blade with went in for the shave. I had only planned on doing a single wtg pass and stopping because I didn't really need to shave today for any specific purpose, I haven't had the best luck with blades in my life (hence the braun), and in all honesty I fully expected to cut myself good haha.

Before I continue I want to comment on the derby blade. I never got along with them, they never worked for me in any DE I ever had even after my technique improved. The only reason I have them I because I got tired of the ridiculous cost of hair shaper blades and wanted a 1/2 de model shavette for affordability of blades and they came with one I bought. I have to say they are significantly more efficient and comfortable when used in a straight style razor vs a de style razor. Not to spoil the ending but as I sit here an hour later with a very near BBS shave my skin is comfortable and not puffy or warm like I always got with even my best of DE or SE shaves.

The first wtg pass went very well and surprisingly quick (without rushing of course), so much so that I decided to go with my 'usual method' of what I call a 2.5 pass shave as follows: Pass 1- (wtg) N to S from cheeks to mid neck then S to N from base neck. Pass 2- (atg) opposite strokes from pass 1. Pass 3- (partial pass, touch ups) this pass goes from ears inward to chin/mouth from both sides, mostly just jaw line. As I stated above this shave ended in a very near BBS shave. Followed up with a shower and a splash of Skin Bracer to close the deal. I had two small weepers on my chin that sealed up just from cold water rinse and I won't lie, I did 2 quick strokes on my chin with a disposable my wife keeps for travel because I had some trouble with angle of "attack" in that area. My chin was a little tender from overshaving but that went away with aftershave application. About 20 mins from start to finish. This brings me to some questions.

1. How the heck do you shave your chin ATG? I ended up trying a few XTG passes with an extra WTG pass in that area and I still couldn't get it all. I assume technique will fix this? I do remember having trouble with DEs in that area when I first started but it got better with time.

2. I found my lather to feel very 'tacky' and dry. I certainly know how to lather and followed the same method I always have for lathering however when using a shavette I found minimal glide and felt like I had to cut through my lather. I had plenty of water. For straight-style shaving should I intentionally thin out my lather? I'm strongly considering using some gel or maybe cremo for the next few shavette shaves instead of brush and soap/cream because they can will be thinner and remove a variable while I'm learning. Is this advisable? I used proraso soap but I also have proraso cream, maybe I should try that as it's known to be a little more slick then the soap?

3. I have been really wanting to get into proper straight shaving and went the route of the shavette due to not needing to worry about strops, hones, etc. Considering this 1st shavette shave went so 'well' should I just move onto a straight? I've always read they are more forgiving and if you can use a shavette then a straight is no problem. If I do jump into a straight can I 'live' with just the razor and a strop, not deal with honing, and simply send it off to be professionally honed 1-2 times a year? I'm looking at the grim dollar kit with just the razor and leather strop for around $45, while I know this isn't top of the line... Is it a decent starting point? Whipped dog doesn't do sight unseen anymore and I want a real strop, not balsa. I also have a different 1/2 de shavette coming in which is a WCS branded shavette, I'm hooked on collecting these now!

Thanks in advance for the help and for sticking with probably my longest post ever haha. For those of you who got this far, a little SOTD pic:
IMG_20181007_105447021.jpg
 
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I’ll see if I can answer a few of those questions. Larry at WhippedDog still does sight unseen, just call or shoot him an email. I picked up a sight unseen fairly recently and poorman’s strop that includes the pasted balsa. With proper technique this should last a while. Also check out @Slash McCoy pasted balsa and lapping film stickys. This allows a more budget friendly entry into honing.

Moving from a hair shaper shavette to a straight did seem easier to me. They say the shavette is less forgiving. But the shavette doesn’t require honing, so you might stick with it for a bit and work on technique.

For the ATG on your chin, bite your bottom lip and tilt your head up to stretch the skin tighter. Also try a more diagonal stroke.

On the lather, “tacky and dry” sounds like you need more water. Your lather needs to be slicker with a straight or shavette.
 
Hey, congrats on nailing a successful full shave! Friends and family never seem to understand the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from finally getting a great shave, but the good folks here at B&B do! lol.

1.ATG, you'll have to find a technique that works for you simply by trying different hand positions and angles of attack for that area. The blade angle to the face stays the same, but you have to get the razor positioned correctly to make the pass. Everyones face is different and I have a few areas that I have to start a bit below my problem area and run up to it. I cant put the razor directly on the spot and start my ATG pass because the grain catches the blade and Id have to use too much pressure to get it started. I will suggest using a wet alum block on your fingertips to get a good grip on the wet skin to stretch it. I also have an area that I simply cant see and have to rely on muscle memory to get the XTG pass on my lower neck, that took some time to work up the courage to try, but now its easy for me.

2. I’d stick with soap and the brush esp if you desire to transition to straights in the future. Lather is something thats trial and error depending on the grind of the blade and the soap. What you are describing doesn't sound like the lather was thin / loose enough for this shave. I use Tabac and Halsinger soaps, mine looks like whipped egg whites with a nice gloss and no big bubbles at all. Its always easy to add more water, so try a pass then adjust it, until it feels right to you. When I use a wedge grind or near wedge I have to really thin the lather down to avoid face suction.

3. You can absolutely live with just stropping a straight and sending it off to a honemeister when it feels like its pulling. In fact, Id recommend avoiding tring to hone until you get your technique dialed in, its a lot to take on at once. When I want a special edge I send my razors off to Alfredo aka Doc226 to get his velvet Jnat (Japanese natural) edge on them. I hone myself as well using a combo of synthetics and finish on a jnat, but I have yet to achieve an edge that rivals his. Getting into straights Id recommend something from the B&B BST thats shave ready or get a vintage from Larry, I didn't know he stopped doing sight unseen stuff. Stick to vendors with excellent reputations here on B&B. Some of our members sell the gold dollar razor that have be made shave ready, and thats a good route to go. Strops, well the cheapest one will work just as good as the most expensive one, its just personal preference as to the the feel of the draw and the width of the strop itself.

Good luck and congrats, enjoy the journey.
 
I’ll see if I can answer a few of those questions. Larry at WhippedDog still does sight unseen, just call or shoot him an email. I picked up a sight unseen fairly recently and poorman’s strop that includes the pasted balsa. With proper technique this should last a while. Also check out @Slash McCoy pasted balsa and lapping film stickys. This allows a more budget friendly entry into honing.

Moving from a hair shaper shavette to a straight did seem easier to me. They say the shavette is less forgiving. But the shavette doesn’t require honing, so you might stick with it for a bit and work on technique.

For the ATG on your chin, bite your bottom lip and tilt your head up to stretch the skin tighter. Also try a more diagonal stroke.

On the lather, “tacky and dry” sounds like you need more water. Your lather needs to be slicker with a straight or shavette.

I may give the hair shaper style another try, it's been awhile since I used it and never for a full shave. Yet at least haha. Great tip for atg chin shaving, thanks! I'll have to reach out to Larry and see what he can do for me.

Hey, congrats on nailing a successful full shave! Friends and family never seem to understand the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that comes from finally getting a great shave, but the good folks here at B&B do! lol.

1.ATG, you'll have to find a technique that works for you simply by trying different hand positions and angles of attack for that area. The blade angle to the face stays the same, but you have to get the razor positioned correctly to make the pass. Everyones face is different and I have a few areas that I have to start a bit below my problem area and run up to it. I cant put the razor directly on the spot and start my ATG pass because the grain catches the blade and Id have to use too much pressure to get it started. I will suggest using a wet alum block on your fingertips to get a good grip on the wet skin to stretch it. I also have an area that I simply cant see and have to rely on muscle memory to get the XTG pass on my lower neck, that took some time to work up the courage to try, but now its easy for me.

2. I’d stick with soap and the brush esp if you desire to transition to straights in the future. Lather is something thats trial and error depending on the grind of the blade and the soap. What you are describing doesn't sound like the lather was thin / loose enough for this shave. I use Tabac and Halsinger soaps, mine looks like whipped egg whites with a nice gloss and no big bubbles at all. Its always easy to add more water, so try a pass then adjust it, until it feels right to you. When I use a wedge grind or near wedge I have to really thin the lather down to avoid face suction.

3. You can absolutely live with just stropping a straight and sending it off to a honemeister when it feels like its pulling. In fact, Id recommend avoiding tring to hone until you get your technique dialed in, its a lot to take on at once. When I want a special edge I send my razors off to Alfredo aka Doc226 to get his velvet Jnat (Japanese natural) edge on them. I hone myself as well using a combo of synthetics and finish on a jnat, but I have yet to achieve an edge that rivals his. Getting into straights Id recommend something from the B&B BST thats shave ready or get a vintage from Larry, I didn't know he stopped doing sight unseen stuff. Stick to vendors with excellent reputations here on B&B. Some of our members sell the gold dollar razor that have be made shave ready, and thats a good route to go. Strops, well the cheapest one will work just as good as the most expensive one, its just personal preference as to the the feel of the draw and the width of the strop itself.

Good luck and congrats, enjoy the journey.

Face suction, that describes it perfectly! I'll work on thinning out my lather more, when I loaded I remember thinking to myself "this isn't a de, I need glide over cushion... This may be to much soap." I don't actually have issues with canned products, conversation for a different thread, but I do understand, respect, and believe in the quality of shave that you get from a brush and cream/soap. Thanks for your help!
 
Just to add my own twist on the above thoughts:

1) ATG will take a while to get the hang of, if you are able to do it. Some folks, whether on their whole face or only parts, never go ATG with an open blade razor. Some folks find it easier to make a hybrid stroke that does nearly the same result. For instance, I, on the rounding of my chin, have never been able to go true ATG with an open blade. Every time I’ve tried the follicles lift, it feels like I’m sawing by chin, it’s painful, and I cut myself. Instead I do a hybrid ATG pass that is slanted toward XTG, first one way, then the opposite. It does me just fine and is smooth and painless.

2) You may know how to build a DE lather, but, IMO, a SR lather is superior and takes more knowledge of your soap’s limits. Folks generally say that SR lather is “wetter”, but still in no danger of breaking. That said, most classic soaps like Proraso or artisan soaps are just fine for open blade shaves. If you can go for better, great, if not, it’s OK.

3) IMO it’s true, if you can use a shavette, you can easily use an SR - it just takes a more shallow angle than the shavette. Whatever setup you decide to get, you want to make sure it is properly honed by someone with good rep. Your first shaves are crucial to knowing what a good edge is.
 
Just to add my own twist on the above thoughts:

1) ATG will take a while to get the hang of, if you are able to do it. Some folks, whether on their whole face or only parts, never go ATG with an open blade razor. Some folks find it easier to make a hybrid stroke that does nearly the same result. For instance, I, on the rounding of my chin, have never been able to go true ATG with an open blade. Every time I’ve tried the follicles lift, it feels like I’m sawing by chin, it’s painful, and I cut myself. Instead I do a hybrid ATG pass that is slanted toward XTG, first one way, then the opposite. It does me just fine and is smooth and painless.

2) You may know how to build a DE lather, but, IMO, a SR lather is superior and takes more knowledge of your soap’s limits. Folks generally say that SR lather is “wetter”, but still in no danger of breaking. That said, most classic soaps like Proraso or artisan soaps are just fine for open blade shaves. If you can go for better, great, if not, it’s OK.

3) IMO it’s true, if you can use a shavette, you can easily use an SR - it just takes a more shallow angle than the shavette. Whatever setup you decide to get, you want to make sure it is properly honed by someone with good rep. Your first shaves are crucial to knowing what a good edge is.

Great, thanks! I'm going to work with a thinner (wetter) lather to see if that helps.
 
Well I went back today and used the same set up and same scenario except for two things: I used my proraso green cream instead the soap and I added even more water then usual. This helped the "glide" greatly. I may just stick to cream with straights/shavettes as I always preferred their slickness over soaps however I found I prefer the extra cushion from soaps when using DE/SE. Considering I don't own (or plan on owning again) DE/SE I can just stick with creams.

BTW... My first real straight and strop will be here in a few days :)
 
Well I went back today and used the same set up and same scenario except for two things: I used my proraso green cream instead the soap and I added even more water then usual. This helped the "glide" greatly. I may just stick to cream with straights/shavettes as I always preferred their slickness over soaps however I found I prefer the extra cushion from soaps when using DE/SE. Considering I don't own (or plan on owning again) DE/SE I can just stick with creams.

BTW... My first real straight and strop will be here in a few days :)
Congratulations on you incoming, brother. :a14:
 
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