temjeito's shave journal (starting with very first SR shave!

[Shave_Rat]

I have had those super fine thin cuts show up well after the shave as well. They are just so shallow and clean they aren't easily spotted (or felt) at first. You will get past the scratching/nicking stage eventually. Reading others journals and the more experienced guys commenting on mine indicates we all went through that stage when starting out.

I often wonder if we have a harder learning curve since we have to be mostly self taught with just advice and videos to go by, compared to the straight shave heyday where all the guys and barbers did it, and a father could teach a son in person from an early age.

 

[temjeito]

I often wonder if we have a harder learning curve since we have to be mostly self taught with just advice and videos to go by, compared to the straight shave heyday where all the guys and barbers did it, and a father could teach a son in person from an early age.

I've had this same thought. At least we have this, though!

 

[temjeito]

With a full 10 shaves under my belt, and an even dozen just over the horizon, it was fitting that this shave be unremarkable, and it was. I cannot recall when "unremarkable" has been so satisfying!

I muted the tip of the blade on my alum block, and got no new vertical scratches today. I also switched brushes, using my Bock Silvertip to bowl-lather the MWF. I got a good lather, though I think it could have used just a few more drops of water. I shaved three passes: WTG, WTG, XTG (with a bit of ATG under my lip). Aside from one small nick on my neck that closed up as soon as I hit it with the alum, I had no nicks, cuts or scratches, and very little irritation. Even my neck, which turns red after even my best DE shaves, wasn't too bad this morning. The end result is definitely socially acceptable, and feels really good in most spots. Below the jawline is still not as close as I'd like, but getting closer every day. Aside from a few patches just above my lip and at my sideburns, and a tiny spot under my lip that I didn't bother cleaning up, I'd call this DFS above the jaw. I've been facesturbating a ton already this morning, as this is the best my face has felt after a straight shave.


I'm really enjoying this little KB Extra. Stropping skills seem to have improved, as I have had no issues with feeling like the edge is dulling. I'm eager to try the Kutezy again once Obiwan rehones it, to see how it shaves with my improved stropping and shaving technique. Also, I pulled the trigger on a third straight, a 5/8 Bowdins wedge from Larry at Whipped Dog, so that should be here soon. I'm traveling again next week, so I'll close out the weekend with the KB Extra, and hopefully at least one of the other two razors will be waiting for me when I get back.

 

[temjeito]

Hooray! My Kutezy is already back from Obiwan! I will almost certainly be unable to resist trying it out tomorrow morning!

 

[temjeito]

5/8 Kutezy
Bock Silvertip
MWF (bowl-lathered)
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

My 12 straight shave ever, my ninth with the Kutezy, and my best shave so far.

I was delighted to get the razor back from Obiwan, who not only generously rehoned the razor he'd already honed once, but I'm pretty sure he tightened the pins, too. From the moment I put the razor to my face, I knew this was going to be a different experience from the first 8.

I did two passes -- one WTG and one XTG -- with some extra WTG strokes at the chin. The Kutezy does seem to struggle a bit more than the KB Extra on the chin whiskers, and every time I took another WTG pass on my chin, I took away more hair. I suspect part of this is working on my angle; the tendency of the blade to catch makes me instinctively apply pressure so I may have been compensating with a shallower angle. Something to work on, for sure.

The tip on this blade is definitely muted, but I still managed to give myself a few very shallow scratches by dragging the point of the blade against my cheekbone while slicing away at my upper lip. I'll need to remember to approach the upper lip with a part of the blade a bit closer to the point so that doesn't happen again.

All in all, with less than two weeks' worth of shaves under my belt, today's shave was smooth and comfortable--not as close as I can get with a safety, but close enough that it feels like a proper shave. I'm feeling really good about this, and confident that by the time I hit 100 shaves, I will be getting better shaves than even a DE or SE can give me.

 

[temjeito]

Kutezy 5/8
La Toja stick
Bock Silvertip

The power went out while I was in the shower, so lucky thirteen went down in the dark. There was enough light from the window to see, but not really enough for shaving (especially a newb with a straight). I don't love the light in my bathroom anyway (50 watts directly overhead), and may borrow my mother-in-law's lighted, magnified makeup mirror. Anyone else use one of these? My concern is that it will be much lower than my face, which will be an odd angle to shave at. Anyone else use a countertop mirror like that to shave with?

I think this is the first time I've face lathered with the Bock. I was surprised with how well it did. Also my first time using La Toja, which exploded quickly into a very nice lather. Not sure I care for the smell, though!

I took my time this morning, and two leisurely passes (WTG, XTG) resulted in a very satisfactory shave. I had read about using a "scooping"motion in global_dev's journal, and gave that a try. Definitely a closer shave, though with a bit more irritation. I can see the muscle memory starting to kick in, and my handling of the blade is becoming more natural and controlled. I'm more mindful of angle and blade placement, and of making small refinements to each. I can easily see how, in practiced hands, the straight is capable of far greater precision than a safety razor.

Gave myself a couple of nicks near my nose, and definitely had more irritation than I would like, but overall this was a great shave!

 

[temjeito]

4/8 KB Extra
Tabac
Semogue 1305
Captain's Choice Lime


Two weeks! Lots of changes today--too many, and I was in a rush this morning (had a plane to catch). In addition to the new brush, and my first time using Tabac in a while, I had two days' growth.


Two passes, WTG and XTG, with a bit of ATG on the chin, and some cleanup with just water on the cheeks and neck. Not as close as #13, but much less irritation. I only stropped about 10 times before shaving (time crunch), and the blade definitely did not feel as efficient as before. Usually with two days' growth a DE or SE would give me a near BBS shave in one pass. This was SAS, with a close enough shave above the jawline, and about a days' growth left on the neck. I also gave myself a pair of small vertical slashes, one on each cheek. One disappeared by the time I put on the a/s, the other is still faintly visible.


I wish I hadn't changed so many variables in one shave, but I'm pretty pleased I was able to make it through a rushed shave without irritation or serious cuts. I'll strop the blade a bunch more before I use it again. I'm traveling this week, so my next straight shave will probably be on Friday or Saturday, with a Bowdins Wedge on its way from Larry at whippeddog.com. Here's hoping my DE blades made it through this time!

 

[Attila]

Best of luck!

 

[temjeito]

5/8 Bowdin's Wedge (green scales)
Proraso Green
Semogue 1305 (green handle)
Mennen Skin Bracer



After the last shave, when I regretted changing so many variables, I went ahead and changed ALL the variables for this one. First shave with the wedge from Larry at Whipped Dog, first shave with the (not quite broken in yet) Semogue, first shave in weeks with Proraso. And oh, boy, what a great shave. First pass WTG gave me a nice, comfortable shave. Second pass gave me DFS, with just a bit of stubble feel on either side of my Adam's apple, as is usually the case even with a DE. Had some irritation on the neck, but nothing major.

I like the feel of the wedge better than the hollower grinds -- it doesn't seem to have nearly as much trouble with the tougher hairs on my chin.

 

[temjeito]

Bowdins Wedge
Bock Silvertip
Tabac
Captain's Choice Lime


I love this wedge! It feels both more forgiving than the other two straights I've used, and better able to cut through my stubble. Today's shave was a one-two WTG/XTG with great results. I'm calling this one full-on DFS, with no irritation. I took my time working up a good bowl lather with the Tabac. Great soap, great brush, but I noticed the Tabac leaves my face drier than the Fat does.

My SRAD is getting really bad. I've got two more razors to try from the BST--a Torrey near-wedge and a CVH--and I just bought three off the 'bay for about $11 each. I'll post pics when they arrive; I'm thinking its time to try my hand at restoration/honing.

Edit: I know that's not Lime in the picture, but I changed my mind after taking the pic and used Lime instead of Bay Rum.

 

[AjaxLepinski]

Sounds like things are going well!!! This is the first time I'm reading your thread and I'd like to say that I enjoy your writing style and congrats on your success!!!

 

[Shave_Rat]

I'm a fan of Tabac, myself. Great lather for sure.

GL on the honing and restoration. Two areas I'm not willing to dive into... yet, at least.

 

[temjeito]

Bowdins Wedge
Bock Silvertip
Olivia's Seife WM Dschinn
Captain's Choice Bay Rum

I've been enjoying bowl-lathering with my silvertip, and I'm about to start using the B&B Boar for Item of the Week, so I pulled out a soap I haven't used in a while, Olivia's Dschinn. This was one of the first soaps I ever used, and I love the smell (vanilla + myrrh). I got a decent lather out of it, but this soap doesn't provide nearly the glide of a Tabac or MWF. Nevertheless, I got a very pleasant shave out of it. I did only one pass, WTG with some XTG on the neck, and the result was not quite as close as #16, but a close, comfortable, irritation-free shave.

 

[temjeito]

Bowdins Wedge
B&B Boar
Palmolive stick
Captain's Choice Lime

My fourth shave with the Bowdins wedge, and I'm enjoying it so much I can't bring myself to use any of the other razors yet, including the two new (to me) ones. That will pass soon, I'm sure.

Today was a two-pass shave, WTG/XTG. I managed to cut myself a few times (once by touching the edge of the blade perpendicular to the skin as I planned my approach on the right sideburn, and once near my chin with a sloppy "dismount"), but the shave is DFS/BBS. The alum block tells me my angle was a bit too aggressive on the neck, where the hairs that grow sideways (away from the adam's apple) refuse to submit completely.

Today was also my first time using the Palmolive stick. I soaked the boar for longer than usual this morning (resulting in a bit less backbone than I like), and gave it only a gentle "drop" before face-lathering (so it should have been really wet), but I must have dipped the brush back in water at least a dozen times before I got a suitable lather. Since I had just enough lather in the brush for two shaves, I don't believe I used an inordinate amount of soap. Is this just a very "thirsty" soap? The lather it eventually produced was excellent--better, I think, than what I usually get from Arko or the one time I used La Toja, but it sure took a long time. Perhaps I will do a stick-off while I'm using the B&B boar exclusively anyway.

 

[temjeito]

Bowdins Wedge
B&B Boar
La Toja stick
Captain's Choice Bay Rum
View attachment 343636

I thought I'd give the La Toja stick another chance, but it seems determined to make me hate it. The smell did not bother me today; in fact, I didn't notice it at all. Perhaps that's because the stick has had a chance to air out a bit, or perhaps my sinuses were even more clogged than usual. Either way, I was encouraged by the lack of any offensive odors, so I proceeded to face-lather. As with the Palmolive stick yesterday, I found myself adding loads of water. Both times, when I started face-lathering, water came dripping out of the brush so I don't think it's a question of keeping more water in the brush to start with. Is this just the way it goes with the sticks?

Anyway, once I started shaving, I found that the lather was not providing much glide. To the contrary, in places it seemed to create an almost "tacky" or rubber-like feel that caused the blade to drag instead of glide. I've never had that happen before, and I did not enjoy it. It's probably something I'm doing wrong, but since I've gotten better results with virtually every other soap I've ever used, I'm not inclined to keep working at the La Toja.

Other than the lather, today's shave was a mixed bag. I did my "usual" two passes. I could easily have stopped after the first pass, and probably should have. I had DFS on my face, but wanted to get that on my neck. I started the second pass on my neck, and focused on stretching the skin and taking slow, short strokes to make sure I followed the many curves of my throat. The result was probably the closest shave I've gotten on my neck with a straight, but with quite a bit of irritation. I'd like to blame some of that on the lack of glide from the lather, but I'm not sure that's fair. End result was BBS above the jawline, CCS/DFS below, but nearly 2 hours later I'm still feeling the razor burn on my neck.

For some reason, I also cut myself a bunch of times today. Nothing serious, but kind of frustrating. I think this is the razor's way of letting me know that I'm getting a bit too comfortable a bit too soon.

 

[temjeito]

Bowdins Wedge
B&B Boar
La Toja stick (grated and molded into a dish)
Captain's Choice Lime

My neck hates me right now.

I decided to give the La Toja another shot, this time in a bowl. I figure I need to use more product and more water, and it was a pain loading the brush with a stick. I got plenty of soap on the brush, but it seemed like I couldn't add enough water. This was a better lather than the last two (especially on the second pass), but I still find that when this soap dries it gets "sticky" in a way my other soaps don't, and that impacts the quality of the shave.

I was distracted today. The shave helped with that, by giving me a half hour of zen, but the distraction impacted my focus and resulted in a few nicks. My neck still felt raw from yesterday, so I decided to give it a break. I did one pass WTG, and another XTG above the neck only. Even that one pass on my neck felt rough. The result was DFS above the neck, and actually better than expected below the neck. I'm thinking of giving the neck, and maybe the whole face, a rest for a day (either DE or no shaving), but we'll see.

I thought for my 20th straight razor shave I would try to make a list of the most helpful tips or lessons I think were most helpful to me in learning how to do this. Much of this may be obvious, but each of these was an "a-ha!" moment for me during the first 19 shaves.

1. Get a grip. I'd say improving my grip is probably the one thing that has had the most immediate impact on the quality of my shave. Having a firm grip is the only way to control the angle of the shave, and the better your grip the more consistently and precisely you can find the right angle (with practice, of course). I typically grip the razor with two fingers (pointer and middle) on the top of the tang, and my thumb underneath. I then rest my ring finger in the curve of the tail, and often use my pinkie on the other side of the tail to counterbalance. Having all five fingers in play gives me increased control and precision. Alum block on the fingers helps.
2. Move your head. One of the trickiest things I encountered when starting out was how to see what I was doing as I set up the angle of attack at my sideburns. What I eventually discovered was if I tilt my head all the way to the side (ear to shoulder), I can see what I'm doing for the first inch or two. then I straighten my head out, and resume with a more normal angle.
3. Move the scales. Sometimes the only way to get the right angle, especially on the neck, is to move the scales out of the way. I rarely shave ATG, so I usually have the scales at somewhere between a 75 and 105 degree angle to the spine. At some points on my neck, though, I have the scales straight out, so they don't get in the way.
4. Use the whole blade... You've got three inches of steel, and if you stretch your skin and twist your face just right, you can use the entire edge to mow down whiskers. Even a 4/8 can hold a pretty good amount of lather, so with practice you can do huge swaths of face in essentially one stroke--very efficient!
5. ...but not all at once. A lot of the cuts I gave myself were because I was focusing on one part of my face, and didn't notice that the blade was also coming into contact with another part of my face until it was too late. When I started paying more attention to where all parts of the blade were, I noticed that different parts of my face are easier to shave with different parts of the blade. For example, under my nose I use just the tip to make short strokes in a down-and-out direction (SE or SW). This lets me get very precise, and keeps the tip away from my eye and cheekbone. On the sides of my mouth, I find using a part of the edge closer to the center or even the heel works better, because I have a lot of skin there on which the tip could get caught.
6. "wetter lather, more soap loading". This advice came from global_dev, and vastly improved my shaves. As I focused more on building a good, thick lather with plenty of water, I found that my shaves got smoother and I didn't have to keep stopping to reapply lather (except for La Toja)
7. Stretch regularly. Stretching the skin will make the hairs stand up, and give you a nice flat surface for the blade. Don't be afraid to make funny faces, or twist your other hand around the top or back of your head to get the stretch right. Alum block on the fingers helps.
8. Switch hands. If you're having trouble finding the right angle, or getting the blade in the right position, try your other hand. There are no set rules--find what works best for you. For example, I do WTG on my cheeks with the same-side hand, but XTG with the opposite hand. On my neck and jaw, I switch around a lot more.
9. Stop. Look. Listen. Repeat. Read the shave journals on this site, watch the videos (like this one and this one), and take the advice of your fellow B&Bers. YMWV, and at the early stage, I've found that mileage varies substantially with each shave. Revisiting videos or advice after a few shaves you will find new insight, see different things, or better understand what was being said.
10. Don't drop the razor. ​Seriously.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Good list, I'd add a note that if you do drop the razor, you have to really work in your head to not instinctively try to *catch* said falling razor.

I've had good luck with La Toja, but it was mashed into a bowl and I loaded the brush that way. Never ran into dry "sticky" lather issues with it.

 

[Bird_Flu]

I just got caught up on your journal. Sounds like your straight shaves are coming along nicely, although some of your early war wounds looked pretty bad. I'm hitting the subscribe button on your thread. Keep up the awesome work and keep plugging away. Also thanks for the list of lessons learned. I learned a few things from this list.

 

[temjeito]

Torrey 5/8 near wedge
Da Vinci 293
Martin de Candre scented
Captain's Choice Cat o' Nine Tails

All new lineup tonight. GREAT shave. The Torrey doesn't feel as sharp as the Bowdin, but the auditory feedback is nice, as is the curved toe. The blade felt extremely forgiving, and I had no cuts, nicks, weepers, or irritation. Not as close on the neck as some parts have gotten in past shaves, but nice and even and close enough. The monkey tail is a bit short for me, so not as comfortable to hold as my other razors.

I got good results on the chin and neck by moving from the center and "Gillette slide"-ing down and out, while stretching up from the jawline (this was a bit awkward, and I usually try to stretch down from the neck).

The MdC is as good as everyone says, and the 293 was nice. Since everything was new tonight (new razor, soap and brush, plus 2.5 days' growth), I'm not sure where the credit lies for the smoothness of today's shave. The lather? The razor? Healed and rested skin? Longer hair? Dare I hope to think that improved technique might have something to do with it?
I'm looking forward to figuring it out.

 

[temjeito]

...actually, this one was neither. A solid CCS, executed with minimal irritation and no cuts, nicks or weepers. I took the weekend off to sample the Cobra Classic SE razor (which is awesome), but now it's back to the grind--or, in this case, wedge.

7/8 W. Harmar Cast Steel Wedge
da Vinci 293
Martin de Candre scented
Captain's Choice Lime

I'm not sure about this new wedge. Like the Bowdin and the Torrey, this blade felt more forgiving than the hollower grinds. I had some trouble getting the angle right--for some reason I had a strong tendency this shave to come in at a much wider angle than appropriate, and the razor did not feel as sharp as I remember the Bowdin or even the Torrey feeling. Could be that it's not. Could also be that, coming off of a few shaves with the incredibly sharp and thin Feather Pro and Kai blades in the Cobra, I'm just expecting too much. Could also be that I need some more time to get comfortable with this much wider blade.

I also had some trouble with the MdC this time around. I face-lathered, and never got what I considered to be a good lather. Too thick on the first pass, too thin on the second, and I only had enough for 2 passes. Weird as this may sound given MdC's reputation, and given that I loaded for probably 30 seconds, I think I'm not using enough product.

I love the aesthetics of this razor, and will probably use it a few more times in a row just to see how it shaves once I'm more used to it.