I had been dithering for some time with a Bengall straight I have resurrected, trying to summon up enough courage to lather up and shave with it. My initial, tentative experiences with this razor had not been good. I knew it was really too dull to use effectively and had tended to nick and then drag the hairs out rather than cut through them. So I applied myself yesterday and reworked the blade back to 600#, down through 1500# and then onto natural stones. I finished with chromium oxide on balsa and stropped it on home made strop. The finished blade was capable of severing a single bristle drawn across its edge.
So today it was down to work on two days of growth.
I had reviewed the recommended links and looked at the youtube videos and pictures and thought I had it off pat. After half a century of wet shaving I thought it would be easy to apply the pictures but it wasnt and for the first time in decades fell victim to the image reversal that occurs in mirrors. I was moving left when I should have been moving right. This is the sort of mistake that can lead to expensive surgical interventions. Eventually I got the hang of it and did some rather attractive passes down my cheeks and throat. The Coup de Maitre caused me particular concern as I thought I was to loose my nose, my upper lip or both. My chin was also a bit of a challenge and it was there that I received my first battle scar. It will heal in time.
The result wasnt amongst the best shaves that I have ever experienced and on a scale of one to ten it was worth a four. Practice they say makes perfect so I guess it is just a matter of keeping going until I get it right (alternatively keep going until I run out of unscarred tissue).
At least now I can say that I have shaved with a straight razor and that makes me feel rather noble.
So today it was down to work on two days of growth.
I had reviewed the recommended links and looked at the youtube videos and pictures and thought I had it off pat. After half a century of wet shaving I thought it would be easy to apply the pictures but it wasnt and for the first time in decades fell victim to the image reversal that occurs in mirrors. I was moving left when I should have been moving right. This is the sort of mistake that can lead to expensive surgical interventions. Eventually I got the hang of it and did some rather attractive passes down my cheeks and throat. The Coup de Maitre caused me particular concern as I thought I was to loose my nose, my upper lip or both. My chin was also a bit of a challenge and it was there that I received my first battle scar. It will heal in time.
The result wasnt amongst the best shaves that I have ever experienced and on a scale of one to ten it was worth a four. Practice they say makes perfect so I guess it is just a matter of keeping going until I get it right (alternatively keep going until I run out of unscarred tissue).
At least now I can say that I have shaved with a straight razor and that makes me feel rather noble.