TimS' shave journal

[TimS]

Today was my first day with a straight razor against my face. All I have to say is that it is harder than it looks, that's for sure!

I switched to DE shaving (from electric) a few months ago, and I feel very comfortable with it. Settled on Polisilver Iridium and Vokshod blades in an EJ89, but still experimenting with soaps. But all in all, it's been going very well lately.

I had first considered straight razor shaving maybe a couple of years ago, but after some superficial research, decided it was a lot of effort to make the jump from my electric. But after slowing things down with a brush, soap, and DE razor, I've really come to appreciate the process, and the results have been much better than anything I've had in the past. I decided to do some more straight razor research, and realized that now that I have most of the gear and at least part of the routine down, I was ready to make the switch to the straight.

About the time I decided to start shopping for a razor, Obiwan here posted a couple for sale. Seeing how he offered a deal to military members and is in the same tiny state of RI as me, I ordered a Bismarck razor from him while I was temporarily doing some Navy work in Norfolk last month. Got home one weekend and checked out the razor (it was very cool to have one in hand), and then placed an order for the Whipped Dog poor man's strop so that I'd be ready when I finally got home for good.

This past week with family activities has been crazy, so instead of trying to shoehorn in straight razor shaving, I decided to just use the week to do some daily practice stropping with some antique store razors I picked up in my travels. Stropping too is harder than it looks.

I knew I'd have some time this morning, and I'll have a requirement to shave at night this week (riding bike to work in the a.m.), so it seemed like the perfect time to finally jump in. No shave yesterday meant two days' growth today--I figured I would be able to see/feel my results better this way.

First straight razor shave attempt:
Soap: MdC Fougere
Brush: Simpsons Duke 2 in Best
Razor: Bismarck full hollow ground, square or spike point (I don't really know the difference)

I'll cut to the chase: I only managed WTG passes on my cheeks, but didn't cut anything off.

The issues:
-Very nervous trying to get the proper initial angle without any horizontal slicing of the cheek. I remember a similar feeling with my first DE shave.
-I don't think I had my lather 'dialed in' for this shave. I know MdC is supposed to be ridiculously easy to lather, but I don't think I hit it quite right face lathering this morning. I bowl-lathered with MdC when I tried it for the first time last month, but I think this was my first face lather with it. I think I'll switch to bowl lathering for a little bit just to get back up to speed. I've been using my Klar Kabinett sample for the last few weeks face lathering with no problem, but just finished it the other day.
-Switching to the non-dominant hand for the left cheek was funky, especially in the mirror. Had a lot of trouble trying to coordinate seeing what I was doing with moving that left hand in the mirror, getting the right angle without slicing, etc. After getting the cheeks and front of the chin done WTG, I decided that was enough for today.
-I feel like my two-day growth maybe wasn't the best for this shave. Trying to get the correct angle, I got plenty of tugging until I got it right for a few strokes. I don't want to shave twice tomorrow (tried that once a couple of weeks ago, and left my face feeling raw, weird, and looking strangely shiny after application of AS balm), so tomorrow night will be 1.5 days of growth. Hopefully a little better (and subsequent shaves will all then be 1 day of growth).

I'm by no means discouraged, maybe just a little surprised with how difficult this was in comparison to what I've seen in video. But, skimming other first-time shave posts, I can see how this is to be expected. And I'm encouraged by all the posts saying that we will eventually get through this.

Hopefully I'll be posting again tomorrow night (or the next morning) with a little more success. I'm fine with taking it slow.

 

[rockviper]

Welcome to the really fun side of shaving!

Yours sounds like a pretty good first shave. My first few weeks and more were pretty rough, but it gave the boys at work something to chat about over coffee LOL We've all been there are being nervous to downright dirting our drawers those first few times is pretty much normal.

Angles can be tough, but when it clicks in , you'll look back and wonder "Why did I ever think this was difficult?" Try having the spine about 5mm or so from your skin. That should result in more cutting and less scraping. As an added bonus, your edge will last longer as well.

Pressure or really "no pressure" is the another key. I'm about 175 shaves in and drifted into using some pressure over the last few weeks. Switching over to a shavette had me with a load of weepers this morning, providing me with immediate feedback that what i thought was "no pressure" wasn't really true.

 

[pmaster]

Welcome and congrats on your first shave!

Gets your heart pumping at first eh?

If you stick at it, it'll come natural very quickly! I also started with DE for a little while before jumping "straight" in.

Maybe start by using soaps you are comfortable using for your next shave, try not to make too many changes when you're still starting. Also don't worry about the non-dominant hand, its very weird for most people, but after 5-10 times you get quite used to it.

When you stretch, get your hand over your head, that way it won't block the view of what you're doing.

Anyway, good luck and welcome to a whole new experience!

 

[TimS]

Second shave went a little better, but only marginally, and still covered limited areas with only one pass. I was less nervous this time, but still had difficulty finding the right angle so I didn't feel like I was scraping instead of shaving. I managed a N-S pass on cheeks and added the neck to the routine (a baby step). WTG for the cheeks, but ATG for the neck; I have to do 45 degrees on the neck with the DE, since I can't do a true WTG pass on most of my neck due to pattern/space--I didn't want to try the 45 degrees yet.

The worst part of the shave was when I went to do my subsequent passes with my DE and a Feather blade. Though I've settled on Polsilver Iridiums and Voskshods as my blades of choice (until I can finally transition to a straight for most of my shaves ), I have some leftovers from experimenting that I want to use up. I got more weepers/cuts from the Feather shave than I have in months. I think I only tried them once before, a while back with the same results--I chalked those results up to inexperience, but this time I'm blaming the blade since this never happens with any other blade. The remaining Feathers are going to the Great Blade Exchange as a donation, I think.

Tonight I'll keep working on blade angle. Comfort level with left hand was a bit better too. Finally, liberal use of my alum block on my fingers (both hands) really helped with making things grippy. I'd definitely recommend for anyone else just starting out.

 

[oakeshott]

Tim,
You're certainly starting off with good gear. Just a general suggestion to be patient and don't rush success. Get comfortable with the feel of the razor and after two weeks you'll see a big improvement. After 4 months of consistent use, you'll be getting shaves as good as what you're used to now.

One other thing. Unless you end up never using DE's again, don't throw those feather blades away. The first time I used them, they cut me to ribbons also; a few months later, they were the only blades I used.

 

[TimS]

Nothing much to add other than the comfort level with putting that blade on my face is growing significantly. Still working on awkward (to me, right now) positions, but every shave is a slight improvement.

The biggest deal about this shave is that I tested a sample of the Veg that was enclosed with my Whipped Dog Poor Man's strop. I had to see what all the fuss was about, and if I'm one of the 'chosen'. Well, immediately after application, I didn't think it was too bad--I just felt like I smelled like a fresh bouquet of flowers--I could pick up the lilac smell (but I wondered why any guy would really want to smell like that). I popped in on my wife reading to my daughter at bed time, and the response from my daughter was, "mmmmmmm". Response from wife was, "you smell like an old lady. Not bad, just like an old lady". At least I didn't smell like cat urine, or however it's been described by others. One of the 'chosen'? I guess so. I just will never choose the Veg.

 

[The Don]

Nice work, Tim. I'm not very far ahead of you, but if I can recommend anything, it's to learn something from every shave, not just survie it. I view straight razor shaving as the mastery of several learning curves: blade angle, pressure, grips, skin stretching, lather consistency, stropping, honing...

Early on, I'd have a good day with one learning curve and a poor day with another. Eventually I got to a point where I'd have good days across all facets, and that's when the shaves really get enjoyable. Some days are still better than others for me, and I still have a lot to work on, but the idea of a takeaway from every shave, however small, has helped my improvement (along with some great advice from these boards).

Keep us posted on your progress - and nice starter setup!!

 

[Obiwan]

I think so much is on getting grip comfort and understanding pressure. You certaining don't want to apply pressure, but as your stroke becomes more confident and purposeful you will notice the razor cutting better.

 

[noahpictures]

Great idea starting a public journal! Keep the skin taut, the angle flat and the strokes short and confident (fake it for now). In my experience it was a good idea to forget some DE habits such as strict WTG, XTG, ATG passes; my shaves improved when I began shaving in simpler North to South and South to North (mostly) passes.
Ask lots of questions.

 

[Attila]

Nice work, Tim. I'm not very far ahead of you, but if I can recommend anything, it's to learn something from every shave, not just survie it. I view straight razor shaving as the mastery of several learning curves: blade angle, pressure, grips, skin stretching, lather consistency, stropping, honing...

Early on, I'd have a good day with one learning curve and a poor day with another. Eventually I got to a point where I'd have good days across all facets, and that's when the shaves really get enjoyable. Some days are still better than others for me, and I still have a lot to work on, but the idea of a takeaway from every shave, however small, has helped my improvement (along with some great advice from these boards).

Keep us posted on your progress - and nice starter setup!!

This is such great advice!!

 

[TimS]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the encouragement. I'm doing what The Don said: trying to learn something new from each shave. I'm definitely seeing blade angle changes with differing results, skin stretching effectiveness, etc.

I opted to bowl lather my MdC for a change, and really liked having a reservoir of lather available during the course of the shave. I found myself touching up some spots that started drying out due to my very deliberate shaves right now.

Comfort level with my 'off' (left) hand is much better. I am finding that I'm getting much less tugging when I use my left hand, probably due to less pressure and maybe better angle. It's interesting that there is such a difference, but it clearly points out where I need to concentrate my efforts with my right hand..

Tried under the nose for the first time last night. THAT's going to take some practice!

Still no major cuts or nicks, but only because I'm erring on the sign of caution for now.

As I MUST have a close shave early each morning this weekend due to job commitments, I'll probably take a break from the straight on Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully that won't impact this steep learning curve too much.

Again, thanks for the encouragement and advice.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the encouragement. I'm doing what The Don said: trying to learn something new from each shave. I'm definitely seeing blade angle changes with differing results, skin stretching effectiveness, etc.

I opted to bowl lather my MdC for a change, and really liked having a reservoir of lather available during the course of the shave. I found myself touching up some spots that started drying out due to my very deliberate shaves right now.

Comfort level with my 'off' (left) hand is much better. I am finding that I'm getting much less tugging when I use my left hand, probably due to less pressure and maybe better angle. It's interesting that there is such a difference, but it clearly points out where I need to concentrate my efforts with my right hand..

Tried under the nose for the first time last night. THAT's going to take some practice!

Still no major cuts or nicks, but only because I'm erring on the sign of caution for now.

As I MUST have a close shave early each morning this weekend due to job commitments, I'll probably take a break from the straight on Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully that won't impact this steep learning curve too much.

Again, thanks for the encouragement and advice.

I did weekends only for my straight shaves for the first like 10 or so, and never really did them many days in a row till recently, and I don't think it really impacted the learning curve. The one thing that really helped pull it all together for me was once I settled into a routine. Each shave was the same grip and passes in the mostly same order and such. The muscle memory is way faster to build when you are mostly consistent with the routine.

Sounds like you've gotten off to a great start. Congrats!

 

[TimS]

A quick update on my last 3 shaves:
-Sunday night I was back to the straight after skipping Friday and Saturday nights (needed fresh a.m. DE shaves). For some reason, the shave was really crappy. Didn't feel comfortable, lots of tugging (couldn't get angle right), etc. Decided to put the razor on the balsa and then leather strops and watch some videos before Monday's shave.
-Monday went much better; confidence level is rapidly increasing. I'm doing quite well on the cheeks, neck is OK (but sometimes awkward with the scales in the way), but the chin is pretty tough. I can't get over the feeling that I'm going to take a chunk of skin off when going over the chin's curves. Hasn't happened yet, though.
-Tonight (Tuesday) my comfort level with the razor in my hand is probably the highest its been so far. Reviewing videos certainly helps. I'm also finding myself relathering quite a bit, just to make sure things are nice and slick. Oh, and tonight was the first time I did the mustache area. Was much easier than I thought; not sure why I was so worried.

Besides working on my angles for my neck and chin (neck growth is E-W from the Adam's apple on both sides, making it tough to go WTG), the other issue that I'm having is ATG passes. I'm only trying it on the cheeks right now. The razor skips and tugs when I try ATG. I'm trying different angles, but nothing seems to work. I am getting DFS-level shaves on the cheeks with an ATG and XTG pass, but I want that BBS I get from my DE with those 3 passes. Any advice on attacking this problem would be welcomed.

This is becoming more fun with each shave. I'm really surprised I haven't had any nicks yet, but based on my DE experience, I know they're coming, especially as I get more confident.

 

[Shave_Rat]

Lather for a straight shave seems to work better when it is "wetter" compared to the thick and creamy/heavy style. That helped me with some of the blade skipping issues. Really good skin stretching is another place to focus attention if you are getting skipping on the blade. Firm but gentle grip with confident strokes.

DFS to BBS shaves will happen as you get the angles down. A scything type stroke with ATG passes on the cheeks help. I use a stroke that is mostly against the grain, but also sort of in the shape of like a windshield wiper so it's not just directly against the stubble. Combined with good skin stretching it seems to help a lot in getting the down to a BBS shave. I also use a sort of diagonal stroke from under the chin to the lower neck to help deal with strange directional growth on the neck.

Hope some of that helps you out on the learning curve. Otherwise it sounds like you are coming along on it very well.

 

[pmaster]

I also had lots of trouble with the blade skipping when going ATG when I started. The issue was that I wasn't stretching enough. Confident small strokes also help.

Keep up the good work, it'll improve a lot in the next few weeks

 

[TimS]

I've been remiss in updating my journal; life gets pretty busy sometimes. Shaves have been pretty good, but I've made a few changes. I've decided against ATG for now; I just can't comfortably do it yet. So I cheat with a DE for my final pass. And I'm experimenting with sorta-scything motions suggested above for my neck. The chin is still kicking my butt; I'm sure it'll come with time.

I'm also checking out more YouTube videos. I'm skipping the ones that are obviously done by newbies like me, and trying to pick up tips on grips, stretching, etc. Some of those guys (like many here, I'm sure) make it look so, so easy. I got to that point with DE's fairly quickly, and I know straights will take longer, but I'm really looking forward to getting there someday.

One of the things that I find most attractive about shaving with straights is the whole 'vintage' part of it. It blows me away that we can get easily get our hands on and shave with something 100-150+ years old, if we want to. When I first started with DE shaving, I loved the idea of shaving with DE razors from the beginning of the last century. And now straights-wow! If I'm not careful, I could find myself spending way too much money on this stuff. And I haven't even thought about honing yet. Or upgrading my beginner's strop. At least I'm settled in with soaps/brushes--never got the AD bug for either. I think with straights, in order to keep it reasonable, I'd like to settle on a 7-day setup (not a set; 7 unique razors). I can't justify going bigger than that. We'll see.

 

[TimS]

Last night was my first 100% straight shave, with ATG thrown in on most of my face (not the mustache area--I never do with a DE there, and likely won't with the straight). The shave went very well, and got some BBS in a few areas, with the remainder at the DFS level. I think at this point not feeling nervous about cutting myself to shreds helps immensely. Once I reached that point with the DE, DE shaving became very fast and easy. I'm not looking for either at this stage of straight shaving, but I do feel like I've reached a bit of a milestone. Of course, I understand one really good shave does not a great shaver make, but at least I'm heading in the right direction. And it certainly helps having a great edge on some of my blades provided by Obiwan and via a vendor--I'm sure this is making all the difference in the world.

Now my thoughts are wandering to honing. I have a tag sale (New England term for yard sale) razor that I'd like to bring to shave ready, and I'd like to be self-sufficient at some point with regards to honing, so I'm doing lots of reading on it right now. I'm thinking about starting with film just to see if I can get to a shave from scratch with minimal investment, and then look at other methods. I guess finishing is where my biggest questions are; I'm wondering what 'harsh' means in the context of finishing a blade before hitting the edge with a strop, what kinds of finishes feel best to me, etc. And coticules fascinate me for some reason.

I'll answer these, of course, only by trial-and-error and research. I'm looking forward to it!

 

[global_dev]

Harsh for me is a sore feeling on the strokes. For me its immediate. Only had 3-5 in 300 shaves.

Coticules are fascinating rocks. Very pretty. Very versatile.

Great progess so far!

 

[TimS]

I'm still at it, and enjoying this hobby very much. Got a kind of serious cut last week, when for some reason I slightly turned my head while the blade was sitting on my chin. Lesson learned! Other than that, still working on muscle memory and non-dominant hand use, and it's coming along nicely.

Now I've reached the point where: a) I want to be able to hone new (used) razors and not have to depend on/impose on anyone else, and b) I need to pick a method (or two) to maintain my edges. I have enough razors in rotation now that I'm not at the point yet of having to touch up anything yet (well, maybe one or two I might've knocked out of whack with my lack of stropping skill early on).

I don't really know how each of the handful of razors I have were finished, so I can't compare the 'feel' of different methods to know what I like best. So I've taken it upon myself to order a coticule and a thurangian, and learn to finish on those (and I just honed one razor from start to finish on film last night, with success). I am taking advantage of the free coticule.be honing service, so I'll know what a coticule honed by a professional feels like, compared to my efforts. And I want to see how the lapping film finish compares to these as well. To try to keep things simple/repeatable, I'll probably just do the finishing on one razor for now, comparing the feel of each. I hope to nail down one method that I prefer eventually. But I know it'll take time, as all aspects of this hobby seem to.

And one more thing; I got my hand on a Tony Miller strop recently--very, very nice workmanship. A real pleasure to use!

 

[Shave_Rat]

Glad to see you're still going strong. I'm still avoiding the urge to start honing... for now. For edge maintenance, I have a powdered balsa strop from whipped dog, and a poor man's strop and paste I can add to it. I also found an old barbers hone in still usable condition. So far they are keeping my straights up and shaving.