Took the plunge with my first straight
- Thread starter AETProf
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
Got to love that optimisim!
I started here in 2013 and can say I only have 3 DE razors now, which is very low compared to the rest of the B&B crew I imagine. Did go through a slight stage of looking at local pawn shops and antique stores, but the only one I bought there was gifted to a Vet buddy of mine (WW2 era razor).
Can't say for certain that I'll not go crazy, but I can only use one razor a day. Now, I have bought 4 guitars in the last 18 months, so I do have that itch. The real question is which one will win out.
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Traditional Straight Razor Shaving Instructions for Beginners
The attached are instructions for beginners in the gentlemanly art of traditional straight razor shaving. Updated instructions will be posted in this thread as they are developed. To keep this thread reasonably clean and easy to read, please post any comments/suggestions in this thread and ask...
www.badgerandblade.com
- Thread starter
- #25
Welcome to the Dark Side ......
We shall see. Razors are cheaper than guitars and easier to hide, haha.
- Thread starter
- #26
Traditional Straight Razor Shaving Instructions for Beginners
The attached are instructions for beginners in the gentlemanly art of traditional straight razor shaving. Updated instructions will be posted in this thread as they are developed. To keep this thread reasonably clean and easy to read, please post any comments/suggestions in this thread and ask...
Thanks for the reading material. First glance looks to be a great guide!
I really like my linen strops, and I highly recommend Stirling Shave soaps. The lathers I get are just beautiful in form and function…and they enable the most delightful straight razors shaves…lots of protection and the slickness is second to none!
Vr
Matt
Vr
Matt
Congratulations. Now it’s time to think about honing. “The Method” is a cost effective and beginner friendly way to get started.
Slash McCoy
I freehand dog rockets
@Tony Miller is our resident strop guy. See if he has a nice beginner strop to sell you. I would not start out with a paddle strop. Hanging leather is IMHO the way to go. Remember that you are very likely to destroy your first strop so don't go top shelf with your first one.
Read read read the threads and the wiki. If you shaved successfully with a shavette, you won't have much trouble with a good SHARP straight razor. You may have to help the razor a bit. Adding a very small slicing component to your stroke increases cutting power a lot, if the edge is marginal.
You can up your game and make your already sharp straight razor as sharp as a shavette, using a progression of lapped and pasted balsa. It DOES NOT WORK on a razor that is not already quite sharp. But a good 12k edge or a good natural edge can be taken to quite astonishing levels of sharpness if you can follow instructions precisely with no deviation. Lots of noobs have used this style of edge finishing and maintenance with stunning success and there are very, very few failures. Generally by the second attempt, a better than professional edge is achieved.
The biggest difference between shaving with a good quality solidly built shavette with decent heft and good blade indexing and holding power, vs a straight razor, is edge quality, particularly edge sharpness. No semantics war here. When I say sharpness I mean how well and how effortlessly it cuts through whiskers.
One man's "harsh" is another man's "sharp", sometimes. Conversely, a dull-ish razor might seem "gentle" to some shavers. A very sharp edge might be perceived as harsh or uncomfortable or unforgiving, but it is really a question of technique. Very sharp edges work best with a very low shave angle, even going so low that the spine nearly drags on the skin. As an experienced shavette user, you have probably already discovered this if you are not bleeding like a pig being slaughtered when you shave. I am sure you also discovered the value of tightly stretching the skin to be shaven, and using appropriately light pressure. At any rate, having used a shavette successfully, I doubt you would ever find any straight razor to be too sharp. There are other qualities besides sharpness, of course, but if you don't have that, you may as well just use a Good News in the shower.
One reason I mention the balsa is that it is a great way to keep your razor from ever getting dull and needing a re-honing. You use the full three stage progression to get it very sharp, then after every shave give it 50 or so laps on just the .1µ pasted balsa to keep it that way. Of course you still need to strop on hanging leather before the next shave.
Normally it is recommended that the new straight shaver start with two razors, so there is always one ready for use even if the other one is out being honed, or you are struggling with honing it yourself. However, you do have your shavette as a backup already. Nevertheless you might keep an eye out for a bona fide shave ready second razor. As you have probably discovered from hanging out on this forum, many "honemeisters" talk the talk but few can walk the walk. Never trust anyone who does not shave every day with a straight razor to hone yours. Always stay within the community. There are several online shaving and straight razor forums so an unfamiliar name here might be more active elsewhere, but make sure your guy is part of the community or is very well known and respected among the forum members. When in doubt, post. Just remember you are not supposed to post links to live auctions as this can drive up bidding. The BST forum here sometimes has a good deal or two, but you have to pounce quick on the good ones because they don't last long before somebody else gets it. There are a very few sellers on fleabay that are known and trusted, among the thousands who don't know what shave ready means or don't care.
Read read read the threads and the wiki. If you shaved successfully with a shavette, you won't have much trouble with a good SHARP straight razor. You may have to help the razor a bit. Adding a very small slicing component to your stroke increases cutting power a lot, if the edge is marginal.
You can up your game and make your already sharp straight razor as sharp as a shavette, using a progression of lapped and pasted balsa. It DOES NOT WORK on a razor that is not already quite sharp. But a good 12k edge or a good natural edge can be taken to quite astonishing levels of sharpness if you can follow instructions precisely with no deviation. Lots of noobs have used this style of edge finishing and maintenance with stunning success and there are very, very few failures. Generally by the second attempt, a better than professional edge is achieved.
The biggest difference between shaving with a good quality solidly built shavette with decent heft and good blade indexing and holding power, vs a straight razor, is edge quality, particularly edge sharpness. No semantics war here. When I say sharpness I mean how well and how effortlessly it cuts through whiskers.
One man's "harsh" is another man's "sharp", sometimes. Conversely, a dull-ish razor might seem "gentle" to some shavers. A very sharp edge might be perceived as harsh or uncomfortable or unforgiving, but it is really a question of technique. Very sharp edges work best with a very low shave angle, even going so low that the spine nearly drags on the skin. As an experienced shavette user, you have probably already discovered this if you are not bleeding like a pig being slaughtered when you shave. I am sure you also discovered the value of tightly stretching the skin to be shaven, and using appropriately light pressure. At any rate, having used a shavette successfully, I doubt you would ever find any straight razor to be too sharp. There are other qualities besides sharpness, of course, but if you don't have that, you may as well just use a Good News in the shower.
One reason I mention the balsa is that it is a great way to keep your razor from ever getting dull and needing a re-honing. You use the full three stage progression to get it very sharp, then after every shave give it 50 or so laps on just the .1µ pasted balsa to keep it that way. Of course you still need to strop on hanging leather before the next shave.
Normally it is recommended that the new straight shaver start with two razors, so there is always one ready for use even if the other one is out being honed, or you are struggling with honing it yourself. However, you do have your shavette as a backup already. Nevertheless you might keep an eye out for a bona fide shave ready second razor. As you have probably discovered from hanging out on this forum, many "honemeisters" talk the talk but few can walk the walk. Never trust anyone who does not shave every day with a straight razor to hone yours. Always stay within the community. There are several online shaving and straight razor forums so an unfamiliar name here might be more active elsewhere, but make sure your guy is part of the community or is very well known and respected among the forum members. When in doubt, post. Just remember you are not supposed to post links to live auctions as this can drive up bidding. The BST forum here sometimes has a good deal or two, but you have to pounce quick on the good ones because they don't last long before somebody else gets it. There are a very few sellers on fleabay that are known and trusted, among the thousands who don't know what shave ready means or don't care.
- Thread starter
- #30
First run with the straight today. Overall a success. Slight nick below the adams apple and minimal irritation at the base of my neck, but actually similar or even better compared to the shavette.
I did two passes on my neck, first north to south, and then reversed south to north. I typically only do a north to south with a safety razor as I'll get some irritation going south to north anyway, but the south to north with the straight felt like I could control it better, especially with my beard getting into the way a little going north to south.
I think I'll stick with only one south to north pass on my neck next time to see how it goes.
I did two passes on my neck, first north to south, and then reversed south to north. I typically only do a north to south with a safety razor as I'll get some irritation going south to north anyway, but the south to north with the straight felt like I could control it better, especially with my beard getting into the way a little going north to south.
I think I'll stick with only one south to north pass on my neck next time to see how it goes.
Congrats on getting through your first true straight razor shave. I would agree that yours is more of a hollow than a near wedge. Especially when you consider that on 19th Century Sheffields ”hollow” usually meant a razor much more wedgey than than the term means today. Its all good though - a wedge will feel a bit different than an extra hollow, but both can get the job done and its only with time and experimentation that you will decide which you prefer.
Yes, congrats on your first SR shave!
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Congratulations on your first traditional straight razor shave. It only gets better with each subsequent shave.
If you reduce your edge pressure against the skin (even more) and watch your shaving angle, your neck irritation should soon be a thing of the past.
If you reduce your edge pressure against the skin (even more) and watch your shaving angle, your neck irritation should soon be a thing of the past.
I agree with Slash McC. Go with a hanging leather strop. Griffith and Tony Miller are good sources. I have a cordovan strop from Griffith that simply can't be beat (expensive, though).
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