Took the plunge with my first straight

[AETProf]

When I first joined B&B, I was dipping my toes into the safety razor life and never looked back. While I haven't been active here in a long time, a friend gave me a shavette that he couldn't handle and I've been using for a couple weeks. Some blood and irritation at first, but it got me interested in a straight since I know they may be a little more forgiving. I tried some my father bought from eBay over a decade ago to no success, but likely due to my ignorance with wet shaving in general at the time and the higher likelihood the blades were no where near shave ready.

So I figured I'd jump on B&B to read some of the stickies here before ordering completely blind and ended up purchasing from Griffith Shaving Goods. Decided to go the vintage route and while the 13/16 may be a little bigger than I was initially thinking of purchasing, the rounded tip and being from the mid-1800s had me sold. I bought their shell cordovan strop as well.

Other than reading up and watching videos on strop/shave techniques, is there anything else I need to do/purchase before it arrives?

 

[sanookd]

A stypic pencil might be in order. I’m assuming you have a brush and some quality shave soap or cream. Witch Hazel or another balm in case you have a rough shave.
Good luck! Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

[Phoenixkh]

Congrats

 

[APBinNCA]

Super glue! Only half joking, if you need it you will wish you had it handy.

Oh Yeah, nice find! Near wedge is going to be a quiet cutter so be careful that you don't use pressure.

 

[Tanuki]

The Sheffield should be a great choice.

Razor flat to strop and face, light touch on both.

I am a big believer in edge maintenance using a diamond-pasted balsa strop progression. Effective and easier than using a finish hone. Finish hones can be a fascinating aspect of the hobby, of course.

 

[AETProf]

A stypic pencil might be in order. I’m assuming you have a brush and some quality shave soap or cream. Witch Hazel or another balm in case you have a rough shave.
Good luck! Keep us posted on how it goes.

I do have everything already and decided to grab a tub of T&H 1805 versus my normal TOBS. Never tried T&H creams, so excited to get my hands on it with my regular DE blades first.

Congrats

Thanks

Super glue! Only half joking, if you need it you will wish you had it handy.

Oh Yeah, nice find! Near wedge is going to be a quiet cutter so be careful that you don't use pressure.

I'm sure I'll have a learning curve, but luckily I've got a few weeks before I need to get ready for fall classes, so I can spend some more time in the mornings. Once the 5am wake up calls come around, I'll be back to my slim during the week and save the straight for the weekends.

The Sheffield should be a great choice.

Razor flat to strop and face, light touch on both.

I am a big believer in edge maintenance using a diamond-pasted balsa strop progression. Effective and easier than using a finish hone. Finish hones can be a fascinating aspect of the hobby, of course.

I've got a lot of studying to do with technique before it arrives, but light touch is definitely something I'm going to keep first in mind.

 

[AETProf]

Super glue! Only half joking, if you need it you will wish you had it handy.

Oh Yeah, nice find! Near wedge is going to be a quiet cutter so be careful that you don't use pressure.

Here's a better picture of the grind. While described as near wedge, it looks closer to a half hollow from other comparison grind pics I've seen.

 

[sanookd]

2 more things to remember.
Stretch the skin and always be cognizant of where the hand not holding the razor is. It’s really easy to accidentally pass the non razor holding hand against the edge if you’re not careful. It’s just as easy to cut your hand as your face if you have a momentary mental lapse of attention.

 

[MilkCrate]

Nice score! Remember to be patient, there is a learning curve. Starting with the shavette should be helpful.

 

[taffy]

Good for you, sounds like you have prepared well, shaving with a straight is the dangerous, opps sorry, pleasurable part of your journey, keep us updated.

 

[APBinNCA]

Here's a better picture of the grind. While described as near wedge, it looks closer to a half hollow from other comparison grind pics I've seen.

View attachment 1484886

Nice! Sorry about the comments. You should be able to hone that yourself eventually. It should provide some feedback with that grind. Maybe this is a re-grind, there are some that are already 100 years since it was done! I don't have any expertise, but have run into a few listings and historical writings indicating that this was common.

 

[Ravenonrock]

Welcome. Its great to see more of us starting to take up an interest in SR shaving. Nice grind on that razor, should serve you well. Check in with your experiences.

 

[Steve56]

Congratulations!

 

[losing]

Congrats! Enjoy the shaves.

 

[AETProf]

Nice! Sorry about the comments. You should be able to hone that yourself eventually. It should provide some feedback with that grind. Maybe this is a re-grind, there are some that are already 100 years since it was done! I don't have any expertise, but have run into a few listings and historical writings indicating that this was common.

Please don't take my previous reply as anything other than inquisition, as I'm extremely green with straights. The seller stated it as a near wedge, but from diagrams I've seen here compared to the close up I posted, it appeared more like a half hollow to me. Since the seller is listed as a honemeister here, hence the reason I visited his site, I'd take his word over my novice thoughts. However, I'd love additional B&B opinions as to the grind shown to better familiarize myself on this journey.

The below graphic is what I found here discussing different grinds and what I compared to the pic I posted.

 

[AETProf]

2 more things to remember.
Stretch the skin and always be cognizant of where the hand not holding the razor is. It’s really easy to accidentally pass the non razor holding hand against the edge if you’re not careful. It’s just as easy to cut your hand as your face if you have a momentary mental lapse of attention.

Thanks for the advice.

The good thing is I've maintained a full beard for over a decade, so the more difficult parts of my face to shave will likely never see a blade. While my wife loves the beard and won't let me shave it, I really know that it hides a lot of ugly as the true reason.

 

[Steve56]

I was the same for many years then shaved it off. Two reasons:

1) I started getting gray in the beard and gray and white hair ages you beyond your years in appearance. I shaved off everything in my beard that was gray and people actually told me that I looked younger.

2) It’s fun to shave!

Good luck on your journey, you’ll find the right balance.

Steve

 

[AETProf]

I was the same for many years then shaved it off. Two reasons:

1) I started getting gray in the beard and gray and white hair ages you beyond your years in appearance. I shaved off everything in my beard that was gray and people actually told me that I looked younger.

2) It’s fun to shave!

Good luck on your journey, you’ll find the right balance.

Steve

I definitely have the grey all along my chin, so I can see that. Then again, the bald spot on the back of my head has already taken on that role. The way I see the grey is I'm a step closer to playing Santa....we'll not discuss how far ahead my belly is to that goal.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Congrats on the new gear!

13/16 is a great size - right between 6/8 and 7/8 . I agree. Looks more like a half hollow than a near wedge.

Stropping will keep your edge sharp for some period of time. Even though you are shaving less area than some of us, you will need to touch-up/finish your edge periodically. You can do this using diamond paste on a balsa substrate or with a fine stone called a finishing stone, so something to start thinking about.

Welcome to the rabbit hole. It's a blast!

 

[AETProf]

Congrats on the new gear!

13/16 is a great size - right between 6/8 and 7/8 . I agree. Looks more like a half hollow than a near wedge.

Stropping will keep your edge sharp for some period of time. Even though you are shaving less area than some of us, you will need to touch-up/finish your edge periodically. You can do this using diamond paste on a balsa substrate or with a fine stone called a finishing stone, so something to start thinking about.

Welcome to the rabbit hole. It's a blast!

I'm sure I'll be deep down the rabbit hole soon and trying to keep the edge right.

Like maintaining a nice lawn, novices think it's just a quick 1 or 2 step process, but I know the effort and pride of maintaining something nice.

One of the bullet points for getting into wet shaving in general was to be able to pass it along to my son. One or two nice pieces that have stood the test of time could become something to remember me by in the future.