Viper16's Shave Journal

[viper16]

Finally took the plunge and placed an order for a whipped dog sight unseen and poor man's strop kit. I've been itching to get into straight shaving since I started looking into vintage shaving, and moving away from the overpriced torture devices being used as razors today. Hopefully I will be getting my first straight razor this week, and have a chance to mangle my face before the weekend

 

[Bird_Flu]

Bravo on taking the plunge! You made a wise choice getting everything from Whippeddog.com good prices and the razor will definitely come to you shave ready. Just remember for your first shave to have VERY slick lather, not dripping off of your face wet but slicker than what you used for DE shaving. Best of luck and I can't wait to read how your first straight shave goes!

 

[AndroiDad75]

Congrats!!! I have really enjoyed my plunge, so far!!! I really like the "process" of using the straight. Does it take a little longer than pulling out the good old DE? Yes. At least for the moment it does. I think once I get better/quicker at stropping, and shaving with it, then maybe the time difference won't be so different. Either way, I have moved to shaving at night to accommodate the time and have loved every second since.

Don't be discouraged if the first few shaves aren't as close, or comfortable, as your DE shaves. They will come!!!

 

[rockviper]

Welcome to the wonderful world of straight shaving!

Spoiler

Why do I feel like I'm your uncle?????

In addition to all the wiki and forum threads, read as many journals as you can. They'll help you understand how things can progress and some of the stumbles and joys you'll experience along the way.

 

[viper16]

Welcome to the wonderful world of straight shaving!

Spoiler

Why do I feel like I'm your uncle?????

In addition to all the wiki and forum threads, read as many journals as you can. They'll help you understand how things can progress and some of the stumbles and joys you'll experience along the way.

The 16 in my screen name is in reference to the F-16 Vipers I used to work on in the military, also I was part of Viper sqaudron instead of the Falcon squadron at Nellis, which plays into the name, and why I generally refer to them as Vipers instead of Fighting Falcons. I've already watched many videos, and done a ton of reading, much from some members of this board, and have enjoyed some of the "How many shaves" threads in the forums.

Definitely plan on trying to keep this up to date as I learn the art of straight shaving. I figure most of my shaves as I start out will be with uber-lather, to try keeping everything as slick as possible, to help reduce the blood letting that is likely ahead for me.

 

[viper16]

Received my kit from Larry yesterday. I was itching to put it to use, but since I've been pretty sick, I didn't trust myself in that condition, to be wielding something that could have lasting effects on me. I must say, I am really happy with the razor Larry sent, it appears to be in terrific shape, I like the character on the blade, though the edge is perfect, it makes it distinct. I am also very happy it was a round point, making it much less intimidating for me.

I was feeling much better today, so decided to shower and give it a go. I started off with 30+ strops on the poor man's stop I purchased with the kit. Already nicked the strop, though thankfully it was far enough up, that it is still perfectly usable, except for the last 1-2 inches of stropping surface, and the nicks may not be bad enough to cause a problem anyhow.

I lathered up with some Mystic Waters shave soap, making it a bit wetter than I would normally use for DE shaving, due to recommendations I have seen on here. I did 2 passes, the first pass, a WTG pass, that went quite well, the most awkward part of this pass wasn't my nose, thanks in large part to my relatively small nose, but my chin, trying to get it to flow cleanly over there, I ended up attacking it with a combination of XTG strokes, trying to counter some of the hard curves on it.

The second pass was a bit of a W/XTG pass, with XTG on the neck. I think this is where I got a bit of irritation, and also a small cut when I attempted to go ATG under my nose. Definitely not going to try that trick again for a while.

All in all, very happy with my first straight shave. The shave quallity was about typical for a normal DE shave for me, though there was a bit more irritation on the neck, otherwise pretty comfortable. Can't wait for my next shave to get some more blade time in

 

[AndroiDad75]

Wow you are a brave soul. I still haven't tried an ATG under the nose. Nor have I tried an E-W (XTG) on my neck. Both of those strokes seems super dangerous to me

All in all, it sounds like it was a great start.

 

[rockviper]

Great stuff!

Two quick notes:
- There's a reason why ATG under the nose is called the Fool's Pass
- Need pics of your new kit!!!

 

[Bird_Flu]

Congrats on the great first shave!

 

[viper16]

Finally got my second shave in last night. I've been sick most of the week, so haven't wanted to tempt fate when my hands are less than steady. It definitely went better than the previous shave, just a very small nick trying to get the chin done well. Not as close as DE shaving yet, and still more irritation, but not much more than when I started with DE shaving. Had some weepers on my neck, but that and the nick were all I had for irritation. For the most part just doing WTG except for the neck, since that is so screwy anyhow, I do a WTG and an A/XTG pass on it, going stratight down on the left, straight up on the right for the first pass, and then the opposite on the second.

I will try getting some picks up soon of the razor, the strop is just the standard inexpensive strop from Larry. Definitely starting to get more efficient and confident with my stropping technique.

 

[viper16]

Third shave in, even better than the last two. Still some irritation, but much less than previous shaves and no blood for the first time. Tried out some of the veg sent with the kit, and it is definitely a different smell. Feels pretty good on the face, and after a few minutes the smell has dissipated and is much more floral now than initially. Just doing WTG on the face, and on the neck I did both With and ATG, which would definitely account for some of the irritation. Did two passes with just a touch up on the neck, and while you can still feel stubble when I run my hand ATG, particularly on my cheeks, it feels quite smooth when going WTG, so I am happy with that this early on in the learning process for SR shaving.

I was very surprised I didn't draw some blood, since I did catch my earlobe on the left side, but it must have just been with the rounded non-edge portion of the blade, as the skin remained intact.

On a side note, I can't believe how long my soap samples are lasting, sure I only shave a few times a week on average, but I swear they are easily lasting a month or two per sample. A good bit of that is likely good soft water, but even though I want to pick up a puck or two of soap from some of the vendors, with the samples I haven't even begun to touch, I don't see myself running out of soaps for a good year or more. Add in the 2 tubes of CO Biggellow and and the pump bottle of KMF, it could be considerably longer.

 

[viper16]

Well son of a *****. Off of probably the most comfortable shave yet, I dropped the razor into the sink basin while applying oil to it, since it is usually a few days between shaves for me, so now I need to send it off to get honed. The toe is what mainly got dinged up, you can just barely notice it by eye, but it is prevalent when you check with a finger that the toe took the brunt of the damage.

Before that though it was a very comfortable 2 pass WTG shave, no nicks, very little irritiation. Not the closest shave, but you can't notice by looking, and that's plenty good for now. Also I'm starting to get a bit better around the chin, being more able to transition from bottom lip, to the chin, and then under the chin, to more cleanly and safely shave that area.

I did run into more trouble on the stop than I have ever had, I don't know what was going on with my stropping today, put a couple small nicks in my strop from hesitating mid stroke, and heading to start the stroke over. I need to reinforce, finish the stroke, and do it again if I didn't think it was right, instead of stopping in the middle of it, as it is inevitable when you do that, that you bring the blade back slightly towards the starting point, which will cause it do dig into the strop.

Well, off to church, and then to find someone to send the razor to for re-honing, damn I was hoping to see how long I could make it before it would need to be honed, I guess only four shaves. I also thought it may be a good time to ask, is it really needed to cover the blade with oil if it will just be a couple days between shaves, provided you dry and strop it after each shave?

 

[Attila]

A lot is dependant on where you store it. I never oil my blades. I store them in the open air and our bathroom is very well ventilated. I have never had an issue. The superior shave sells the silicone razor socks that are supposed to work great in humid environments.

I'm sorry about the damage you experienced to your razor, but thankfully you didn't try to catch it. That could have ended up far worse.

 

[viper16]

No doubt. When I felt it slip, I just spread my hands, and stepped back and spread my arms away from the blade. The razor was only $30, and any damage done trying to catch it would cost farm more, and I may very well need to get it honed anyhow, potentially from smacking the edge into bone instead of porcelain.

My bathroom door is usually open, and well ventilated. I have been storing it in a ziplock bag in my man-cave between shaves, just to try to reduce its exposure to moisture, though my bathroom should be plenty dry.

 

[Attila]

I would not put it into a ziplock bag after shaving with it. There can still be microscopic levels of water on it! Even after drying it off thoroughly.

 

[viper16]

I have been giving it a good coat of oil before putting it in the bag, to try preventing any moisture and air from getting to the blade, the ziplock was mainly to keep the oil from oozing out all over the place. I need to get a better storage solution for it though.

 

[Attila]

Also with oil, if you put it on when there is even a tiny bit if water left on it, the oil will not prevent rust or tarnish. Be sure it is completely dry.

 

[viper16]

Sent the razor off to Doc226 for him to fix it up, and he definitely went above and beyond with it. It looks incredible, cleaned up well, scales are tightened, and the edge is fixed and super sharp. I can't wait to try it out tonight. I finally have some pictures of it now as well.

 

[AndroiDad75]

Looks great!!! I am sure you are going to have a fantastic edge on it, from what i have heard.