Westie's Straight Shaving Journal

[Shangas]

You are doing great, keep it up! The less you worry about BBS, the sooner it will come.

I think Gustav is right. If you think about getting an excellent shave too much, you're going to try and do more than you know how to, and screw it up. Don't jump the gun.

 

[ImaWestie]

I think Gustav is right. If you think about getting an excellent shave too much, you're going to try and do more than you know how to, and screw it up. Don't jump the gun.

This is why I was quite happy to say "shaved yesterday, still a SAS today for work" - and skip a day.

I noticed that, I have a collection of 1-whisker size tiny scabs. Pressure?

I do need to work out what to do with my strop, well, mechanically that is: I have decided that for now it can hang off my bed-post. With a highly decorative lace from a "Boot, Army, GP".

Not sure what Mrs Westie will think of that idea, but hey, I'll keep it at the foot end and on my side

 

[Legion]

I have my strop tied to the doorknob of my bathroom. Seems to work ok.

Speaking of strops, that is probably the thing from your kit that still needs replacing. It looks very much like the first strop I bought when I was just thinking about straight razors. Not very good. At all.

Keep the fittings, though. What I did was buy a second hand Tony Miller practice strop (which is still great leather, well made, but costs less because all it has for fittings is a hole and a leather thong) and then put on my own D ring and the top bit from my crappy strop. Works SO much better than the first cheap one.

 

[ImaWestie]

I think you're right. which isn't good because it's been my most expensive purchase!!
After using my strop, my 3rd shave was my worst so far.

Of course, it's all in the tools.... right??
How suple should it be? Maybe it just needs some conditioning? I watched a video of some real old dude barber and attempted to replicate his action... not too successful!! But if others can learn to strop from you-tube, I can too...

 

[ImaWestie]

As already mentioned -
last night I had a go at stropping. I'm really not very confident with what I'm doing here but I know that my razor was getting in need of "something".

I probably didn't strop long enough. I was really worried that I was doing more harm than good. This is exactly what lead me to start out on this idea with a shavette - there is no maintenance issues with one of those, if it starts to pull I just change blades.

This morning: showered, lathered in the shower, brushed teeth, rinsed & re-lathered.

First pass - WTG - pulled badly.
Re-lathered, second pass - WTG - pulled badly.
Re lathered, third pass, XTG, you guessed it - pulled badly.
Re-lathered, attempted 4th pass ATG, stopped before doing any damage. It really was NOT shaving on my 4th go at all.

Not quite the first week I was hoping for.

Good news: Tomorrow is ___ Off, Friday at work. Jeans, polo, mild stubble is quite acceptable.

Which means, I can get some feedback, look around, try to get my head around stropping - maybe even chase up a local to discuss this issue before giving it another go on Sunday night.

Onwards and upwards?

 

[Muscles]

Onwards and upwards champ, that's the spirit!

 

[Mark1966]

Braver man than I - but hang in mate

 

[Luc]

Don't worry too much about stropping. go slow and when you are at the end of the lap or half the lap, lift the edge a bit.

A common mistake is to push the razor from yourself to the end of the strop and pull the razor a bit before you flip the blade causing a nick.

If you use the weight of the razor only, then, you shouldn't roll the edge at all.

How many laps did you do?

 

[RF1963]

"No dear, I'm not taking the netbook upstairs to watch porn"

Yeah, right!

 

[gull]

I know the fear of stropping all to well. You can't let the fear of stropping incorrectly stop you. You need to strop and you'll need to get better at it. I agree that you should go slowly, but I read somewhere that stropping too slowly can do more harm than good.

What I do is strop at an acceptable pace, but then when I get to the end of my stroke, I slow down and focus so I don't nick anything. Then when my blade is flipped, I go back to an acceptable pace, and then slow down again when I need to make a change.

Sometimes I feel like I'm stropping incorrectly, but the only way I'll get better is if I practice! You'll maybe make mistakes, but hopefully any rolling of the edge can be fixed by more stropping...I think.

 

[ImaWestie]

I have had another go at stropping. It seems I may be improving. I'm still considering using some sort of dressing on my strop: either something that was for my couch, or some dubbin for my Army boots? I figure it looks just like a leather saddle girth...

Night shave (was just Bond on TV ) - so I have a bath. Lather with a 15+ year old stub of a Palmolive shave soap - I figure what I was doing wasn't working so I may as well change it....

First pass - face lathers quite well - I've got 3 days growth so why wouldn't it! 1 pass WTG. Rough but better than last time.

Second pass - try to face lather again. It's a bit harder to get soap on my face because it seems I did get a fair bit of hair off my face? Am I meant to do something different to get a lather after the first pass? Anyway, another WTG pass which is still getting a bit of a result.

Third pass - try to palm lather the palmolive. Get a bit of lather but nothing great. 1 pass XTG, relather, 2nd pass XTG (this is now 4th pass total).

Still pretty rough, especially the point/under my chin. So I lather again - directly applied the stick to the bit of my chin where the whiskers are - lather is pretty poor. But I get a bit of a shave done ATG, (5th pass) then relather from what is in the brush and have a final go ATG.

So in total - 2 WTG, 2 XTG, then only the parts that need it, 2 passes ATG. End result, SAS.

The main question is, what am I meant to do with the stub of a palmolive shave stick? Is the only way to get any use out of it to mill it and lather in a bowl / mug / scuttle?

It seems if I get betterat stropping, I will be able to shave.

 

[Luc]

I have had another go at stropping. It seems I may be improving. I'm still considering using some sort of dressing on my strop: either something that was for my couch, or some dubbin for my Army boots? I figure it looks just like a leather saddle girth...

Night shave (was just Bond on TV ) - so I have a bath. Lather with a 15+ year old stub of a Palmolive shave soap - I figure what I was doing wasn't working so I may as well change it....

First pass - face lathers quite well - I've got 3 days growth so why wouldn't it! 1 pass WTG. Rough but better than last time.

Second pass - try to face lather again. It's a bit harder to get soap on my face because it seems I did get a fair bit of hair off my face? Am I meant to do something different to get a lather after the first pass? Anyway, another WTG pass which is still getting a bit of a result.

Third pass - try to palm lather the palmolive. Get a bit of lather but nothing great. 1 pass XTG, relather, 2nd pass XTG (this is now 4th pass total).

Still pretty rough, especially the point/under my chin. So I lather again - directly applied the stick to the bit of my chin where the whiskers are - lather is pretty poor. But I get a bit of a shave done ATG, (5th pass) then relather from what is in the brush and have a final go ATG.

So in total - 2 WTG, 2 XTG, then only the parts that need it, 2 passes ATG. End result, SAS.

The main question is, what am I meant to do with the stub of a palmolive shave stick? Is the only way to get any use out of it to mill it and lather in a bowl / mug / scuttle?

It seems if I get betterat stropping, I will be able to shave.

6 passes that might be a bit much. You will be able to get somewhere with 3 normally.

For the stick, as long as you can hold the shaving stick, you should be able to use it!

 

[ImaWestie]

I wouldn't call it 6 "real" passes... certainly the ATG I really only lathered the bits that needed it (point of chin etc) - and given the results there WTG/XTG I almost skipped over that part of my face on previous passes.

I persevered. Not an enjoyable shave, but waking up on Fathers Day, it's still a very SAS.

PS. Happy fathers day to those of us who qualify! and an extra thought for those dads who won't get to see their kids today, for whatever reason.

 

[Legion]

For the stub of your shave stick use the old army "film canister and a coin" trick. If anyone does not know what that one is let me know and I will post a thread when I am back at a real computer. I'm actually on the road at the moment and used a palmolive shave stick housed this way this morning.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Westie,

Under my chin still gives me fits from time to time...but 5 passes man...my face would be raw!

Stick it out and keep up the progress...love reading journals because they really show someone's progress from brand new, wet behind the ears shaver to someone who is going places!

Best of luck and keep filling up the journal!

 

[ImaWestie]

Today, I had an interview. For a job so an impression of someone who looks after himself was sort of a good idea.

Unfortunately my stropping hasn't particularly improved, so, my razor is still getting more blunt not more sharp.

With that in mind -
I chose to use my Palmolive shave stick. Thanks to some other guy spouting how it's a good cheap shave, I thought I'd give it another crack.

Prep:
Shower. Wash face. Lather with abovementioned stick, I got a far better result face lathering with it this time. Brush teeth while face lathered.

Left lather on brush, washed face, reapplied shave stick and relathered. Now there's some lather !

Shave:
Lathering between passes, 2 x WTG, 2 x XTG, 1 x ATG.
Wash face.

Cheat:
Still not impressed. Time was getting away. For the first time since the first week in August I finished with my Braun electric. I can still tell why I stopped using it.

Post-shave:
Gool Ol' Times Bay Rum.

I had hoped to shave with the DE from the Aussie PIF either last night or this morning but that didn't happen. So there may be an interruption to this straight shave log while I try that apparatus out.

 

[ImaWestie]

Ahem.
According to this thread,
My name is Westie and it is far too many days since I last shaved with a straight-razor.

Since that most recent post I have recieved a vegan strop and another strop on a pass-around thread. I had a go stropping and have been stropping about 60 passes at a time once or twice a day for the last two weeks.

Stropping continues to be a real problem.

Thanks to a mild prod from a fellow forum member I had another go with the straight razor tonight. I had stropped it earlier in the day 60 passes on the 3" vegan strop and a few more on the 2 1/2" leather one.

I have finished my palmolive shave stick and have been using palmolive shave cream for the last couple of weeks. Tonight in the bath I was repeatedly coming up with an overly runny lather which was not providing much cushioing effect.

I had three passes WTG with the straight. It was pulling the whole time. At the end I was patchy but in no part of my face was I as well shaven as I was all over after my first ever shave. After the 3 passes WTG I soaked in the bath for a bit longer, re-lathered, and finished my shave with a DE (with a blade that seemed to be past its best, just what I needed...)

Still, not totally dissatisfied, and continuing to persevere.
With work, and some family news, having to concentrate on shaving was a welcome mundane distraction.

 

[Muscles]

Glad to hear you are still going at it...

60 laps on that vegan may be a bit much especially if you are still trying to perfect your technique. Those vegans have HEAPS of draw, make sure you are using no downward pressure.

Also, about time you got stuck in to that Proraso cream!

 

[Luc]

It doesn't sound that bad. You will be patchy going WTG only but that's all right. I did that for a few shaves and it does help in the end. Going XTG is a challenge I find. Are you applying any pressure while shaving? with a straight, you should have a light pressure but it should be around holding the straight not pressing on the skin.

A firm grip is what you need and the rest should be right.

 

[ImaWestie]

Marc - I'm trying to clear away old stock. I had a 20 year old palmolive stick it has now gone ( less than 5mm went into the bin ) I have a palmolive tube that's that old it's a bit clotted but still works fine. When I'm not soaking in the bath it's quite ok for DE shaves...
and anyway it only got to 30 degrees for a few minutes today!

Luc, yeah I recon I got the pressure/grip sorted out with the disposable blade straight, and with the straight before I took the edge off all those weeks ago.

Perseverance!