What Did You Learn From Your SR Shave Today?

[Seelector]

I like large bevel angles.

I was looking at my list of razors and the two that are giving me the best shaves right now are the two with the largest bevel angles, 19° and 21°.

Some of my other razors are in the 17-18° range and their edges are more hit and miss. Occasionally amazing but usually they’re OK to pretty good.

I think I’m going to redo some of those ones but with tape this time.

 

[rbscebu]

Good face prep works.

This morning I forgot (old age?) to prep my face before lathering. Instead of thoroughly washing and rinsing my face, I just wet it, applied ARKO and face lathered.

It was only while face lathering that I remembered I had forgotten to prep. Thinking I probably wouldn't notice the difference, I continued to lather.

I was wrong. There was a very noticeable difference. My whiskers were much tougher than normal to cut. This was particularly noticeable in the CdM. Maybe it was edge deterioration as I am using a Titan ACRM-2 honed and maintained on a CeOx pasted denim strop while travelling. Will find out tomorrow when I properly prep my face before lathering.

Face prep is important!

This morning I remember to properly prep the face before lathering.

Face prep works!

 

[Doc Dan]

Today, just because I haven't used it in a year, probably longer, I got out my Razorock Game Changer 84-P and popped in a Nacet blade. I made 3 passes, WTG, ATG, XTG. Well, now I remember why I haven't used it. The shave felt harsh, even using a normally smooth Nacet. I get a smoother, more pleasant shave from any of my straight razors and closer, too.

 

[Tomo]

Two passes may be enough.

 

[rbscebu]

Two passes may be enough.

But more is more enjoyable.

 

[rbscebu]

Sometimes I wonder if I will ever learn. This time I was waxing a set of timber scales.

Spoiler: WARNING! Blood and Gore

 

[silverlifter]

That spoiler warning should read: Open Fly!

 

[rbscebu]

That spoiler warning should read: Open Fly!

Don't let the moddies know. Some want just any excuse to ban me for life .

 

[luv2shave]

Good face prep works.

This morning I forgot (old age?) to prep my face before lathering. Instead of thoroughly washing and rinsing my face, I just wet it, applied ARKO and face lathered.

It was only while face lathering that I remembered I had forgotten to prep. Thinking I probably wouldn't notice the difference, I continued to lather.

I was wrong. There was a very noticeable difference. My whiskers were much tougher than normal to cut. This was particularly noticeable in the CdM. Maybe it was edge deterioration as I am using a Titan ACRM-2 honed and maintained on a CeOx pasted denim strop while travelling. Will find out tomorrow when I properly prep my face before lathering.

Face prep is important!

When I shave with a straight, it's evening and not post shower. I have an inexpensive face steamer which I use on my face and stubble to have a prep almost identical to a post shower. 5 minutes is all it takes for that soft face feel before a shave.

 

[Tomo]

But more is more enjoyable

I made this discovery while doing a second evening shave. I was pleased to learn that I can shave twice a day without any issues. That’s an extra pass per day.

 

[JPO]

Two passes may be enough.

That is my experience as well.
If I do a third pass there is not much to shave the next day. I like to shave every day, so a good edge should be more then enough to do a good job after two passes.

 

[rbscebu]

That is my experience as well.
If I do a third pass there is not much to shave the next day. I like to shave every day, so a good edge should be more then enough to do a good job after two passes.

I use to do three passes; WTG, XTG and ATG. Eventually my shave were so BBS close that I had almost nothing to shave 24 hours later. I then dropped back to WTG, XTG+CdM and XTG in opposite direction. That gave something to shave 24 hours later.

I like @Tomo's idea. Next week I'll try (morning) WTG and XTG+CdM and (evening) WTG and XTG in opposite direction. If that works, I'll be getting in four passes a day .

The most passes if have gotten through in one session is seven; WTGx2, XTG+CdM, XTGx2 and XTGx2 in opposite direction. Still no skin irritation but nothing much to shave 24 hours later.

 

[rbscebu]

Both a Spanish point and a spike point require about the same amount of concentration to successfully shave with. The spike point however, cannot match the Spanish point when it comes to trimming nostril hairs.

Spanish Point

Spike Point
​

 

[J B Addis]

"Hmm, I'd like to use my LeCoultre tonight, but last time it was tugging a bit, maybe I'll just give him a quick touch up on the Nakayama-"
TAP! The unmistakable sound of a razor's edge landing right on the corner of a rock. I had 'been meaning to get around to' (dangerous words) tightening the loose pivot pin I had detected some time ago, one of these days, but kept forgetting. The damage was relatively minor, but it's still set me back to bevel-set.

As it generally does, deferred maintenance caught up with me. Always fix it (whatever it may be) before it becomes a problem, not after, and life will be much easier.

 

[Doc Dan]

A straight razor really puts demands on soaps. In my experimentation, a lot of well loved soaps failed the straight razor test. They worked fine with a DE safety razor, but not with a naked blade. Some of the artisan soaps are not as good as the well established old timey soaps, though some are much better. It is interesting that $2 to $7 old fashioned soaps can be better than a $70 soap.

 

[marz1]

A straight razor really puts demands on soaps. In my experimentation, a lot of well loved soaps failed the straight razor test. They worked fine with a DE safety razor, but not with a naked blade. Some of the artisan soaps are not as good as the well established old timey soaps, though some are much better. It is interesting that $2 to $7 old fashioned soaps can be better than a $70 soap.

I couldn’t agree more, I’ve been comparing arko and cella for alternate shaves and for some reason arko leaves me with nicks+irritation and cella doesn’t. Maybe it’s because I make better slicker lather with the Cella rather than any intrinsic properties of the soap themselves, but it reminds me how important soap and lather is in SR shaving compared to DE.

 

[rbscebu]

Do you ever teach a stage in your straight razor journey where you stop cutting yourself when working on a SR?

I was applying some petroleum jelly to a blade this morning.

 

[Frank Shaves]

Do you ever teach a stage in your straight razor journey where you stop cutting yourself when working on a SR?

Not sure I can say stop cutting myself, but I can say that I now cut myself much less frequently.

 

[Tomo]

Slate is great!

 

[Doc Dan]

Do you ever teach a stage in your straight razor journey where you stop cutting yourself when working on a SR?

I was applying some petroleum jelly to a blade this morning.

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Messing around with a straight razor is like playing with a pet lynx. You have to be careful and you never know when it is going to bite you.