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What Did You Learn From Your SR Shave Today?

I've learned 3 things today:

1) I really can't shave well with my shavettes (Kai Captain and Blue Beard's Revenge) if I don't face lather everytime. I was stubborn trying to lather in my brand new bowl even if I actually don't need it to shave with a straight razor.
Whenever I don't lather directly on my face, it wont be as slick and performant, the razor will skip and stick to my face making it impossible to have a smooth shave.

2) If the lather is good (face lather) I can use a more shallow angle and let the razor glide. It will give me much less irritations. Letting the spine of the Kai Captain rest on my face gives the perfect angle for a comfortable and performant shave.

3) Using pre-shaving cream is fine even with SR as long as the lather is good and there is not too much pre-shave product on the beard.
 
I can vary my reach by mixing up my grip. I normally put two fingers and my thumb on the tang. If I only put one finger and my thumb on the tang, I can reach further and in the case of shaving next to my ears the increased reach improves my ability to see what I am doing. A small win.


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rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I can vary my reach by mixing up my grip. I normally put two fingers and my thumb on the tang. If I only put one finger and my thumb on the tang, I can reach further and in the case of shaving next to my ears the increased reach improves my ability to see what I am doing. A small win.


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In situations where I am having difficulty see, I will open the blade up to 180°. Don't be afraid to try it.
 
with 1/4 hollows, I'm better off running slightly wetter soap than what I usually run. 1/4's can stick pretty easy.

camo
 
Shave angle can go lower. I’ve a killer Jnat edge in my MK31 at the moment so thought I’d see just how low I can go. Very low apparently and with good results. Practically honing. Super smooth.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I'm using about 30mg of my Arko shave stick per shave. At this rate, a USD 2 stick (75g) should last me about 200 shaves.

I love my Arko!
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
That I’m tiring of my shavette. I’ve moved
And mostly unpacked. My razors and honing equipment is available to me and a traditional straight awaits me tomorrow. Even bought a proper cabinet for them.
364D8045-13D1-4A8F-89C7-07FF820C8B1C.jpeg
 
I’ve recently started a new project which evolves early starts and a longer commute. As a result I’ve started shaving at night. For consistency I’ve carried this new routine over to the weekend.

Night shaving eventually lead to me shaving after a few shandies. The Dutch courage that this bestowed lead to some nice quick strokes that probably bordered on reckless. To my surprise the shave was excellent. The next day I again did fast confident strokes (minus the booze) with great effect. My thinking now is that brisk confident strokes are more effective than slow cautious ones.
 
I usually do three passes when I shave, both with a straight and a DE. However, with the straight I seem to be doing the same direction and area on different passes. For example the bottom half of my neck using downward strokes (ATG) on passes 2 and 3 – and the chin seems to be the same downward strokes – maybe because it’s the easier alternative. Despite over 50 shaves, it is still a problem area.

On today’s shave I thought that I would dispense with the duplications and just do a two pass shave instead but it didn’t seem to work. I missed the WTG/XTG/ATC passes for some areas and the resulting finish wasn’t the best. Definitely not DFS and my face felt rough and patchy – sort of like it was in the first half dozen shaves.

I learnt not to skip corners and stick to the tried and true three passes. Yes, I might duplicate some bits, but the finished product will be a lot smoother. Once I get more experience, those problem areas will sort themselves out.

Cheers

Andrew
 
I find it extremely helpful to brace part of my hand/fingers against my face when doing fine detail work around and under my beard. It's hard to explain, but an analogy would be to handwriting. When handwriting, one braces the heel of their hand against the desk, allowing for fine finger work. Think of how hard it would be to write well if you did not brace. Depending on my grip, I may have the back of my thumb near the web of my hand, or the web itself, against part of my face. It depends on my grip and if I am stroking up or down. But I can generally find a way to brace, allowing for much greater control. Took me a while to figure this out.
 
I find it extremely helpful to brace part of my hand/fingers against my face when doing fine detail work around and under my beard. It's hard to explain, but an analogy would be to handwriting. When handwriting, one braces the heel of their hand against the desk, allowing for fine finger work. Think of how hard it would be to write well if you did not brace. Depending on my grip, I may have the back of my thumb near the web of my hand, or the web itself, against part of my face. It depends on my grip and if I am stroking up or down. But I can generally find a way to brace, allowing for much greater control. Took me a while to figure this out.
Hand resting on the paper while writing? Austin Palmer would be rolling in his grave if he heard that!

Similar to writing I shave more with my arm than my wrist or fingers. Around the chin I hold the razor still and turn my head to shave. Some may call this cheating but I don’t care.
 
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