Never has happened to me in over a decade.True. Also true: if you get even the tiniest bit of that alum on a part of your face that you shave, your razor will stick like gummy warmed-up racing tires.
Never has happened to me in over a decade.True. Also true: if you get even the tiniest bit of that alum on a part of your face that you shave, your razor will stick like gummy warmed-up racing tires.
You are very lucky. I have had the same experience as @Herrenberg. Maybe it's the type of alum or soap that we use.Never has happened to me in over a decade.
Or, perhaps the quantity. A little goes a long way.You are very lucky. I have had the same experience as @Herrenberg. Maybe it's the type of alum or soap that we use.
Welcome to the club. I hope you won’t be disappointed.I learned that I’m glad I took the plunge and purchased my two Japanese SR’s recently. Very nice shavers.
Well I used a strait for the first time this morning. It was a disaster. I could t get the right shave angle to save my soul. I have three minor cuts to prove it. It has been so long since I cut myself (20 years at least).
The razor felt clumsy in my hand because I didn’t know how to use it. I was trying to use the whole blade and I don’t think that’s right. I think I should only use a bit of it at first.
In the end I dried it off and had to use my safety razor to finish.
I am with you on the synthetics.For about the past two years I have been shaving exclusively with my much used and abused but still loved $2 Chinese guaranteed genuine pure best badger hair synthetic brush. This morning I decided to pull out my Mühle medium classic badger hair brush to see how it compares.
Feel wise, with face lathering, was that the Mühle was a bit sctratchier and had a little less backbone than the Chinese synthetic. What did surprise me, and I had forgotten, was how much soap the badger brush required compared to the Chinese synthetic. The badger needed about 3 time my normal soap requirements, using Palmolive cream, to produce a similar lather.
Now I can understand blokes only getting a month or two face lathering with a Tabac or ARKO shaving stick while mine have been lasting me about 6 months of three-pass daily shaves.
I'll use my Mühle brush for a few more days to see if things change. I doubt that they will change and I will be soon back to my Chinese synthetic.
I have been shaving with my straight razor now for 2 weeks and just tried out my Muhle R41 for a change of pace……I suppose it could be all the mental concentration and careful strokes with the Boker, but my shave with the Muhle was extremely smooth and very efficient. In other words does shaving with a straight lead to easier DE shaves?That I really am a straight razor shaver now. I did a day on the DE that other day to keep my eye in. Back on the straights again and it was so good to be back. Closer, smooth and more comfortable. It just feels right now.
Most people find that it does. Skin stretching starts to become second nature and with all types of shaving.I have been shaving with my straight razor now for 2 weeks and just tried out my Muhle R41 for a change of pace……I suppose it could be all the mental concentration and careful strokes with the Boker, but my shave with the Muhle was extremely smooth and very efficient. In other words does shaving with a straight lead to easier DE shaves?
I learned that straight razors are sturdier than I thought they were. While stropping my Ralf Aust SR, it slipped out of my hand—oh no!—and hit the tile floor. I expected it to break or chip or something. I couldn’t see any damage, but I don’t have a loupe or microscope. I shaved with it, and it didn’t feel any different. I gave thanks to God, because if it did break, there would be no replacing it for a long time.
It is said by many a SR shaver that you should be able to get a reasonably comfortable shave off your initial bevel-set. I have not yet tried shaving off an initial bevel-set. Your experience has encouraged me to so do.I learned that a 1k edge can leave nothing for a Clubman product to sting. My Thiers fell over on the sink and I wasn't sure what it hit, so onto the stones for peace of mind sake. It dawned on me I've never tried Keith's philosophy of knowing what your go-to grits shave like. I've been spoiled by Arkansas edges so I was expecting sharp but scrape-like. Really, it was simply noticeable blade feel, yet smooth.
Having done it off of my Shapton Glass 1000 bevel-setter, I will say that it is completely true, and yet somewhat misleading. If my experience is any guide, the shave will be fully comfortable. What it won't be is close.It is said by many a SR shaver that you should be able to get a reasonably comfortable shave off your initial bevel-set. I have not yet tried shaving off an initial bevel-set. Your experience has encouraged me to so do.