First straight shave

[theranger2000]

3rd and 4th shave

First of all thanks all for your words of wisdom and encouragement

Yesterday I had my 3rd and worst straight shave , lots of nicks and cuts I gave up in the end and finished of with my slant bar it just didn't feel good from the start for some reason I expect that's probably the shave to forget.

Tonight however I wasn't going to have a shave at all but at the last minute decided I would , I face lathered with some Proraso that's not my normal routine normaly I lather in a bowl but decided to try something different , I stroped the razor 50 strokes and then started , it's the best shave to date I completed a full WTG pass and decided to call it a victory it's not the closest shave I've ever had but it was passable and it made me feel a bit more confident that my technique is moving forward , small steps forward and small victorys are all I can ask for.

Steve

 

[John]

thats good news that you had a passable shave, steve. I know how that feels so, your posts had me thinking about my first straght razor, its one i havent told anybody about so... here it is

this is from a set from thiers Issard, it's a light razor and i havent used it for about a year ( not as good as my le dandy) I must confess I love the ram's horn on yours, it really sets that razor apart from others

 

[theranger2000]

thats good news that you had a passable shave, steve. I know how that feels so, your posts had me thinking about my first straght razor, its one i havent told anybody about so... here it is

this is from a set from thiers Issard, it's a light razor and i havent used it for about a year ( not as good as my le dandy) I must confess I love the ram's horn on yours, it really sets that razor apart from others

Hi John thanks for sharing that with me it's nice to hear other peoples expereinces , that looks like a nice razor , just out of interest how many cycles do you strop 1 cycle being up and down i'm not sure i'm doing enough or maybe too many , how do you benchmark the sharpness or is it just gut feeling .

Steve

 

[barlines]

I've actually found myself drawn to your updates when I've come on here - part of me would so love to take a real stab at straight razor shaving (no pun intended). I'm gonna keep reading and watching until I have to scratch that itch myself.

 

[shanky887614]

the main problem people have with straights is not stretching skin, usually the top lip


on a de you can use the guard to flatten skin before the blade touches it, with a straight you can't

for top lip, stretch it down then sideways as if your smiling

that is an easy way to not cut top lip off

 

[John]

Yes on my strop (with strop paste on the canvas side thiers-issard makes there own it works,don't be tight fisted when applying it) don't press down when stroping as you will damage the blade just the weight of your razor is sufficient, 25 stroke's ie 1 stroke up turn blade 1 stroke down,if you are using the x pattern then incorporate it, so now you have done that its time to remove the strop paste from the blade, must not get strop past on smooth side of lether you can use a tissue for that but *watch your fingers* I personally use my pinch fingers ( thumb and first finger) but don't do that untill you are confident,don't want any bleeding now do we. Now for the smooth side of the strop I give about 60 and then test blade with the hanging hair test if it failed that then,strop some more,smooth side only , if it passes then I test the smoothness of my stroping by shaving hair on the back of my hand( this way I can feel any tug and pull) after all this the blade should not only be razor sharp but be super smooth. I know this is a lot to take in, but it's only pratice in the end!

 

[Wellesley]

the main problem people have with straights is not stretching skin, usually the top lip


on a de you can use the guard to flatten skin before the blade touches it, with a straight you can't

for top lip, stretch it down then sideways as if your smiling

that is an easy way to not cut top lip off

Top tip shanky, I started straight shaving about a month ago and still have difficulty with top lip. However, I've decided I'm trying too hard, trying to go ATG here as the hair follicles actually protrude and I'm trying to shave them off as well as the hair. I probably never tried to get that close with a cartridge.

 

[theranger2000]

I've actually found myself drawn to your updates when I've come on here - part of me would so love to take a real stab at straight razor shaving (no pun intended). I'm gonna keep reading and watching until I have to scratch that itch myself.

Hi Barlines i,m glad your interested in the updates , i think it's going to be a long road but i think it will be worth it in the long run , all i can say is don't let that itch stop you from doing it , as i say you have to move at your own pace i found it quite scary the first few times but that soon goes , good luck if you decide to have a go .

Steve

---

the main problem people have with straights is not stretching skin, usually the top lip


on a de you can use the guard to flatten skin before the blade touches it, with a straight you can't

for top lip, stretch it down then sideways as if your smiling

that is an easy way to not cut top lip off

Hi shanky887614 thats a good tip and i'll try and use it on my next outing (probably tonight) theirs so many things to remember i can't wait untill it all becomes natural

Steve

---

Yes on my strop (with strop paste on the canvas side thiers-issard makes there own it works,don't be tight fisted when applying it) don't press down when stroping as you will damage the blade just the weight of your razor is sufficient, 25 stroke's ie 1 stroke up turn blade 1 stroke down,if you are using the x pattern then incorporate it, so now you have done that its time to remove the strop paste from the blade, must not get strop past on smooth side of lether you can use a tissue for that but *watch your fingers* I personally use my pinch fingers ( thumb and first finger) but don't do that untill you are confident,don't want any bleeding now do we. Now for the smooth side of the strop I give about 60 and then test blade with the hanging hair test if it failed that then,strop some more,smooth side only , if it passes then I test the smoothness of my stroping by shaving hair on the back of my hand( this way I can feel any tug and pull) after all this the blade should not only be razor sharp but be super smooth. I know this is a lot to take in, but it's only pratice in the end!

John Thanks for all the advice its very useful , i think i may need to get another strop as i only have a 3'' latigo practice strop with no canvas side unless i can use paste on the other side of the strop ? i'll have a go at the hanging hair test tonight before my shave and see how good my stroping is .

Steve

 

[John]

I've actually found myself drawn to your updates when I've come on here - part of me would so love to take a real stab at straight razor shaving (no pun intended). I'm gonna keep reading and watching until I have to scratch that itch myself.

Hi Barlines i,m glad your interested in the updates , i think it's going to be a long road but i think it will be worth it in the long run , all i can say is don't let that itch stop you from doing it , as i say you have to move at your own pace i found it quite scary the first few times but that soon goes , good luck if you decide to have a go .

Steve

---

the main problem people have with straights is not stretching skin, usually the top lip


on a de you can use the guard to flatten skin before the blade touches it, with a straight you can't

for top lip, stretch it down then sideways as if your smiling

that is an easy way to not cut top lip off

Hi shanky887614 thats a good tip and i'll try and use it on my next outing (probably tonight) theirs so many things to remember i can't wait untill it all becomes natural

Steve

---

Yes on my strop (with strop paste on the canvas side thiers-issard makes there own it works,don't be tight fisted when applying it) don't press down when stroping as you will damage the blade just the weight of your razor is sufficient, 25 stroke's ie 1 stroke up turn blade 1 stroke down,if you are using the x pattern then incorporate it, so now you have done that its time to remove the strop paste from the blade, must not get strop past on smooth side of lether you can use a tissue for that but *watch your fingers* I personally use my pinch fingers ( thumb and first finger) but don't do that untill you are confident,don't want any bleeding now do we. Now for the smooth side of the strop I give about 60 and then test blade with the hanging hair test if it failed that then,strop some more,smooth side only , if it passes then I test the smoothness of my stroping by shaving hair on the back of my hand( this way I can feel any tug and pull) after all this the blade should not only be razor sharp but be super smooth. I know this is a lot to take in, but it's only pratice in the end!

John Thanks for all the advice its very useful , i think i may need to get another strop as i only have a 3'' latigo practice strop with no canvas side unless i can use paste on the other side of the strop ? i'll have a go at the hanging hair test tonight before my shave and see how good my stroping is .

Steve

---

---

Hi Steve if you find you don't get on with the x pattern then go with a wider strop I couldn't get on with the x pattern so went with a *super leather* from the invisable edge and never looked back ,on your 3" strop you should have a smoth side and a rough side. The rough side is the side for the strop paste.

 

[theranger2000]

[/quote]
Hi Steve if you find you don't get on with the x pattern then go with a wider strop I couldn't get on with the x pattern so went with a *super leather* from the invisable edge and never looked back ,on your 3" strop you should have a smoth side and a rough side. The rough side is the side for the strop paste.

[/quote]

Thanks for the help I'm going order some fine stroping paste tonight

Steve.

 

[John]

Whilst your at it you my want to get some dovo maintenance paste for the leather, once dry your strop will have more bite, sorry for the delay in response, as you now know there's a lot to think about with straght razors, but after a while it becomes the norm
Kind regards john

 

[Mikael]

Whilst your at it you my want to get some dovo maintenance paste for the leather, once dry your strop will have more bite, sorry for the delay in response, as you now know there's a lot to think about with straght razors, but after a while it becomes the norm
Kind regards john

Cheers John! A lot of people do this, but I wouldn't recommend it (even less so, if you've only got one strop). I've got seven strops (I mostly use 3, but I use them all now and then) and three paddles and use zero pastes on any leather side (got CBN on a paddle felt side, that I use after honing though). I got some oxide powder/oil on two balsa pieces, for touch ups.

The reason I don't recommend it is that you'll lose your edge faster with pastes... I could think that it's maybe a good idea if you live in an ultra hard water area. I could be wrong though, it happens, I've been told

 

[John]

Whilst your at it you my want to get some dovo maintenance paste for the leather, once dry your strop will have more bite, sorry for the delay in response, as you now know there's a lot to think about with straght razors, but after a while it becomes the norm
Kind regards john

Cheers John! A lot of people do this, but I wouldn't recommend it (even less so, if you've only got one strop). I've got seven strops (I mostly use 3, but I use them all now and then) and three paddles and use zero pastes on any leather side (got CBN on a paddle felt side, that I use after honing though). I got some oxide powder/oil on two balsa pieces, for touch ups.

The reason I don't recommend it is that you'll lose your edge faster with pastes... I could think that it's maybe a good idea if you live in an ultra hard water area. I could be wrong though, it happens, I've been told

What can I say? It's all I have ever done, and had no probs, just trying to help some body new to straght razor shaving, since he has only the basic kit to start with, any help with advice is more than welcome as far as I am concerned, you know that I have been lucky with my straght razor kit, yes I have had some misfortune along the way,but I have found what works best for me, I am hoping that Steve is getting his own ideas about what will work for him, as we can only suggest things from our own knowledge.If I miss something out and somebody else picks up on it then I am glad they did,and trust me I am not offended by it at all, as of course it's something new to know. And don't forget people are reading posts like this and thinking of starting to shave with a straght razor, all I can say is do it,you only live once, it's one of these things that will take a while to lern but once learned you will have faced your fear......

 

[Mikael]

What can I say? It's all I have ever done, and had no probs, just trying to help some body new to straght razor shaving, since he has only the basic kit to start with, any help with advice is more than welcome as far as I am concerned, you know that I have been lucky with my straght razor kit, yes I have had some misfortune along the way,but I have found what works best for me, I am hoping that Steve is getting his own ideas about what will work for him, as we can only suggest things from our own knowledge.If I miss something out and somebody else picks up on it then I am glad they did,and trust me I am not offended by it at all, as of course it's something new to know. And don't forget people are reading posts like this and thinking of starting to shave with a straght razor, all I can say is do it,you only live once, it's one of these things that will take a while to lern but once learned you will have faced your fear......

You're so right, in many ways and I'm happy you're not offended! I didn't mean it as a "this is the only way and if you don't understand that, you're thick", my experience can be different from others. I can offer my view and try to explain why I think like this, or that... Like I wrote, maybe there's a time and place for pastes - but they will make the razor lose it's edge faster.

 

[dodgy]

Hey Mikey, what's goin on in Swedishland,

You know, I'd bet the OP would get a better shave if he had a nice cup of coffee to calm his nerves before lathering up and whacking away. I'm surprised you didn't mention this 'helpful' tip yourself.

Dodgy

 

[Mikael]

Hey Uncle D! Now when you mention it - the guy needs some coffee (just had one and it was a lovely shot, please see below)! Cheers mate!