Newbie progress report

whitefort

whitefort

Messages
38
As recommended by people here, I got in touch with Neil Miller at Strop Shop. WHAT a nice guy!!!
He listened to what I was looking for (basically a beginner strop and a not-too-expensive razor that would ideally be older than myself - and I'm in my mid-50's).

Then, along with a lot of generous advice he offered me the choice of a nice Bengall or an even nicer Kropp. The Kropp was... special... but something about the Bengall just said, 'buy me.'

So for a week now, I've been trying.

A few quick points -

1. Up to now, I'd been 'practising' on a Parker Shavette. To anyone else thinking of doing this, I'd say: Go for the real razor - it's MUCH easier and more forgiving.

2. Some days I'm getting a great shave, some days I'm getting a rotten shave, but I still have my nose, lips, and both ears. I'm slowly getting better. I think I'm gonna stick with this. The steel wool stubble that grows from the softest part of my neck is the main problem.

3. My only real on-going concern is that I'll get the stropping thing all wrong and wreck my Bengall's edge... but fingers crossed.

Hard to believe that I've been shaving for over 40 years and have only just discovered that can be fun and not a tedious chore!

Thanks again to all who've helped with advice so far!
 
whitefort said:
As recommended by people here, I got in touch with Neil Miller at Strop Shop. WHAT a nice guy!!!
He listened to what I was looking for (basically a beginner strop and a not-too-expensive razor that would ideally be older than myself - and I'm in my mid-50's).

Then, along with a lot of generous advice he offered me the choice of a nice Bengall or an even nicer Kropp. The Kropp was... special... but something about the Bengall just said, 'buy me.'

So for a week now, I've been trying.

A few quick points -

1. Up to now, I'd been 'practising' on a Parker Shavette. To anyone else thinking of doing this, I'd say: Go for the real razor - it's MUCH easier and more forgiving.

2. Some days I'm getting a great shave, some days I'm getting a rotten shave, but I still have my nose, lips, and both ears. I'm slowly getting better. I think I'm gonna stick with this. The steel wool stubble that grows from the softest part of my neck is the main problem.

3. My only real on-going concern is that I'll get the stropping thing all wrong and wreck my Bengall's edge... but fingers crossed.

Hard to believe that I've been shaving for over 40 years and have only just discovered that can be fun and not a tedious chore!

Thanks again to all who've helped with advice so far!
Click to expand...



JEPPO read above for help

keep at it buddy its all down to technic razor angle and dont worry about nics once you have taken a big chunk outa ya chin you will reallise it all heals well with the aid of alum.
 
Another thing not to worry too much about is wrecking the edge when stropping. For one thing using a strop is a learned skill like anything else so you shouldn't expect perfect results straight away - the edge can always be restored. For another, you won't ruin it very quickly with an unpasted strop anyway unless you raise the spine drastically.
 
"For another, you won't ruin it very quickly with an unpasted strop anyway unless you raise the spine drastically. "

I heard that, and it's made me so cautious that I sometimes find that I've done a couple of passes with the edge right off the leather altogether!

But I guess once upon a time EVERY clean-shaven guy (who couldn't afford a barber/servant) had to do this, right? So... how hard can it really be!? :)
 
Mikael's advice on stropping is good: do it as if you're trying to polish the spine rather than the edge. It wouldn't do to take him too literally of course, but you get the idea. It's not difficult as such (well, I don't think so) but it's a matter of developing the muscle memory so that you can get up enough speed for the stropping to be effective.
 
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