First straight shave.

antdad

antdad

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I had my first proper attempt at a straight shave this morning after getting the razors back from Neil.

It didn't go too badly at all but I did struggle with the light weight Peerless for the first pass, I was saving a couple of days of growth for this and we both struggled. Clearly my touch has to improve considerably to be able to use this razor properly. I thought I'd try the next pass with the shovel and it proved relatively easy to use. The additional heft and stiffness gave me a lot of confidence so once I found the angle I even managed a back handed ATG scrape on the neck. I did practice with this razor when it was blunt so that helped, I tidied up with a D.E on some missed bits but I'm fairly pleased. I enjoyed it.


In terms of stropping, how many strokes do you use for basic edge maintenance?

Original pics pre Miller

straights.jpg
 
Tends to vary, most folk would do a mix of 30/30 say 30 linen 30 on leather, as for me i have to back to front for some reason i find 20-30 on linen great then 10 or so on the leather if that, neils strop does that good a job i hardly need to use the leather it feels very smooth very fast.

You will probably find the peerless will be smoother and suck to your face a bit whilst the gong will have quite a hard edge and you might cut yourself a bit more on that edge, just going by looks of course.

It can take years to become good with one, two months in and my shaves are what i call acceptable.
 
+1 to what Huxley said.

It does vary according to strop type as he points out. When I have finished shaving and made sure that the razor is completely dry I always give it a few strops on the bridle - the oily nature of the leather leaves a film on the razors edge and protects it from oxidation.

Regards,
Neil
 
Nope personally i use a large sponge just get that razor dry soon as your done, my dubl duck has very tiny rust spots barely visible, some razors will let you be sloppy but ones with a high carbon content will rust within minutes if you let them.
 
antdad said:
Thanks, I hung a damp cotton flannel over the basin to wipe the blade. Any problems with using that?
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You mean while you are shaving, to wipe the lather off, right? That's basically what I do - I fold a wet flannel into three and lay it across the back of the sink, then wipe the lather off, gently, spine leading, so the edge isn't damaged. I resorted to this after hitting the sides of the sink and tha tap on a few occasions.

Regards,
Neil
 
I'd like a bit more guidance when dealing with the goatee area particularly the chin. Is it a case of finding your own way or is there a good instructional vid or tutorial on a straight razor forum somewhere?
 
You´ve got to get rid of the goatee, it´s so much fun with straights that you´re gonna look like this very very soon (well not so pretty though, I guess :lol: ).
 

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antdad said:
I'd like a bit more guidance when dealing with the goatee area particularly the chin. Is it a case of finding your own way or is there a good instructional vid or tutorial on a straight razor forum somewhere?
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Seriously though, sorry for that ;) . It will improve, your hands will get steadier (depending on your bear comsumption of course) and you´ll soon be able to work with the tip of the straight and with short strokes get _very_ good control over small areas.
 
That all sounds jolly promising Tony. Two questions: did you enjoy it, and does your skin feel good afterwards?

As regards the goatee area, you're probably best off working that one out for yourself.
 
Arrowhead said:
That all sounds jolly promising Tony. Two questions: did you enjoy it, and does your skin feel good afterwards?
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I did and it did thanks. Oddly the shave didn't look close but it certainly felt very good on the areas I did manage to shave well.
 
The chin area is a cow, even more so than the neck and the top lip I find.

They reckon taking hold of your jaw either side of your chin and splaying the skin there helps. You need to move the skin over the "corners" of your chin on the flatter parts of your bone structure.

I'm off to have a straight shave now, woohoo.
 
Good job Tony, with perseverance it will certainly get better.

I also did not shave that close first time I attempted, few weeks back. Chin area is very hard to shave as a beginner, at least for me.
With not much time in mornings when I shave, and with my only straight on its way to Neil anytime soon, I went back to DEs for the moment.

Your time looks very reasonable to me, it took me 20 minutes but one pass only.

Are you planning to stay at it or back to DE for most of the week?
 
One little tip that has made my straight shaving that bit more confident came from the vid Arrowhead posted and seems to be doing the rounds, from Chimensch sp?, is to rub my alum block with my fingers occasionally - it gives a great grip instantly on slippery fingers.
 
Now that Proinsias mentioned Chimensch and his video, I've noticed something - most of these guys who straight-shave with confidence 'play' a lot with their face and use a number of facial 'movements' to assist while shaving. From what I understand it is not just the hand/razor technique with correct angle, etc. It is also the face and how you use your facial muscles to protrude the skin when necessary prior to the blade passing over a specific area. Chimensch does not seem to be doing this to a great extent as he apparently is quite experienced, however I've seen another young lad on YouTube who is very good at that and uses the technique with great success.
 
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