Thread: The Ponderings of a Beginner

I’m starting this thread for the purpose of chronicling the lessons and experiences I am learning in my effort to achieve a close, comfortable, enjoyable shave with a straight razor and traditional wet shaving supplies.

I will use the following categories:

1. Why I chose to start straight razor shaving
2. What equipment I use and why I use it
3. Daily shaves (actually more like every other day shaves as I don’t shave daily)

I am not intending this to be a guide nor should this be construed as expert advice or opinion. It is, however, simply a way for me to keep track of what I’m learning. I, like most everyone, have asked questions, read advice or instructions and feel a bit overwhelmed sometimes. So, I have accumulated some techniques which I believe will allow me to achieve my goal and this thread will reflect my thoughts (ramblings of a madman, maybe ) as I experiment with those techniques. If you want an in depth guide to all things straight razors, I cannot recommend more highly Lynn Abram’s DVD ().

So, let begin this way:

Why I chose to start straight razor shaving
I have for a long time been dissatisfied by shaving. It had become an absolute chore. I’ve used multi-blade disposables, electrics of various kinds and even grew my facial hair partly for look and partly to not have to shave. I have never gotten really close and smooth without cuts or irritation.

Being an individual who enjoys some of the less “fashionable” things like three-piece suits, pocket watches, fedora hats, fountain pens, and traditional barber shops (not the hair stylist/barber shops), I had long threatened to start straight razor shaving, first because I’ve always read about how close and enjoyable the shave can be, second because it was just old-fashioned enough to be attractive to me and third as a rebellion against a mundane daily ritual that men had to go through using less than quality, cheap, disposable instruments.

After much research I stumble upon the Straight Razor Place and began reading everything I could. Finally, I took the plunge.

What equipment do I use?
Cost was a big factor with me. I wanted quality and affordability. Thankfully, SRP had the answer.

I contacted Tony Miller (www.thewellshavedgentleman.com) and told him I wanted to order a DOVO razor and a strop. DOVO has a decent reputation and for an introductory razor, the price and quality was right. Tony suggested that for a new person on a budget I go with the 4 sided combination paddle strop pre-pasted with 3.0, 1.0, and .5 micron diamond pastes. Tony said that it had everything I needed to keep me going (a side for daily stropping and sides to maintain the edge of my razor). I don’t use this paddle anymore but only because I had trouble keeping the blade flat on the narrow surface.

I later purchased a 3” #1 Heirloom hanging strop in red latigo leather (I chose the latigo because I had heard that it provided extra draw when stropping and I thought that would be a good choice). This is my daily strop and it is simply among the finest pieces of craftsmanship I’ve ever seen. I almost feel guilty using it as it should be on display as a piece of art.

I also have a Norton 4000/8000 grit combination waterstone for the purpose of honing the edge when needed. Many people on SRP highly recommend it and I can see why. Once I purchased the stone, I contacted Lynn Abrams who very graciously spent time with me on the phone and through private messages helping me to restore the edge on my razor that I messed up with poor stropping technique. I sat for a while and honed that razor on the Norton and found it to be enjoyable and relaxing and good for restoring the keen edge a razor needs. Too bad I didn’t have more things that needed sharpening.

Soap and shaving cream may not technically be classified as equipment but I’m putting it here because it is an essential part of the shave. I haven’t used that many brands of shaving soap and I never will. For me, when I find a product that is satisfying and exceed my expectations, I stop looking. If you’ve never treated yourself to products from The Gentlemen’s Quarter produced by SRP member Colleen Hurley ( [email protected] ), I highly recommend getting yourself over to this thread: Colleen's Soap

I use both her soaps and shaving creams but I’ve settled on her creams (especially lavender – go ahead, poke fun if you must ). I love the way her shaving cream lubricates my face for shaving, the way it makes my face feel nourished and pampered and the improvement to my complexion that has resulted from using her shaving cream.

The remaining pieces of equipment are a Tweezerman badger brush (chosen because I’ve heard people sing the praises of badger brushes but I didn’t have the money to purchase the brushes many people have) and a scuttle I concocted because I like warm lather but didn’t want to spend the money on a Moss scuttle. I was inspired to make my own scuttle after reading this thread: MacGyver Scuttle

Equipment recap:

1. DOVO razor
2. Heirloom #1 BEST Wide 3" Latigo Premium Strop
3. Tweezerman badger brush
4. Homemade scuttle
5. Norton 4k/8k grit combination waterstone
6. Shaving cream from The Gentlemen’s Quarter


Great! The equipment list is complete and if you’re still reading this, maybe I didn’t sound like the oddball I think I sound like.

I’m now going to post my shaving test ideas. Here’s the basic concept. Back in the day of traditional barbers, as I understand it, barbers basically had a razor, a razor hone, a strop and that’s it. Every six months or so they might send the razor for professional honing but between those times, the razor needed to be kept keen and ready for action. I am not a collector or a restorer, I simply want a great shave. I believe it is possible to get great shaves without making razor maintenance very complicated.

I am going to test a set of techniques I’ve compiled based on my reading and minimal experience. I will conduct two separate tests (again, completely NON-scientific) swapping a couple of techniques and comparing the results.

I will do this for 10 consecutive shaves with should encompass a maximum of 3 weeks.

Each test will last 5 shaves, which I feel will be enough for me to say “Yes, I’m comfortable and pleased with the results” or “No, I need to keep trying”.

Test set #1:

1. Beard prep begins in the shower with washing my face then using the facecloth to do a brief hot towel treatment.
2. TGQ cream will provide the best lubrication and least drying effect than cake soap
3. Long strokes are better than short
4. Diagonal positioning of the blade is desirable. (This is the guillotine that honedright mentioned in a previous thread Angle of Attack with this difference - heel leading will be easier for much of the face than will tip leading)
5. Starting my strokes used for more difficult areas (ie -chin) further away and continuing with light pressure and the diagonal position of the blade will help give a closer, less irritating shave. (For example, start my XTG pass on the chin by placing the blade half way between ear and chin, take a long stroke and do not stop once I feel resistance - this is where the pulling for me occurs as I stop at the first feeling of resistance and get the blade stuck. By continuing a long, diagonal, light stroke, I will slice through the hair and the result is less passes being needed thus less irritation.
6. Strop between first and second passes (it's in the barbering textbook and must be there for a reason)
7. Edge maintenance will be done using the thumbpad and thumbnail test as supplied by Joe Lerch What do you do before you hone?
8. Stretching the skin every which way but loose is necessary to successful shave.

Test set #2:

The same as #1 with the following replacements:

1. I will try to use the tip leading approach on my entire face
2. Shorter strokes will be taken in place of longer strokes

Each day that I shave, I will return here to post my experience (i.e.- what worked and didn’t work along with my thoughts as to why.)

At the end of the tenth shave, I will post final results with what I felt worked and didn’t work overall.

One last thing, I don’t presume to be someone special here. I’m not claiming that I will have “THE” right way. Many people here have shared their experience and expertise with me and it was suggested that something like this might encourage someone new to seek answers and experiment a little.

My first shaving post will be Friday.

And so it begins: The Chronicles of Steve: Now He Means Business.

Good luck,

Justin

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

And so it begins: The Chronicles of Steve: Now He Means Business.

Good luck,

Justin

Justin:

I can't help but think of the Geico insurance commercial with the "actual customers" and the "hired celebrity". Particularly the one with Don LaFontaine "that movie voice guy" *Deep movie voiceover voice* "This time, payback is for real"

You crack me up sometimes the way you say things.

Steve, actually after I posted it , I thought about that commercial as well. I guess you can consider my humor a little dry and I'm not beyond making fun of myself. Blazing Saddles and Airplane are two of my favorite comedies. I like trying to make things that don't fit mesh in some perverse way --plus how are we going to survive unless we all get a little bit crazy? Later,


Justin

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

Steve, actually after I posted it , I thought about that commercial as well. I guess you can consider my humor a little dry and I'm not beyond making fun of my self. Blazing Saddles and Airplane are two of my favorite comedies. I like trying to make things that don't fit mesh in some perverse way --plus how are we going to survive unless we all get a little bit crazy? Later,


Justin

I LOVE Blazing Saddles! Kind of nice to know that someone out there is as sick as me.

I'm about as sick as you can get an still be a good human. As a friend once said "man, I'm not perverted --I'm preverted" --now I don't know why that's funny but it just is --
yeah-- I think people are a little too uptight for a movie like Blazing Saddles to fly today --but it's a shame --we can all take ourselves a little too serious --but I digest!

Justin

This is a great start, Steve. Your thoughts are clearly more organised than mine were two years ago. lol. Don't fool yourself though ... you're likely still an odball, but at least I'm in good company. Welcome to the wacky world of shaving records. Can't wait to see how you progress.

X

Originally Posted by jaegerhund

And so it begins: The Chronicles of Steve: Now He Means Business.

Good luck,

Justin

This time, it's personal...



Welcome to the world of straight shaving. You'll love it until you die.

Originally Posted by Bruno

This time, it's personal...



Welcome to the world of straight shaving. You'll love it until you die.

One wrong stoke with my blade and that could be sooner than we think

OK, I'll break the rules here.

Since we've made references to that movie voiceover guy, here he is:

http://www.donlafontaine.com/

I can't believe he gets his own website