First Go At It with a SR

After several months of research and using a Dovo Shavette with Shark blades, I finally tried my hand at shaving with a real blade. 5/8 S. R. Droescher by Peter Hahn

I have several antique straight razors that I have acquired recently. None of which are shave ready, because I am a moron. More on that subject later. So I brought my lot of blades by my barber. Being in the Marines I have to get a fresh haircut once a week, so we are well acquainted. Although being in Okinawa, there is a language barrier. I asked him where I could get them sharpened at. He pondered for a moment, took the Peter Hahn and said to come back in two days. The razor is an antique, looks like it had never seen a stone once in it's life. I go back in two days and pick it up. He has a very nice bevel on it, matches up nicely with the wear on the spine, and it cuts my arm hair really well. I try to offer him money several times, but he refuses.

Bring it home, do my normal routine, shower, conditioner in the beard. (off subject, got an SRD sampler of soaps. Tried the sandlewood out. Found out that I had not been using enough water when building a lather in the past. Got this one on the money, made a TON of lather.) Lathered and tried it out on one cheek. Razor pulled quite a bit, very uncomfortable. Stropped it on my SRD modular for a bit and tried again on a different spot. Better, but still not great. Ran it over the felt with .5 diamond spray, plain felt, scrub leather then strop. Tried again, and it was pretty nice. not perfect, but it will work for the time being.

This past several months I had been practicing my stropping techniques and researching all the while with a very dull blade, just to get the hang of the motion. Apparently I have it down fairly well. It is very comfortable for me. Not a single nick, ding or cut on my strop either. Yet.

Anyways, on to the shave. I was able to make a full 3 pass shave. BBS. Just a couple very small/minor nicks (ATG has a different angle than the shavette obviously, caught and jumped on me a little several times. That coupled with the fact that it wasn't quite sharp enough for me). Having the full length razor, instead of just the front half on my shavette was awesome. Was able to get to places more easily, and overall complete the task faster due to the extra length. This is the first time I have ever been able to get BBS on my neck. My beard is VERY thick/coarse and full, grows in all kinds of crazy directions, so the shavette was EXTREMELY harsh going XTG/ATG. I would end up with razor burn and irritation if I did anything more than WTG. Not with a SR. I got very, very little irritation. No razor burn.

The thing I will take away from this first experience the most, I have to remember to have a light touch, be light on the blade. I am not a subtle person, everything is quick, fast and to the point. I enjoy rough textures and put excess pressure on everything I do. I have to constantly remind myself not to do that while shaving.

A huge thanks goes out to all of you guys out there that make this forum a wonderful learning environment! The knowledge and experience you have imparted on me is priceless.

Welcome Marine. Enjoy the journey - it just gets easier. Thanks for your service.

Thanks for your service! Congrats on a great first shave.

Semper Fi Marine. don't know what to say about the sharpening. If it was done properly you may want to examine the blade angle. Put the razor flat against your face and then add just the slightest tilt to it, no more than the width of the spine.

If it all only gets better from here, then I hit the jackpot! With such a thick beard and sensitive skin, shaving has always been a problem for me. especially since I was the only kid in the 7th grade with a goatee. cartridge, electric, everything just tears my face up if i try to get a close shave.

And yes, I think the edge might have still been lacking somewhat. but it was shave-able. I have a couple "shave ready from ebay" on the way to me, I will see how they all compare. I need to send at least one out to get honed by one of the pros. That will give me a benchmark to start learning how to hone. btw, the hardware stores out here have a huge selection of stones. they have all the lower grit shaptons for like $20 or so each.

Sounds like you have made some great progress and have a clear path forward. Thank you for your service best of luck on your sharpening adventures!