Something I wrote up, thought I'd share it on SRP.
I was asleep when the phone rang. I picked it up and Paul was on the other end. He invited me out to his place to show me how to use a straight razor. I wrote down directions, packed my pipe with Coyote Classic Full, and was on my way. The drive was quite nice, save for the moderate volume of traffic.
I arrived at my destination, took a few final draws on my pipe, shut the car off and pocketed my keys before heading up to the door. I rang the bell and peered into the front of the house which had a windowed ceiling. There were a few house plants sitting around and I could tell that Paul was a man of means.
"Hi Doug, you made it."
"Yeah, I hit a bit of traffic on the way in though." I replied.
"Did you bring your pipes? Let's go out back and have a smoke."
"Alright, let me go grab my stuff." I then went back to my car to grab my half finished bowl, some pipe cleaners, lighter and tool, as well as a bag of Coyote Classic Full, and a tin of Balkan Sasieni. When I returned, Paul ushered me through the front of the house, in past the dining room where his laptop lay amidst a pile of important documents. Right by the back sliding door was a pack of American Spirits, non filtered. He preferred cigarettes, and would later tell me that he doesn't smoke a pipe often at all.
He brought me a glass of Diet Coke and I sipped and puffed on my pipe while he got his strong nicotine fix. We made small talk before going inside and looking at the razors. The ones he was willing to part with needed to be honed, and/or sent off to someone who really knew their craft. These fine implements of cleanliness are fragile, and keeping them in working order is nothing to be taken lightly. Otherwise you f*** up your face. He pulled out a razor with blackish scales(what the blade closes into), and opened it up. It was a round point which is a popular choice for beginners because it is not as easy to lop off your ear if you get too close.
With a closer look, I could tell that the scales with this razor were made of wood. Paul produces another razor from the box and the scales appeared to be made from some sort of marble, or ivory, I can't remember exactly what it was. Then he tells me that a good friend of his(Also known as Gssixgun) made the scales for both razors. These were the two we honed over the next two hours. Well, Paul did most of it. He told me that a professional can do about three an hour.
We walked to the sink in which he submerged a whetstone and took a double sided 4000/8000 grit hone and made pencil markings to ensure an even level. The whetstone is ready when it stops bubbling. Yes hones need to be maintained as well. Taking the hone in a figure eight over the whetstone is the technique Paul likes to use. After the hones were ready for the razors, he showed me proper technique continually correcting me and taking over when need be, making sure the job was properly done. Water is sprayed on the hone, which protects the blade and helps notify you how sharp the blade is getting. First, water will pass under the blade, then the blade will push the water, then the water will roll over the blade. When this happens, you are one step closer to shaving. Don't put pressure on the blade when honing. Guide it smoothly. I soon found this to be rather tricky. We took innumerable inspections of the blades under a microscope, honing to the point of a cutting edge shine. Now it was time to strop.
Stropping is only a tad more complicated than it looks. With honing, the you push the blade forward. While stropping, you push the spine, pulling the blade. It's all about movement, a lot of it being the wrist. Always keep the spine of the blade towards the strop. This ensures that you don't nick the strop and/or ding the blade. Stropping only takes a couple of minutes, maybe a little longer if you're just learning. Paul did 99% of the stropping.
"Okay Doug. Ready to shave?"
"Yeah, I'll try one side-burn." I replied. I prepared with a hot towel and lathered up, applied the hot towel again, then lathered for the shave. With the 6/8 from Germany, I made a few strokes in front of my ear then Paul offered to get my cheek so I could get used to how the blade is supposed to feel on the face. Keeping the blade somewhere between a 45 and 90 degree angle, I was confident enough to get the other side of my face. This took a couple of minutes, and when I was done, I felt great. I threw on some menthol aftershave, and Paul stropped the blade for me one last time. Stropping before and after each shave is a must.
That's about all I can remember right now. I'm sure I forgot a few things, so feel free to let me know...
Thanks for reading,
-Doug
