Scary First Time Straight Shave

Finished cleaning up my Shumate 135 earlier today and took it through the stones (1k, 4k & 8k) this evening.
30 laps on the linen, 50 laps on each side of the leather and studied the edge with a 16x loupe. A couple of pits
remain in the edge, but overall it looks good and smooth. Curiousity got the better of me and I couldn't wait
until morning for the test shave. Hot towel prep. Vintage Colgate lather applied with a Van der Hagen boar brush.
Couple of small nicks, need to figure how to trim around the van dyke. All in all, scary..., but what a thrill!


Not a BBS shave by no means. In fact, the left side of my neck is still furry, hahaha!

Now, you just work on improving one element at a time. A slow, wonderful journey ahead.

Congrats. Now just take it slow and easy from here. Don't get over confident when things start to really come together either. Enjoy the journey.

Bob

Ok Marine. Your journey has begun. If the edge of your razor is uneven I'd suggest going back to your 1 K and reset the bevel. Go lightly here as you move across the stone and check your edge under a strong light. Don't need a loupe to do this. Make sure that there are no shiny parts on the edge. If there are, go back to the 1 K hone and gently polish them out. Then do pyramids on the 4/8 hone to polish out the stryations of the 1 K.
Good luck and Semper Fi!

Are you learning to hone, whilst learning to straight shave? If so, I'd learn to shave first and save the honing for later.

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Originally Posted by Wayne1963

Are you learning to hone, whilst learning to straight shave? If so, I'd learn to shave first and save the honing for later.

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I've been learning a lot the past few months and I'm grateful to every member of SRP for what I've learned.
I thought about buying a shave ready SR online, but was enamored with the thought of finding a SR in the
wild and bringing it back to service with my own hands. I now have 3 SR's ready to send off for honing, but
something about this Shumate's 135 said "I'm the one". Light as a feather, round point, 11/16, hollow ground,
this is my "beginner" I've been looking for. I took it to my new Norton stones and paid very close attention to
each lap, all the time thinking about what I've read about here on the forum and the videos I've watched.
Am I flat to the stone? Is my pressure to heavy? What does the edge look like, fresh metal, pits gone? I was
focused. I studied the edge and was happy with it. For the HHT, I used my chest hairs holding the blade about
a half inch off the skin, very little grab as the hairs caught the edge and popped off. What a lovely "tinking"
sound it made. I knew my "beginner" was ready and so was I, to begin this part of my journey.
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I'm proud of you Marine. Good job. You know what you are doing and where to get help on the journey.

Second SR shave, not so scary this time...

Prep: Hot shower
Lather: Vintage Colgate (I think it's a magic puck that'll never wear out, hahaha)
Brush: VDH badger with a loose knot
Weapon: My trusty Shumate's 135
Mantra: "shave the lather...sfave va laver...snaff a afur..."
Clean up DE: Micro Touch One w/ASTRA platinum blade
Post: Nivea Sensitive Post-Shave balm
Shave: BBS! Yea, baby! One new nick.

Went at it a little different this morning. Started on the left side instead of the right. (Right hand dominant)
Applied pressure in the hairline above the sideburn, 2 short strokes and I reapplied pressure on my upper
cheek near the ear. It gave me a lot more control of the skin in that area. Same on the right. Skipped the
jaw line and went for the throat. Same here, clear a spot and reapply pressure. Can't go WTG or ATG, so
south and north strokes for now. Then the jaw lines. Plenty of spots to apply pressure and tried a scythe
stroke. (A curving stroke? Not really sure on what it would be called.) Learned to forget the grain and pull
into the van dyke. Tried to place, roll for angle and pull away from the beard. NOPE! NICK! Don't roll with
a SR you.....that's a DE move if there ever was one! 2 passes with the Shumate and then a 3rd with my
DE ATG. BBS! I won't shave again until day after tomorrow.

And to think, all those times I shaved twice a day (in the svc) just because I didn't know how to shave.


Just noticed I have been saying my VDH brush is boar, it's a badger...

wow!! that's a very nice looking blade after your work :) congrats!

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Originally Posted by Panama60

Mantra: "shave the lather...sfave va laver...snaff a afur..."

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:roflmao:rofl2:

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Originally Posted by gabrielcr78

wow!! that's a very nice looking blade after your work :) congrats!

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Thank you. It looks better in hand than under the harsh light of the camera's flash.

Good news- I finally received my Carson MM-840 eFlex digital microscope.
Bad news- I looked at the Shumate under the scope. Going to kill the edge and go back to work on it.
Some pits and micro-chips need to come out of the edge. Spend a little more time with 2k w/d sandpaper
first.

@AcesandEights - words get distorted when the face is contorted :p

Still learning how to control the new scope.

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Carson MM-840 eFlex 75x / 300x Digital Microscope with flexible neck

A not-so-cheap (just under fiddy bucks) solution to my failing eyesight. I've unlit loupes that
take 2 hands to control. You bob around looking for the right light, holding the item under the
loupe looking for the right focal length, all the while you hold the loupe looking for the right focal
length for your eye. And I can't wear my progressive bifocals while doing this dance. Grrrr!

MM-840 is self lit with 4 LED's controlled by a dimmer switch. I have better luck holding my
flashlight off to the side. Permanent USB cord. Have to download the software from their
website. The zoom and focus are the same, no seperate controls. I'm trying to figure out how
to remove the clear shield around the LED's to lose another 3/8" of focal length. The closer
the item is, the higher the magnification can get. The flex neck is shaky, especially while ad-
justing the zoom/focus ring. I can build a drill-press-like stand for it, just need to make a run to
the hardware store. I miss working in the Maintenance Shop where salvaged bits and pieces
laid all about. At least it's stationary, lit and hooks up to my monitor. But it needs modifications.

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Originally Posted by Panama60

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keep going!

Okay, much happier with the finish. Will hit the 1k tonight.

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Much appreciation goes out to my little buddy for making sure his love seat didn't blow away, har!

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Excellent work Marine. You've got this. Don't chase the magnified images too much. Read the wiki and follow the suggestions.

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Originally Posted by Panama60

Still learning how to control the new scope.

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That bevel has some major issues, all that pitting got to go and it looks very uneven.

The top pic is just in front of the heel on the show side. Right at the end of the edge. I'm trying, Martin, I'm trying.

I know you are, not sure that's a good blade to learn how to hone lots of pitting on the bevel.

Looks like you need to spend some time on your bevel setter to get those pits out. Pitting on the side of the bevel, though not ideal, can be acceptable and won't affect the quality of the shave. It's the very edge that needs to be straight and free of defects.

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Took the pits out using the Norton 1K. Also traded out the scratches going up to 4K and 8K. It shaves, but
not sure if good enough. I was hoping to win a bid on the bay for another Shumate 135, don't think that's
going to happen. Time to send one off for honing.

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Originally Posted by Panama60

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Took the pits out using the Norton 1K. Also traded out the scratches going up to 4K and 8K. It shaves, but
not sure if good enough. I was hoping to win a bid on the bay for another Shumate 135, don't think that's
going to happen. Time to send one off for honing.

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Good job Rog. The stryations look a little deep for the 8k Norton IMHO. I'd suggest 4 sets of circles of 20, 10, 5 and 3 with just the weight of the blade. Almost zero pressure. Just enough to keep blade flat on the hone.
But the most important thing for me to say to you today is to thank you for your service to this great country. Men like you is what makes America great!

That pic is a composite of the 1K work Trying to get the light and angle right to show what it looks like
after the 8K....
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OK, here we go. Now you can see the striations better.
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Happy Veterans Day everybody!

Post office is closed today, so it'll be tomorrow before I can get this out in the mail. I've decided to send the Shumate 135
and my DD off for pro honing. I've an 11/16 hollow ground square point A.W. Wadsworth & Sons BOSS t.m.with a beautiful
patina I'll tape and take to the stones next. The edge on the Wadie looks like someone tried to sharpen it with a file.
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I've been amazed at some of the edges from antique store/ebay purchases. Some of them are honed in ways that just defy logic completely.

It's hard to say if the striations are overly exaggerated based on the slight change in angle. I'd say the edge is worth a shot at a shave.

I sent the Shumate and Wadsworth to be honed. They should be back in my hands soon, with a proper edge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iwBM_YB1sE

Update -
Had two SRs honed by BeJay. (Great job, BeJay!) Learning to use my non-dominant hand and using a DE less and less.
Learning to trim around my van dyke is proving to be a bit tricky. Shown below is what used to be the bottom right
corner of my beard, lol.

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I wonder where all those white hairs came from? hmmmm...

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Originally Posted by Panama60

I wonder where all those white hairs came from? hmmmm...

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Do you have a cat?:shrug:

They're mine. It's that time in my life. I'll probably look like Santa Claus in about ten years, lol.

My first shave with an SR other than my 5/8 round point Shumate's 135, a Filarmonica DT14.
I only thought I had a hard time seeing around a 5/8". The DT14 requires a zen like focus on
my sense of touch as I couldn't see when starting the down stroke on my upper cheek. Short
strokes with a more acute angle along with great attention to skin stretching and pressure
resulted in a very satisfying shave. Although the left side of my neck feels like sandpaper, I
did not do my usual clean up with a DE. I think it is time to take off those training wheels. 1
nick to the left of my adam's apple with very little blood. All in all, a great shave!

After the shave, I did 30 laps on my clean linen strop and placed the DT14 (opened) in my
pipe rack to continue airing it out. While shaving, I do not rinse the blade, but wipe it off on
a damp face cloth. Later today, I will take a cotton swab and coat the DT14 with mineral oil
for storage until the next time I drag this beauty out.

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I would also like to express my appreciation to Bejay for the quick replies to pm's, being very
easy to work with, the fast turn around time and the great edges he has put on my straight razors.
Thank you, BeJay!