Thread: I finally got my first real straight, and I have tested it!

After using a "Shavette" for quite some time I finally got around to order a honed straight razor from Kenrup last week. Today it came in the mail, and since I had a suspicion it would arrive today, I didn't shave this morning!

The gear I was using was this:

* Double Arrow straight razor, honed and sold by Kenrup
* Strop supplied by Kenrup
* Pure badger brush from "VP"
*Taylors Sandalwood shaving cream (tube)
*Alum block from SaffronBar
*Lancome cleansing gel
*Lancome recharging moisturizer
* A big ceramic bowl I found in the kitchen



The biggest problem I had came before I even started shaving. I have never stropped a straight razor before, so it was quite a bit of struggle to do it properly, but I think I got it in the end.

Since I have used a shavette, the technique of how to use a straight wasn't totally unfamiliar. The biggest difference was the weight of the blade. The 6/8 double arrow is a monster in weight compared to a cheap and light shavette. This meant that I didn't have to use any pressure at all, the blade just flowed over my skin without any effort at all.

Normally I only do 2 passes when I shave (with and against), but today I decided to do 3 passes, just because it felt so god with the big blade in my hand. I managed to go the whole shave without drawing blood from my skin, I had one royal screwup, and that was when I managed to hit the nose right over my lip, I was going across the lip and had the blade just a little bit to high, so now I have a pretty little scar under/on my nose. But it didnt bleed to bad, and the alum block stopped it immediately.

All in all I am ecstatic about my first shave with a real straight. It got real close, I didn't draw blood from the places my shavette normally would, and my skin is a lot less irritated since I didn't have to use any pressure at all!

Arlendius

That razor is a great deal. Glad to see you've got a nice kit there and already had a good shave!

Well done - keep up the good work

Congratulations!
You might want to be careful of touching the blade to an alum block. Others here might know more about it, but I barely touched a favorite razor to a moist alum block and it stained the blade pretty bad.

Originally Posted by BigBubba

Congratulations!
You might want to be careful of touching the blade to an alum block. Others here might know more about it, but I barely touched a favorite razor to a moist alum block and it stained the blade pretty bad.

Hmm.. I really didn't think about that!
But I should be ok, as the alum block was dry when I took the picture, and I cleaned the blade under water after I took the picture.

But even if it should do something bad to my blade, it's not the end of the world, as it's not the most expensive of razors, and I might even be forced to learn how to hone/restore it

Arlendius

Sounds like a pretty good start with a proper str8.