Thread: My first st8 shave...and a question

Yes, little razor gnomes creep out during the evening and make the edge less sharp!
Actually, The purpose of stropping it to clean the edge but also to remove any oxidation that has occurred, and it has, it starts as soon as water, steel and air mix, burnish the bevel, realign the edge ( it does get unstraight) and a very slight sharpening from the silica in the strop.

The end result is a clean, rust free, straight, very sharp and much more comfortable edge.

I have a few follow on questions for those more experienced than I (that's anyone who's shaved with a straight...ever):
I just purchased my first straight, but thanks to the miracle that is military post, I won't get it for a while.
Since I have to shave every day, have already guessed that I won't be shaving with the straight every day, for a while anyways. I currently use an M3, and go rather haphazardly over my face. I have pretty coarse hair, so a cartridge lasts about 3-4 shaves before I really must get rid of it. I also shave my head, and that takes about a shave and a half off of the blade.
Do guys have any hints that I might use specifically for my daily habit? Is one pass good enough to get through the day (grows decently quick - I get a five o'clock shadow at around 4:30)
Head shaving? I don't even look at it when I do it now, and I know which way the hair grows. Are there any other hints?
Sorry for the long post, but I've read around a lot and these are the questions that remained.

-Chris

Well, I think you have received plenty of advise. Just wanted to say welcome to the world of straight shaving!
You are now an official member of the true brotherhood of the blade. Those DE guys are just pretenders. OK, so I sometimes use a DE but those other DE shavers are still pretenders to the "true" brotherhood of the blade.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

Yes, little razor gnomes creep out during the evening and make the edge less sharp!
Actually, The purpose of stropping it to clean the edge but also to remove any oxidation that has occurred, and it has, it starts as soon as water, steel and air mix, burnish the bevel, realign the edge ( it does get unstraight) and a very slight sharpening from the silica in the strop.

The end result is a clean, rust free, straight, very sharp and much more comfortable edge.

Thanks Randy! That actually makes alot of sense...though I like the gnome idea better. Mostly because it helps explain the dryer gnomes.

And thanks everyone for the great advice. I'll continue to frequent the forums, and hopefully get to the point where I can help out others with the knowledge I'll get from shaving. I'll just keep it fun, and things'll progress.

Happy Shaving!

Originally Posted by Xiolo

Thanks Randy! That actually makes alot of sense...though I like the gnome idea better. Mostly because it helps explain the dryer gnomes.

And thanks everyone for the great advice. I'll continue to frequent the forums, and hopefully get to the point where I can help out others with the knowledge I'll get from shaving. I'll just keep it fun, and things'll progress.

Happy Shaving!

Don't confuse drier gnomes with razor gnomes. They are entirely different species and would not appreciate your "a gnome is a gnome" attitude.