4 shaves in... newbie intro/questions

Well guys,i've been wanting to start str8 shaving for a long time now, and my g/f got me the whole set up for this last x-mas, strop,badger, 5/8 dovo astrale (with initials :D) and some certificates for the AOS. After getting over a split chin from falling during the snow storm we had in Seattle this year i finally got to start my shaving. The time i had before starting gave me ample time to research my new hobbie, and so when i went into AOS for my royal shave (also part of my gift) I was ready to soak up everything and ask some questions so i would have a baseline to start off for myself, the barber was knowledgeable and nice and gave me some pointers, it was not as smooth as i would of thought, but i would probably attribute that to my skin never feeling a str8 and the disposable the have to use in the shop. So after that i started myself and now im 4 shaves in and here are some of my questions...

1. Neck hair... i got it and it grows in all directions, My passes WTG are going well, but when i try XTG or ATG its very uncomfortable, do i need to knock the hair down to a very low profile before making these passes, or does it have to do with the sharpness of my razor>? i brought my dovo to AOS with me and had the Barber look at it, he told me it was "shave Ready " and i took his word, but im not so sure.

2. Is it recommended to add glycerin to my lather ? im using AOS unsencted puck and havent added anything yet... if so where should i buy Glycerin ?

3. Im stropping 40x's fabric 60x's leather for prep but mosly for practice... think im getting the hang of it , but somtimes i notice a very small (almost sandgrain size) piece of leather on my blade, its always in the same spot... does this signify a burr in the blade ?

4. the dreaded chin area ... but this might just be practice ?

thanks in advance for your advice, this site is amazing and has really helped me so far.

Tony

Hello. Welcome to SRP!
You've got to give your skin time to become accustomed to the blade. I'd stick with WTG on the neck for a couple of weeks. In that time your skin will get used to it & your handling of the razor will improve.

If the razor was bought with the honing service then it'll be shave ready. If it's straight out of the factory, it won't be quite there yet.

I've not bothered to add glycerine to my lather as yet. I've got no experience with AOS products either, but you should get by without it & it's just another variable to confuse matters at the moment.

It's great to hear that your giving it plenty of lap's on the strop! You'll learn faster & it's what tha razor needs. It does sound like you've got a small nick or something in the blade though. It'll damage the strop & if it's doing that to the leather, your face will be next!

Chin.....practise i'm afraid, but it's very satisfying when you get it. I felt like i'd reached a milestone!

If there's a nick in the blade & it wasn't pre-honed i'd send it away mate. It'll come back ready to go!

1. If your razor was not honed by someone from this website or the vendors on this website then it is probably not shave ready. Look in the classifieds under services for honing help.

2. Glycerin adds more lather. Get it at a drug store.

3. Where did you get the strop? What kind is it?

4. Ya, it's just practice. ( Scared me to death when I started!:))

Hope this helps,:)

the strop is a bismark, and my razor has been sent to the hones

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anthonyt23

1. Neck hair... i got it and it grows in all directions, My passes WTG are going well, but when i try XTG or ATG its very uncomfortable, do i need to knock the hair down to a very low profile before making these passes, or does it have to do with the sharpness of my razor>? i brought my dovo to AOS with me and had the Barber look at it, he told me it was "shave Ready " and i took his word, but im not so sure.

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Suggest you do just the area between your sideburn and jawline, and WTG only until you are more comfortable with the blade in your hand and against your skin. Learn your angles this way. Add XT and AGT, and other areas of your face, later after you get more confidence in your techniques. You can finish your shaves with your other razor. I still use my Merkur twin for touch ups.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anthonyt23

2. Is it recommended to add glycerin to my lather ? im using AOS unsencted puck and havent added anything yet... if so where should i buy Glycerin ?

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How are you developing the lather? You can get glycerin in your local drug store. Are you sure you need glycerin? Some people here swear by it, I don't need it. My soaps (TGQ) and creams (T&H) lather just fine.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anthonyt23

3. Im stropping 40x's fabric 60x's leather for prep but mosly for practice... think im getting the hang of it , but somtimes i notice a very small (almost sandgrain size) piece of leather on my blade, its always in the same spot... does this signify a burr in the blade ?

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That's what it sounds like. Do you have a hone?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by anthonyt23

4. the dreaded chin area ... but this might just be practice ?

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Reference answer to #1 above.

First, welcome!
It will just take some time to get your technique down.
One suggestion would be to map the grain of the beard on your face. Many times, irritation on the neck is because you don't realize that the probably grows in many different directions. When you think you are shaving WTG, you may be in fact shaving XTG or even ATG.
Dward had some really good suggestions. You may want to work on your cheeks alone until you refine your technique.

I've been getting very good results on my cheeks and mustache area with a wtg then atg pass, when my razor gets back from its honing (thanks Bud) I'll stick to some more wtg passes on the neck until my skin gets more familiar to the blade. Am I going to want to strop my blade before my first shave right after it gets honed ? I've been using. AOS uncented puck and making good lather, I'm really liking putting the teapot on and boiling some water while showering then using the double boiler method with 2 clay pots I got for a dollar from value village :)

If I just want to keep up the edge on an in shape razor would the norton combo stone be a good choice?

Don't strop it before the 1st shave. It'll come back to you absolutely ready to go. You won't make it better & may make it worse.
Sounds like you're really giving yourself time to enjoy the whole process there!
If you only want to touch up the edge there are a few options. None are better. Different methods suit different people, that's all.
You could use a pasted strop. A paddle seems to be very popular for this, from what i've read, but i have no experience there as i use a hanging.
A simple vintage barber hone's another way to go. This was the choice of many for years & still is. They vary, so do some searches & read up on the merits of them. Swaty's seem popular.
Finally you could go natural! A Chinese 12k is excellent value & can be used with slurry to speed it up, or a Thuringian is lovely!