Thread: The Learning Curve Continues...

So yesterday I beat my face up severely with a new blade in a shavette and Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouqet shaving cream. My face was screaming red with more weepers than I have ever seen. Pen's doesn't lube that well, then when you put that in combination with a *very* sharp shavette blade... ouch. I almost didn't shave today.

But after receiving my new hanging strop (my very first proper strop), as well as reading Kaptain_Zero's post on making lather from soap, I just couldn't help but shave in spite of the fact that my face was screaming not to.

I "stropped the crap" out of a Lynn sharpened Hess 44 stainless. 50 laps on the linen, followed by 200(!) laps (400 total strokes!) over the course of two days on the Red Latigo leather.

The combination of the Kaptain Kream and well-stropped blade brought my level of straight shaving to a new high. Not only was I able to shave my irritated face, I was able to do three full passes, and I'm sitting here with one of the closest straight shaves I've had so far.

REAL Important stuff:

1. Have a really sharp razor
2. Strop the crap out of it with a real, legitimate hanging leather strop (not a paddle strop).
3. Have good quality, *properly developed* lather.

What I really like about Tabac is how well it works when it is a bit drier than what you'd normally want a lather to be. Even without much water, the stuff lubes very well. Maybe even better than if it's at a "normal" moisture content. The only thing I did different from the Kaptain's method was I did end up tranfering the lather to a bowl so I could add a few drops of glycerin to it to get the extra needed working time I need here in the desert. Soap just dries up too fast without a touch more glycerin in it here. Tabac works so well, I"m finally even getting over the scent!

floorpizza:

I have tried to stick with the slickest creams / soaps I have. My second shave with a straight was with C&E Sienna soap, which does not really give much cushion. I have had better luck with Williams (el-cheapo...go figure) or Van de Hagen mixed as a superlather with Kiss My Face unscented. The last two days have been really good, and my face - which usually gets red from a DE has been cooler and normal colour! I am really pleased so far - I have increased the number and speed of the stopping laps too, I did 40 this AM - tomorrow I will do 60 with the tony miller latigo - nicks and all and see how it works out....

I'm planning on using mitchells wool fat soap - not sure if I'll mix in KMF again, but if ti looks thin like the van der hagen's did this am, I will have to top it up with the KMF.

Barry

so why'd you use the shavette? were you experimenting/ trying out something different? seems like a step backwards to me but have never shaved with one, so i guess i shouldn't talk.

lately i have increased the amount of stropping i do previous to the shave and have had nothing but great results. i still swear by the CrOx for smoothing out the blade. i actually had a rep come into my health food store and give me a free sample of Thera Neem Men's Shaving and Complexion Botanical Cleansing Bar. weird that it was the only sample she had for me and she had no clue i was into shaving.

I sometimes use the shavette when I don't want to strop...one reason can be that it saves me 5 minutes.. or sometimes I forget to strop before I get into the shower... and I do like to shave right after I get out of the shower.....The shaves I get from the shavette are certainly not worse than the "real" straigts. But as it is veryunforgiving you do have to make sure everything is OK (beardprep, focus, angle NOO PRESSURE) or else you will bleed a bit.

@Flootpizza, I'm using a loom strop and I was perfectly happy with it. But now, thanks to you, I want a "real" strop.. THANKS A LOT

Maarten

When I want to save 5 minutes, I grow a goatee for the day. The need to strop the "crap" out of it as you say, I think is a variable. I rarely need to strop more than 6-7 strokes. But, as you can see, effective stropping can go a long way.

Originally Posted by FloorPizza

REAL Important stuff:

1. Have a really sharp razor
2. Strop the crap out of it with a real, legitimate hanging leather strop (not a paddle strop).
3. Have good quality, *properly developed* lather.

Are you saying paddle strops are illegitimate

Originally Posted by bman40

floorpizza:

I have tried to stick with the slickest creams / soaps I have. My second shave with a straight was with C&E Sienna soap, which does not really give much cushion. I have had better luck with Williams (el-cheapo...go figure) or Van de Hagen mixed as a superlather with Kiss My Face unscented. The last two days have been really good, and my face - which usually gets red from a DE has been cooler and normal colour! I am really pleased so far - I have increased the number and speed of the stopping laps too, I did 40 this AM - tomorrow I will do 60 with the tony miller latigo - nicks and all and see how it works out....

I'm planning on using mitchells wool fat soap - not sure if I'll mix in KMF again, but if ti looks thin like the van der hagen's did this am, I will have to top it up with the KMF.

Barry

Me too. I'm gonna pick up a puck of MWF and another Tabac from SRD "real soon now".

Originally Posted by chee16

so why'd you use the shavette? were you experimenting/ trying out something different? seems like a step backwards to me but have never shaved with one, so i guess i shouldn't talk.

lately i have increased the amount of stropping i do previous to the shave and have had nothing but great results. i still swear by the CrOx for smoothing out the blade. i actually had a rep come into my health food store and give me a free sample of Thera Neem Men's Shaving and Complexion Botanical Cleansing Bar. weird that it was the only sample she had for me and she had no clue i was into shaving.

The shavette was a curiosity thing. Recently, there was a thread about straights being as sharp as commercially produced blades. I got the shavette so I could compare my honemeister sharpened blades (as well as my own) to the sharpness of the shavette. So far, a very slight edge (no pun intended) goes to the commercial blade. It may be slightly sharper, but is way more unforgiving. See below.

I got some chrome ox with my strop... just not sure what I'm gonna put it on yet.

Originally Posted by mlangstr

I sometimes use the shavette when I don't want to strop...one reason can be that it saves me 5 minutes.. or sometimes I forget to strop before I get into the shower... and I do like to shave right after I get out of the shower.....The shaves I get from the shavette are certainly not worse than the "real" straigts. But as it is veryunforgiving you do have to make sure everything is OK (beardprep, focus, angle NOO PRESSURE) or else you will bleed a bit.

@Flootpizza, I'm using a loom strop and I was perfectly happy with it. But now, thanks to you, I want a "real" strop.. THANKS A LOT

Maarten

The first time I used a shavette was with Tabac, and I was *very* impressed with the shave. Keeping track of two "spike points" from that short shavette blade did prove to be a challenge, so I did cut myself a few times, but overall, it was a great shave. As you said, it is very unforgiving. Much more so than a straight, but when you get it right... wow, the results are great. Using a very lubricating lather with a shavette helps alot, too.

As to the strop... my work here is done. ; )

Originally Posted by onimaru55

Are you saying paddle strops are illegitimate

Oh no no no... they serve a purpose. See, if your parking brake on your car isn't working, you can put it under the tire to keep it from moving....

Actually, I still love my paddle strop. I have three sides of it covered in diamond pastes, and I looooove the results off of the pastes. The bare leather side, though, is probably gonna get covered in chrome ox.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

When I want to save 5 minutes, I grow a goatee for the day. The need to strop the "crap" out of it as you say, I think is a variable. I rarely need to strop more than 6-7 strokes. But, as you can see, effective stropping can go a long way.

I'm sure that the excessive stropping was only needed because my blades have never seen anything more than a paddle strop, which, after reading your "slow/fast stropping speed thread" I'm almost convinced i did more harm than good. So each of my blades is doing their part in breaking in my new Red Latigo strop. The "strop the crap out of it" quote I keep using is a poke in fun at Glen.

As much as I love stropping, it makes my carpal tunnel syndrome scream after just a few minutes. Sucks, cause stropping really is a relaxing pass time.

Floorpizza, I'm glad that the Kaptain's post would benefit others just as it has benefited me. I've had "luck" making lather soaking the soap and not soaking the soap, but lately I've had better results with the Kaptain's method. Congrats on the shave!

Kaptain, where are you???

I am glad you got it going on. I'd love to see the thread you're talking about for a re-read (lol)