Thread: Getting the hang of it

With several shaves under my belt these are my findings/preferences so far:

1) taking your time to shave is really nice. I find that it now takes about 30-35 minutes to shave. Its not a race so I don't care as its actually enjoyable to shave now and cannot wait until my next shave
2) my cheeks have never felt so smooth. I am still looking/learning the angles and positions for the jawline and neck but they are improving with only minor irritation. (A lot less than a face shredder) I have been using the Trumper's Extract of limes skin food after the alum bar with good results. It calms the skin down.
3) I am leaning more towards the creams than soaps as they are easier to lather and seem to allow the razor to glide better. I have tried to following creams to date. Trumpers coconut and TOBS almond and I am leaning more towards the almond as I really like the scent of this product. Tried MWF today and had to work a bit to get it to lather and found that i had to keep re lathering and adding a bit so the razor didn't skip but I chalk that up to my shaving speed at this point. Smell was okay but tended to linger a bit more than my tastes.

Thanks for all the little tips and tricks and helpful advice so far.
Lou
Another straight razor convert

youre doing well mate - and the shave only get better from here!

Originally Posted by LilLou

With several shaves under my belt these are my findings/preferences so far: .....

Thanks for all the little tips and tricks and helpful advice so far.
Lou
Another straight razor convert

at 43 ... i still do not find myself needing to shaving below my belt... glads your cheeks are nice and soft and have taken on a healthy glow!

Congrats on the shaving though!

Thats cool LilLou. Ya plan on taking it to the the next steps as far as collecting, honing ets...? Ive just started to play with the honing a bit myself, now.

Originally Posted by syslight

at 43 ... i still do not find myself needing to shaving below my belt... glads your cheeks are nice and soft and have taken on a healthy glow!

Congrats on the shaving though!

Ha! You totally beat me to it!

Sounds like you are on the right track. Here is something I found while experimenting with soaps and creams. I went to wal-mart and bought a violet pot. This is a pot with two parts to it - a bottom bowl and an insert. The insert is part pourus which over time allows the water in the bottom part to seep into the plant. Not a problem in this case. The inside is a bit rough but doesn't interfere with the action of my silvertip brush. When I get ready to shower I fill the bottom bowl with hot water about half way and fill the insert also and cover with a 6" flat rubber drain stopper. When I am done with my shower I dump the water out of both units and refil the bottom again and place the insert on top with about 1/2 tsp of hot water. While I am getting my towels and razor ready I soak the brush. When I am ready to shave I place a snurdle of truefitt and hill unscented cream in the bowl and take my brush and gently squeeze the water out of it. I then grab the brush at the hair base with all 5 fingers and rub it into my wool-fat soap for about 15-20 seconds or until I see a lather building on the brush. I then take the brush and start mixing the soap with the cream until I have a nice lather in the bowl. From that point on I have hot lather whenever I need it. You can tell if the lather has enough moisture when you try to rinse it off the blade. If the lather doesn't totally rinse off easily it is to dry. To moisten it up a little just get the hot water running until it is hot and turn the flow down to a very small stream and pass the bottom of the brush through it once. Then work the lather up again and test it. I find the mixing of the soap and cream very confortable and the warm lather is definately a plus.

When I am finished shaving I don't wash the soap down the drain either. What's the point in that? I squeeze the soap out of the brush back into the soap bowl and use it next shave. At the cost of these soaps and creams it seems silly to just throw it away when you can reuse it.

Ray

great tips on loading upthe brush,and also water to lather ratio. I too, have had trouble with a razor "skipping"

Rayman

Good tips on lathering up. I hold my brush the same way when loading soap.
I keep my shaving bowl in a bigger bowl of hot water to keep the lather warm.
It is nicer IMO with the warm lather

McWolf

As far as honing , I have thought about getting a 12K stone and some strop paste.
I don't think I will get into restorations as I do not have the time right now.

No comment on the under the belt comment.

Originally Posted by rayman

Sounds like you are on the right track. Here is something I found while experimenting with soaps and creams. I went to wal-mart and bought a violet pot. This is a pot with two parts to it - a bottom bowl and an insert. The insert is part pourus which over time allows the water in the bottom part to seep into the plant.

A similar description was made about a year ago in a thread entitled redneck scuttle.

nice to hear you're enjoying it