Thread: First Real Shave

Hey! I've been spending a lot of time reading posts on this site, waiting for the day when I had some straight razor experience, so I could contribute. Well, that day has arrived. This morning I had my first real straight razor shave.

I've been interested in straight razor shaving for quite awhile, but it wasn't until recently that I found out my dad actually has a J.A. Henckels razor, as well as a strop. He no longer has the time to put into the ritual, so he was more than willing to pass his razor and strop on to me. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I've been to shave with a straight. I figured that the razor should be professionally honed prior to me using it, since I'm new to this world, and need to learn with something that is truly "shave-ready." So I took it to Leavitt & Pierce in Cambridge, MA because they said they had a sharpening service available that could do straight razors. I gave my razor to them, they passed it on to the people who do the sharpening (Siraco Sharpening Service, if anyone is curious or has some experience with them). The razor came back sharper, but I was skeptical nonetheless since I could find no reviews for them.

So I did exactly what I should have done: I sent it to SRD to be REALLY honed, and at the same time bought SRD's 3" Red Latigo strop, since my dad's strop is starting to fall apart (the leather is in great condition, but the handles... not so much). When I received my parcel from SRD yesterday, I felt more confident, knowing that an expert honer (Lynn or Don) had blessed my blade with their abilities.

I wiped off the oil, and tried out the hanging hair test. Unfortunately, the blade refused to do anything to the hair. After looking up some more info on the HHT, I found out that it is not necessarily a very helpful test with all blades.

Before shaving, and because I was so excited about my brand new beautiful strop, I decided to put the strop to work a bit. I now know that I should have done my first shave with the razor exactly how it came back to me from SRD, but I figured my stropping technique (which I've practiced) was good enough that I wouldn't dull the blade. To any other beginners considering to buy a new strop, hear this: YOU WILL DAMAGE IT! I thought I was not too too bad at stropping (in fact, I thought I my stropping technique was good enough to not allow any mistakes), but already I have a couple of tiny nicks on it. Nothing too serious... yet; but keep the inevitable strop mutilation in mind when you pick yours.

Okay, so then I did the actual shave. I've amassed an embarrassing amount of soaps and cream since I started shaving with a brush a few months ago. But time and time again, Tabac proves to be my absolute favorite. I have AOS Sandalwood Cream, Proraso, a sample of Castle Forbes Cedar and Sandalwood, Spanish Fig and Nutmeg soap (by The Bath House - incredible scent), TOBS Avocado, and Nancy Boy (and a sample of Acqua di Parma, which I look forward to trying). But Tabac kills the competition every time.

Anyway, I showered, used a face scrub, lathered up with Tabac, let it sit (sometimes I put a hot towel over it , but not today), rinsed it off, re-lathered, and went to work with my Henckels blade. Honestly, it wasn't a great shave by any means. I probably bit off more than I could chew. Rather than doing just one cheek, I did everything except my chin and mustache. [Side note: I shaved 2 other times with the straight razor after I had it sharpened c/o Leavitt and Pierece, but still my experience is very limited]. I think I only nicked myself once, but the shave was not particularly smooth, and for the second pass I used my Merkur HD.

Followed up with an alum block, Nivea Extra Soothing (or whatever the really popular aftershave is), and then Cetaphil. There were a couple of spots on my face that felt a little irritated, but overall I felt pretty good.


I just wanted to share my experience with everyone else. Though the shave was nowhere near perfect, at least I know that my razor has a fantastic edge, and with practice I will learn the angles, the necessary pressure (or lack thereof), and the perfect formula for a perfect shave. I'd love to hear feedback, suggestions, similar experiences... anything.

Oh! And while I'm at it, I have 2 questions. Does anyone follow their shave with an alum block, witch hazel, AND an aftershave balm? Do you feel that the addition of witch hazel makes a noticeable difference? Also, today I bought a bar of Mitchell's Wool Fat soap, which is NOT the shaving soap. Tallow is the first ingredient listed (and there's lanolin and glycerin in it as well); is there a major difference between the bar soap and the shave soap? I didn't buy it to use a shaving soap, but I'm kind of curious how it might perform...


Thank you, SRP (special thanks to Lynn and Don), for teaching me the proper way to enter the world of straight razor shaving.

JP