Thread: Still not as good as a mach 3

It took me six months to get a good straight razor shave. You'll see, in a few months with dedication, you will have great shaves. It took me a long time to analyze stropping along with shaving techniques in order to get where I wanted to be.

I have been using a mach III for the last few years. Even though they were pricey, they used to be worth it because I could get about 5 or 6 shaves from a single cartridge. I have always had severe irritation from using cartridges unless I shaved every day, my facial hair grows very quickly and one or two days without shaving takes a toll on anything I used including me face. The Mach III's held up pretty well until recently, after the first shave, they were junk. Gillete had ruined my BBS shave by changing their manufacturing process, either in India or china, because that is what I had found out from them after sending an email complaint. They said they made them better...lol
Not only did they irritate my face, now I was mentally irritated and vowed never to buy those junk cartridges again. I started doing some research and bought my first straight, a Red Injun 101SP. I also bought a 1963 adjustable slim as a back up. After two days with the slim, I will never go back. Even after a couple of days growth, I get minimal irritation and my face doesn't look like I slept in a patch of poison ivy anymore.
I had to work on the straight razor for a bit but it is almost there. I have bought a few hones and strops and have now learned how to set a decent bevel. It is not quite there yet, I am still developing a good stropping technique, but my first shave went well with only 3 or 4 nicks. I clipped both ear lobes and decided I needed a round point...lol...I am also still learning how to do my chin.
I have since bought a few more Bokers. I am also waiting for a Norton combo 220/1000 stone I purchased to set the proper bevels quicker, I will post pics of them in the Bokers club after I get through cleaning and sharpening.
Now I have a 101, a 101SP, a 101RP, a King Cutter, a Satin Edge, a Damascus Magnetic Steel and a few others...I think I've been hooked...lol