Thread: I gotta fever, and the only prescription...is more SR Shaving!

Hey Everyone!

So, I wasn't going to post anything until my 5th or 6th shave, at which point I was planning on shaving my entire face, but this 3rd time was just too great to not share on here. And I figured I'd share my entire progress thus far to help others and see if I could get some feedback.

My equipment:
Dovo "Black Best Quality" Straight Razor Set from Vintage Blades LLC
-Dovo "Best Quality" 5/8" Carbon Steel, Full Hollow Ground
-Black Latigo Vintage Razor's Strop (with D Rings)
-Rooney Pure Badger Silver Tip Brush
-Col. Conk Shaving Soap
-Acrylic Brush Stand
-Natural Clay Ceramic Lathering Bowl Made by my Mother for my Father when I was a kid.(Love this Bowl)
-World of Shaving DVD


When the package arrived in the mail I felt like it was Christmas all over again. I couldn't wait to get a knife and cut open the package and begin to look at all I had just received. With every piece, even the Acrylic Drop Stand, I smiled... AND Then I got to the razor. I opened it up and held it in my hand like it was the all powerful Excalibur. It sounds silly, but I really just sat there opening and closing it, admiring it, and coddling it as though it were made of thin brittle sheets of glass. I always get excited about new knives in my kitchen, but I hadn't been his excited about a sharp blade in a while.

The previous week I had watched numerous videos on here and elsewhere, and then watched Lynn's DVD the night before my very first shave. I got a goodnight's sleep, woke up extra early (so I could relax with the new blade) and followed the basic instructions I heard and read, prepping my whole face, but keeping my old Gillette Fusion nearby since I'd only be shaving my cheeks.

Shave #1:
I hot toweled my face, stropped the SR, created the lather, hot toweled my face again, brushed the lather on my face, and began to shave. Keeping the angle nice and solid I made short strokes WTG until I reached my jawline, then (drum roll please) I switched to my left hand and slowly did the same with the left side. It was relatively comfortable, but I felt like I was using more pressure than I should to get the blade to actually cut the hairs.... Nonetheless I rinsed off, hot toweled, lathered up, and went XTG. I then decided the try the chin, but all my razor did was pull at the hair AND I am a beginner and realized I probably wasn't ready for that part of my face yet, so I stopped and finished with the Fusion. My post-shave treatment was completed as normal: Washed my face with an alpha-hydroxy and lightly acidic face wash (REMEMBER THIS FOR LATER), wiped cotton pads of astringent on my face (to cleanse pores), and did my usual vitamin moisturizer treatment.

Questions After Shave #1:
-Why did the Razor pull so much the entire shave? Wasn't it sharp enough? It was honed by Lynn!
-Why does my face look like it has rug-burn?!

Shave #2:
I read several articles on sharpness prior to this shave. My razor, according to Vintage Blades, had been honed by Lynn the legend. However, prior to the first shave, and after having just removed it from the package, I passed a hair over the blade and it did nothing... several times. The arm-hair test even failed... but it did pass the thumb test, so I let it go, and trusted that it was honed properly and not damaged in transit. I also swallowed my beginner's ignorance and realized that perhaps the tests were a fluke and that the real reason it pulled during the shave was because I was doing something wrong (duh!).

Before the second shave I went back to the videos and the articles and discovered and concentrated more on the details, since I had the basic instructions down. I focused on three things: Stropping, Angle, and Pre-Shave Prep.

The order of everything was exactly the same as last time, but I really concentrated on my stropping, slowly running the blade up and down the canvas first, then the leather, being careful not to ever roll it on the blade. I also was careful to hot towel my face a bit longer and splash hot water on my face between everything to keep the hairs soft. For this shave I did a WTG and XTG stroke on my face, short strokes. At the end of the shave, and after the usual post-shave shenanigans, my cheeks were more red then the last time. It was a burning sensation that lasted all day. I was still sure that it was my beginner skills, but before this shave (after having stropped the blade) the arm test passed, but once again I ran a hair on the blade and it took several passes before it cut it... I was still pretty worried that my Dovo just wasn’t sharp enough. Also this time, I approached the mustache area, but stopped because it only pulled the hair.

Questions After Shave #2:
Why did I have road-rash on my face, despite never having a motorcycle accident?
Is my blade sharp enough?
Why is my lather still so much thinner than those in the videos?

Shave #3:

This was the Eureka shave. I did some research on what blades do to skin, in terms of the amount of exfoliation, and analyzed my own pre and post shave. I realized that the face wash I use, a special one I’ve used for a couple of years and love, has a citric acid base that does a small amount of chemical exfoliation. By washing after shaving, as I’ve done for a while, I was burning the new skin that was revealed by the exfoliation of the blade. If I switched the face wash to before, perhaps it would soften the beard more and prevent ingrown hairs... the problem was I would then have to figure out something to prevent the blade from exfoliating further. I read that oils were used for that and so I read about them. As an Italian I’ve always been a firm believer in olive oil. I also cook a lot with it and love the smell and hey, if it accidently got in my mouth during shaving that wouldn’t be a problem either.

I also realized that I was getting into the idea of really using the shaving time for relaxation, almost like a creative outlet or meditation... but I hadn’t really done that yet. And so, this time I gave myself more time and watched several videos again before hand. This time I hot-toweled my face, taking long breaths, worked on a lather for several minutes, rubbed olive oil into my face, and stropped in between this. As I placed the blade to my face I also decided to do one long stroke down the chin (instead of small short ones) it made a beautiful velcro noised, but there wasn’t a single feeling of discomfort. After switching and doing the same thing left-handed on the opposite cheek, I got a big smile and decided to try the chin. With a bit more pressure I was able to pass down and even do my chin. I was so incredibly excited... so I oiled up and lathered my neck..... took a deep breath and did long WTG strokes down my neck. After that I rinsed with hot water, repeated the oil and lather, and went ATG and XTG all over my face and neck. What was amazing was that even when I nicked myself the one time on my chin, the oil seemed to fill it in and I never even felt it.

The post-shave was much more simple too. A splash of witch-hazel some moisturizer and I was good to go. I couldn’t stop touching my cheeks, totally smooth. And despite my chin and neck not completely being smooth, I refused to touch it up because I was just enjoying looking at what I had done after just my 3rd shave!

Questions after 3rd Shave:
-Why did I have to use so much pressure sometimes? Was I not pulling the skin tight enough, or is my blade still really not sharp enough? (It still only passes the thumb-nail and arm-hair test [barely]).

Overall, my 3rd shave was probably as successful as it could have been, with spots that are smoother than I could have ever expected. The only problem is now I want to shave again and again, just for practice and to keep learning, but it has only been 12 hours!

If you have been giving the blade the thumbnail test, there'.s the 1st problem. You are dulling the edge, the next problems are almost always stropping and appropriate blade angle. When stropping be sure to keep the blade flat on the leather and when shaving keep the spine of the razor one spine width from the surface of the skin. If you have a barbers hone you can easily fix the edge and bring it back up to snuff after the thumbnail tests.

Congratulations! As a newbie, I won't even begin to try to answer your questions about sharpness. What I will say is that, five shaves into it, I'm just as hooked on straight shaving. I enjoyed your post, and wish you the best of luck as you continue learning!

1st shave Qs:
If a razor honed by Lynn pulled, it's either your technique or your shave prep is inadequate. Keep working on it, both will improve.

2nd shave:
Your lather does not look like what the guys in the videos use because they have more practice making lather. Don't worry, you'll improve. Read the Wiki section on making über lather -- shaving soap, shaving cream (in a tube or a jar) and glycerin. I buy glycerin at Rite Aid drugstore (in the first aid department).

3rd shave:
You should never have to use a lot of pressure when shaving. If Lynn honed your blade, it is as sharp as it can get.

Are you stropping correctly? Improper stropping can dull a razor.

Improper angle can cause a razor to pull.

Do NOT do the thumb nail test! That is only used during honing a dull razor to determine when the bevel has initially been set. Doing a TNT any time after setting a bevel only dulls the blade. The act of shaving is how you determine whether your blade is shave ready sharp or needs to be honed.

Revisit your stropping technique. Proper stropping is more important than you might imagine. Both spine and edge in equal contact with the strop. Use almost no pressure. Roll the razor on its spine. Good stropping technique can make the difference between a razor that slices through your whiskers like a hot knife through butter and one that leaves you with razor burn.

Consider doing a little more for your beard prep, like washing your face with hot water and soap and applying hair conditioner. Leave it on your face while you build your lather.

Trust your right brain -- you're doing fine!
Namaste,
Morty -_-

congratulations on your experiences, we share the same fever!

Very nice post to read, and good to see you're being critical about your shaves and asking questions, always a good way to learn.

as for the lather, I found out that you need to take the time to build it, and some soaps are better in getting a lather than others.

I too bought glycerin and it definitely helps. But the proraso soap I use can also be used without glycerine, and after 2 minutes of foaming up with the brush (be sure to use enough soap, more is better when you're learning) and getting a feel for the amount of water you need to add, I get a good nice thick creamy lather.

good luck on the shaving!