Thread: First Straigh Razor Shave

Originally Posted by markevens

Nice tale.

Personally, whenever anyone gets close to me when I'm shaving, I just pull the razor away. My bathroom is cramped, and I dont' need any kind of bumping when I have such a sharp tool over my jugular.

That said, at the very least you are learning to concentrate better. Its just too bad you ahve people who dont' seem to get that you need to concentrate, and feel like they need to mess with you.

Originally Posted by Shoki

Really how hard would you have to cut to open up your jugular? It seems like you would need to seriously be trying to cut into your neck to kill yourself. Most nicks and cuts seem to be superficial.

...to cut the jugular wouldn't be all that difficult with the correct knowledge, which I won't address. Very little pressure is used when making an incision during surgery in order to keep the edges of the incision clean and facilitate the proper healing with minimal scarring. A dull bade or crappy steel will tear as well as cut and results in more scarring as well. Therefore, the scalpel must be sharp and the steel must be of high quality. That's why so many doctors specify no Pakistani medical instruments...especially scalpel blades. As this relates to our str8's...the steel that comprises our razors is a high quality steel, much akin to the scalpel, and as such, shouldn't need much pressure to make an incision if the desire is there. The difficulty comes in from the fact that to get to the jugular, most people think "across" and in doing that you have to go across and through both the neck muscles and the trachea to hit the jugular vein. Same as when someone goes across the wrist trying to slash the wrist...they have to get through the tendons first, which is more problematic because it is much tougher and dense tissue. Not to cause a fight here but this is my take...

Originally Posted by Shoki

Really how hard would you have to cut to open up your jugular? It seems like you would need to seriously be trying to cut into your neck to kill yourself. Most nicks and cuts seem to be superficial.

There are actually 2 jugulars per side, and internal and an external one. The internal is a massive pipe and deep down, the external is quite close to the surface though.

If someone hit your hand/elbow at just the right time, you could conceivably cut into that vein. Likely? No, not really. But I don't want to risk the nicks or shallower cuts either.

Good Morning Everyone. Not much time so I'll (try to) be brief...lol. The goal of BBS is a wee bit closer. Certainly the previously mentioned trouble spots still rear their ugly head but...getting closer the the "golden chalice" so to speak. I've noticed twice that when I'm first starting out the shave, I have gotten a bit hurried to start and guess what...a nice little cut. I generally start off WTG from the top of the cheekbone and proceed downward from there to the jawline. All it takes is a bump with the razor or starting move that is too quick at the wrong angle of approach...no slicing motion at all. I knew it immediately...didn't hurt but I felt it. Lesson here: start off even slower. To add insult to injury, it was with my right (dominanat) hand. I remember commenting on another thread about this very same topic. Seems that overconfidence with the dominant hand is a possibly valid phenomenon. Gotta ssssssssllllllllllllloooooooooooowwwwwww it down a nothc and remember to respect the blade. Stropping technique seems to be getting better incrementally too. Another thing that I've noticed that as the shaves get closer, the Bay Rum has correspondingly more sting... ...go figure huh...lol. Funny thing, one of the same guys that has commented before (the retired Army guy) came in and was wanting to talk and asked "is that thing sharp? ...I told him "sharp enough to shave with" and then proceeded to demostrate...WOW...seriously?!?! Then he starts asking about if I had a strop and all that. . Talk about "Clueless in Seattle" huh. Anyway...gotta run folks. Hope you have a great day that starts off with a gr8 str8 shave. Rich.

...to the mythical BBS experience. Same trouble areas but getting better with that. Re-discovered this morning that getting the soap "not too thin, not too thick nut jjuuuuuuusssssttttt rrrrriiiiggghhhhtttttttt" is not a given. Otherwise, not much else to report.

Originally Posted by certifiedbodyman

...to the mythical BBS experience. Same trouble areas but getting better with that. Re-discovered this morning that getting the soap "not too thin, not too thick nut jjuuuuuuusssssttttt rrrrriiiiggghhhhtttttttt" is not a given. Otherwise, not much else to report.

I'm here to tell you, BBS is not mythical. Elusive maybe, but not mythical.

cheeks almost there...neck and "problem areas" still a work in progres...

The "elusive" (not mythical...lol) BBS is coming closer to fruition. As I stated in an earlier response, the cheeks ahd jaw are getting closer and closer to achieving the BBS that we seek. I actually managed to get the "problem areas" a bit closer to the BBS as well. Funny thing that I've noticed too...the smoother the shave I achieve, the longer it stays smooth. In the morning, it's still about the same...must be growing fast at night. Getting the str8 in that area between the neck muscles and trachea was a bit interesting, knowing that this is so much the opposite of what my shaving experience is to this point. What I've learned too is that with the str8, there is an almost infinite variety of options as far as how to hold the blade and approach the whiskers to get that shave. Having said that, holding the blade perpindicular to my windpipe and shaving upwards and to the front was a first for me. I still want to do the cold water rinse in between passes in the guise of maybe tightening the skin in preparation for the second pass going ATG. I generally do a WTG and ATG for a total of two passes but rarely do I get the XTG shave . Today I did what I call 2 1/2 passes, where I did my usual then went back to the problem areas and focused strictly on those areas. That seems to be the difference. Maybe tomorrow I'll remember the cold water rinse in between the first and second passes. Have a great start to the day with a gr8 str8 shave.

Getting better results almost daily with the cheeks and jawline...neck area getting better too...trouble spots getting closer too. Getting better with the blade (still respectful though of course) as far as manipulating the positioning and grip in the trouble areas. Perhaps the BBS will prove to be less elusive than I am anticipating.

oops...wrong thread...lol. Btw...does anyone know how to edit the title of the thread so I can put the "t" in "straight?". Anyway, on to business. Today was even better. Got up at 0400hrs to go to the gym...took my "Jacked" and surfed the net while I was waiting for the time to pass and the supplement to get into my system. Got a darn decent workout...so much so that my first thought was "uh oh, I may have to use the DE safety razor" since my chest, delts and tri's were HEAVY from the work. Took the DE, the str8 and all of the other things that are now part of my ritual. Of course, the sink area was one sink short full and I had squeeze into the one that was open...goodie. I then proceeded to wash my face, oil up with baby oil, make my lather in the bowl and started shaving. The oceans nearly parted as the whiskers jumped into the blade and submitted to the demands it made. Respecting the blade as I try to always think of doing, the str8 was all too willing to shave the pesky whiskers. Three full passes and my face was about 90% BBS...with the same problem areas getting better and ironinc thing, the left side of my face on the jaw line not quite as smooth as I'd like. However, the ease at which all of this transpired was almost surreal...especially with the crowd at the sink. I finally did the cold water rinse in between the first and second pass and this seemd to have a positive effect. Now if I can only remember to incorporate it every time I shave, it may even help me get the BBS. The following routine seems to be working well and getting better:

Rinse face with hot water - can't do the hot towel thing and shaving
after the shower just isn't my style usually due to time constraints...
Oil up face with baby oil with 3 drops on each jawline area, 3 drops on
the neck under the lawline and 3 drops on the front of the neck...I've
thought about oiling up between each pass before lathering...we'll see
Make lather with bowl and brush to a creamy, whipped egg white
consistency and apply...
Shave WTG/down the jawline and neck...Rinse with cold water...
Re-lather and shave XTG - which for my beard seems to be from the
bottom up...
Rinse with cold water...
Re-lather and shave ATG - which for me seems to be at a 45 degree angle
from back to front
Strop immediately after shaving when I get to the room - 25 strokes
on the linen and 100 strokes on the leather...
Ensure that the razor has no water on it or in the pivot point...leave it out
to air dry

...and I've previewed this to look at it but the post doesn't line up with the indentations and such on the description to mym routine...so...I hope it's not too hard to read...the point is, I'm finding what works and it seems to be working well. Still having all sorts of fun with the srt8 and I'm gaining the aptitude to "almost" be getting confortable witht he blade...won't always be totally comfortble since I don't want to get all complacent with the blade and pay the price. I'd rather pay for respecting the blade with humilty rather than my blood and/or a piece of flesh. ...anyway...thanks for humoring me and reading the post. Have a great shave and a great day. Rich.