Thread: Another First Timer

Andrew,

You will find that there are varied opinions about spike (square) points (see Shaving Techniques - Straight Razor Place Forums).

I've never had a problem with spike points. As a matter of fact, I learned to shave with a DOVO Bismarck spike point. When the spike really helps is when I'm establishing/maintaining the lateral margins of the hairs that join my stache and my goat. When shaving other parts of my face I've been mindful of the spike, and granted I tend to shave more with the middle of the blade. This may be one of the few benefits of having a skinny face. I'm not sure what the dynamics are on guys with fuller faces.

But as Ben said in the above thread:

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

... a lot of guys will blame spike points for their own mistakes.

Although I also have some round points, I find that the rounded toe gets in the way when establishing edges. YMMV

How do you guys do your sideburns? I try to go north to south but the blade is in the way of where I am trying to look and align.

Thank you,
--Shoki

Be part of the pack!
We need more younger members!

Oh I've definitely signed up lol. My parents grew up in the 50's, so I was raised with a lot of old school tendencies. Quality seemed to have been the standard back then, not like a lot of things today (ahem cartridges). I have no problem laying out some money for a quality straight and accessories, but paying threw the roof for junk was killing me.

Thanks for the info linacman, I was actually considering the Bismarck but decided to go cheaper for my first. I think I'm going to keep an eye out for a spike point in the classifieds. I'd like to build a small rotation and would love to have some diversity. I'm not to worried about a little blood here and there, it happens. Even with disposables.

And I've got a question similar to Shoki's, during my first shave I was putting the blade parallel to the line I was trying to make. My thinking was "The blade is straight so the line will be straight." Do you guy's go perpendicular?

Haha, just looked at the classifieds after posting this and a spike point bismarck just sold. My wallet is definitely going to get lighter since I already have a real strong impulse to get another razor.
-Andrew

Andrew & Shoki,

Firstly I must confess that I'm one of those guys without true "sideburns". I have relatively sparse facial hair on my cheeks & sideburns region. It's more like the hair on my head gets shorter as it progresses down in front of my ears. That being said, I do have to define a line at the inferior (towards the floor) end of the "sideburns".

Andrew, I'm not totally certain that I understand your question, but I try to maintain the inferior margin parallel to the floor. Shoki, this does take some gymnastics with regards to seeing what I'm doing. When shaving the right sideburns, I hold the razor with my right hand, turn my face to the left, put my left arm over my head to stretch the skin, and look out of the right corner of my eye. This is pretty hard for me because I'm blind without my glasses, and I'm having to look through the corner of my glasses. Yes, the spine and face of the blade covers up the inferior end of my sideburns making it hard to tell exactly where I am. With the blade hovering just above the inferior end of my sideburns I move in an inferior direction until the moment the hair disappears from view, then let the blade touch my face to begin the downward stroke. Does this make any sense - it sounds complicated, but really isn't.

Greg

Hi Andrew,

Welcome to SRP.

Stuart.

Oh man, second shave is in the books. This morning my brush came in, a king size Pure Badger (Parker or something I think, 38 bucks). I also got in some Taylor of Old Bond Street Lavender soap. So of course I took them both for a test drive with my two days of stubble.

I have to admit, I nicked myself a number of times. I've been stropping my blade every chance I get and I seriously feel that its even sharper than when I got it. That combined with my definitely lacking technique added up to some blood. That being said, this shave was truly pleasurable. I got a nice creamy lather going, it was standing out from the brush on its own. I used a bunch of the tips I've read here to make the lather. I think the one that was most useful was to put some hot water ontop of the soap and let it sit. I left it while I showered and it softened up the soap so it was good and ready when I put the brush to it. I used a little wooden bowl I have to whip it up, and sat it in a sink of hot water to keep it nice and warm. The TOBS soap smelled delicious, and I liked how the big brush made a ton of lather. Quick question, do you leave the leftover lather or do you rinse out your bowls everytime? I know to rinse the brush, but can you rehydrate the soap in the bowl later on?

And linacman, to clear up my earlier question: Do you use the toe of the blade running along your lines to touch up, or do you put the legnth of the blade along the line?

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

-Andrew

Thanks for sharing!