Thread: A few months slashing... a retrospective

Hello all,

A little over 3 months ago I went down to the local Supermarket to pick up some blades for the cartridge razor... they were $20 for a package. That was the last straw... the cartridge razor was finished.

I put on a pretty thick growth and there are lots of times when I don't get to shave for multiple days. The cartridges could handle one or two days growth but after that I would destroy a couple sets to get a shave. The straight razor seemed to be a logical solution...

I hit the Interweb and picked up a new strop/razor (C-MON)/brush/mug set from CS and red their faq's figuring for literally over a hundred of years a straight blade was a good solution for a unwanted beard it couldn't be that tough to get a handle on.

(yup bought then researched this is a more common theme than I would like and will likely be appearing in future threads as well)

So the kit is in the mail and now I decide to do some research

Razor arrives... I'm sporting a few days growth and figure now is as good a time as any to dive in and start hackin'

First lather is weak...

Damn this blade in kinda intimidating...

uhhhh how do I hold this thing again...


Brutal. Shaky. Finished with a disposable.
Where is that whiskey at.

So I need to go back to the research stage, and start lurking here... I watch the videos, read some posts, and get after it again...

Second attempt... got a better grip, still rocking a thin lather, stopping is not an issue (just slow) and I am a little less shaky...
Must mind the point Where is that whiskey at.

Now I'm rolling, over the next week stropping seems good (still slow), angles are slowly coming together, I'm relaxed, lather is still thin and weak, cheeks are smooth, jaw line and a few neck spots not so much... need to stretch the skin only a couple minor nicks.

Fast forward a couple months...

I have not touched a razor other than the straight since the second shave. I figured out the lather about a week ago and now I feel that I get a serviceable shave every time WTG, XTG more or less.

I have started to put an effort in to get the left hand involved with the blade...
And I still cannot get a ATG complete pass... my angle is probably too steep and the blade feels like it is catching, although I also still need to work on getting a better stretch in a few spots. Although I believe it is probably the razor (justification) and likely need to try a different style and maybe a stouter blade...

My second blade is in the mail along with another strop that will get a light touch of the green paste on the hard wool. And I might have fallen into ebay (restoring looks fun ) after a few beers.

Here we go.
Next up will be a couple hones...