First straight shave today.

After a couple weeks dabbling with a Parker shavette, the first real straight shave went surprisingly easy, way easier to use, and not as crazy/scary sharp as the shavette, which punish any mistake with bloody results. An amazing zen-like experience, I'm finally a real man now! :)

My razor is a 5/8" Geneva I bought from Goodtann on eBay, great seller, which delivers razors shave-ready for real, coticule honed.

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/5/5...0984727_tp.jpg

http://img.auctiva.com/imgdata/1/5/5...0984760_tp.jpg

I did just a couple passes, no reason to push it the very first time, but it was amazing, even if I still have some stubble left :)

Geneva razors deliver a shave that is as good as many other expensive razors. You have a good choice for your first razor. Happy shaving and keep us posted on results. Best Regards, wildhog

That sounds great!
Congrats on a successful first straight shave.
Keep at it and you will get even better results with ease.

A few tips if I may.
Check out the links in my sig-line. They should provide you with lots of useful info for futher refining your skill:)

Good luck on you continued path of straight shaving.

Congrats on your first Str8 shave. The only advice I have is to take the advice of the senior members here on SRP. They will guide you to a wonderful experience which includes great shaves.

Enjoy the day.

Great to hear you had an excellent first shave. They only get better from here on. Good luck!

Congrats.......You have a world of things to come and you are really gonna enjoy straight shaving !

Enjoy this learning process. Take it slow and easy, as it sounds you are. You'll nick yourself, and feel clumsy. In a little while it all it all feels natural and second nature.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blix

I did just a couple passes, no reason to push it the very first time, but it was amazing, even if I still have some stubble left :)

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Nothing wrong with touching up with your old razor for the first little while. If you accept doing these touch ups on hard to reach spots it saves allot of blood from trying to get the perfect smooth shave in places where your technique is not ready to take you

Nice looking razor BTW

Thank you for the warm welcome everyone. I'm now three shave is and I'm still in one piece. :)
And of course I have a few "eBay specials" coming as well:

http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/5974/keens8.jpg
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/5774/keens5p.jpg
Here's the eBay link, if anyone would like to see all the pictures: Collection of 4 Vintage Straight Razor & 2 Boxes - eBay (item 270750999715 end time May-24-11 17:09:28 PDT)
Haven't received them yet, but it looks like a couple of the KeenKutters is in decent shape.
Looks like some nice blades to learn honing on.
I've literally spent hours going through old threads here to figure out what would be the best approach for a first honing setup, and I've come down to this: a 1K Chosera for bevel work, a 150x40mm LPB Coticule , and for now a balsa strop with CrOx that Bart offered to send me for the postage.
With all the praise Shapton gets here, it's extremely tempting to add a 16k as well, but I'll look into that later on :)

Just had my fourth shave and I think I hit a little "breakthrough".
I left my upper lip and chin alone today, as they were a little irritated yesterday, so I concentrated on doing my cheeks good.
So I had a closer look at my blade angle and suddenly I struck gold. It seems I have been using a too steep angle so far. Now that I hit a much better angle, my straight felt 10 times sharper and smoother, and it was ninja slicing the stubble rather than scraping it off!
I can't believe how much better it felt. Near BBS cheeks in two passes as well.
:rock:

Blix, one more big 'Grats. 'couldn't agree more about the quality of the Geneva brand (I have 5).

On honing setup. I have & use an LPB for all sharpening between bevel set and finishing. They're not the easiest rock to finish on. Maybe you'll do way better than I. After I get first HHT responses, I switch to a Dressante for finishing, but more often to a jnat. If you proceed w/ the LPB acquisition, you might consider a synthetic as backup - Nani 10 or 12. I'm considering also.

I presume you're spending (alot) of time on coticule.be. 'Should be time well spent. 'Great guys & highly skilled.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pinklather

Blix, one more big 'Grats. 'couldn't agree more about the quality of the Geneva brand (I have 5).

On honing setup. I have & use an LPB for all sharpening between bevel set and finishing. They're not the easiest rock to finish on. Maybe you'll do way better than I. After I get first HHT responses, I switch to a Dressante for finishing, but more often to a jnat. If you proceed w/ the LPB acquisition, you might consider a synthetic as backup - Nani 10 or 12. I'm considering also.

I presume you're spending (alot) of time on coticule.be. 'Should be time well spent. 'Great guys & highly skilled.

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Thank you, yeah I've spent quite some time on coticule.be and I talked to Bart and he recommend me a LPB among other layers. I have indeed a synthetic back-up plan, I will order a Shapton 16k as well :)
This is going to be fun.

Hi Phil, great to see you here! The website looks superb, bookmarked.(my wallet tried to stop me) :D

Thanks a lot for your help, I don't think I could have chosen a better first razor vendor than you :)
As for the Geneva honing itself, I'm soon to find out haha. I have a couple select cotis coming pr your advice, and some Shapton stones as well.
I'm attending a honing meetup on Wednesday, so I'll have a couple experienced guys help me learn the basics. :rock:
The Geneva is ready for a touch-up now after 6 shaves and some pretty questionable noob stropping the first couple days.

I have a few cool razors coming as well, a monstrous NOS 8/8 Friodur, and a couple old ones, a Heljestrand and a Gotta. This is going to be fun! :p

Congrats! Sounds like you are doing things right.

Package from Ardennes, off to the post office I go! :)

So Aredennes Coticule gave me a nice unexpected bonus, the stone was a natural combo with a BBW back, and I paid the standard select price, now that is nice! It's a 150x40mm La Petite Blanche

It was lapped and chamfered right out of the box, so I took one of my eBay 9/16" KeenKutters and went at it.
I followed the Unicot method per the instructions to make it simple.
And the results was a perfectly shaveable razor, I just shaved with it and it was exceptinally smooth. Not as sharp as the razor Birnardo did for me finished on a Escher, but the smoothness was off the charts!
No burn at all, when I rubbed the alum block over my face, I felt almost no sting at all.
I feel pretty proud getting a nice shave from my first self-honed razor! :)

I've been meaning to purchase from Aredennes for a while now, but wasn't sure on the quality, it's not easy getting a good select grade combo without any issues. Do you have any pics of the stone I could see?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by goodtann

I've been meaning to purchase from Aredennes for a while now, but wasn't sure on the quality, it's not easy getting a good select grade combo without any issues. Do you have any pics of the stone I could see?

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The charger for my camera batteries have gone missing, but as soon as I find it I'll take some photos for you Phil.

Had my best straight shave so far today. I received a nice box from France, the Martin De Candre shaving soap and a hand soap I had ordered. In the package there also was a bonus shampoo and a small block of Fern scented soap. Wonderful stuff, strong natural scents.

Had a nice shower using the shampoo and palm oil milk soap, which both were excellent. Very little of the shampoo was needed, I will use it for a few days to see how it is, usually I have to use Head and Shoulders to keep my scalp from becoming dry and flaky.

The shaving soap is killer, a rich natural scent, and wips up loads of thick lather fast, and you can make it pretty wet and hydrated without getting thin. Very very nice.
My straight was a 9/16 Josiah Alleen & Sons, which is kind of a mystery, as I'm not able to get any of my other straights to match it for smoothness yet, it shaves close and sharp and just eats whiskers like nothing else.
The weird thing is that I honed it myself, the very first honing I did on my own. I just followed the "Unicot" method pr the instructions using my coticule. Must be some crazy beginners luck, not even the two Birnardo did for me feels anywhere as nice, and certainly not the other few razors I have honed after it. :hmmm:

But today was my first straight shave I didn't need to touch up with a DE, so it's a milestone! :)

Some porn:

Gotta 6/8:
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6500/razors1.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-06-30

Gilbert Brothers 6/8 Sheffield
http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/9494/razors2.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-06-30

Nice 5/8 KeenKutter
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/4412/razors3.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-06-30

4/8 Heljestrand

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/8277/razors4.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-06-30

My naturals:
http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/125/stones1x.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-06-30

Left to right
La Petite Blanche Coticule
Ozuku Asagi
La Grosse Blanche Coticule
"Chinese 12k"

Blix,

It sounds like you had a marvelous first shave. Congrats!

Those vintage razors and coticules in your collection ought to help you continue getting great shaves.

Take care--and continued smooth shaving.

This pretty thing arrived today:

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/4295/friodur1.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-06-30

Welcome to the club Blix!

Nice scales on that yellow razor...
The others look nice too; I think I like the thinner ones; I bought a 7/8 and didn't like it; too firm...
I like the blade on the last one; that's a cool looking toe, what do they call that?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

I like the blade on the last one; that's a cool looking toe, what do they call that?

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That toe, or tip, is referred to as a Spanish point.

Had a day off, so I had to snap a few more pictures...

http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/8864/friodur2.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/8971/friodur3.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/4343/friodur4.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5463/friodur5.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01

Scrupleworks and Illinois strops
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/2226/gear1yb.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
Keen Kutter 9/16
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/3243/gear2g.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
Gilbert Brothers 6/8 Sheffield
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/4802/gear4a.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01

Gotta 120 Superfine 6/8
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/8283/gear5.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
Geneva 5/8
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/408/gear6.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
Keen Kutter 5/8
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/8315/gear7.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
Friodur again
http://img807.imageshack.us/img807/9048/gear3.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
And the best couple bucks ever spent , 20x magnifier with led light, a must have when honing
http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/5809/gear8.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8281/rocks1.jpg
By blix72 at 2011-07-01

Blix, how are you enjoying your Shapton 16K as a finisher compared to your Ozuko Asagi, or the Chinese 12K?

Hi everyone! I've been trolling around the forums for a while now... toying with the idea of learning to shave with a straight razor. I was so irritated with the cheap, disposable razors and electric shaver that last year, I just stopped shaving. My wife put up with the beard for about a year... but she put her foot down a couple weeks ago :-). I told her that if she wanted me to shave, she had to buy me a straight razor. My new Dovo 6/8 half-hollow should arrive later today and tomorrow morning I'll give this a first shot. Big thanks to everyone who has posted 'beginner' articles in the wiki!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leadingedge

Blix, how are you enjoying your Shapton 16K as a finisher compared to your Ozuko Asagi, or the Chinese 12K?

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Hi, I haven't done any direct comparisons, but I'm about to. I used my Friodur today, which is finished on the 16k a few shaves back, and I will touch it up on the Ozuku for tomorrows shave. So far on the Friodur the Shapton 16k edge is very sharp, but not so smooth. I'll report back tomorrow :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MarcR

Hi everyone! I've been trolling around the forums for a while now... toying with the idea of learning to shave with a straight razor. I was so irritated with the cheap, disposable razors and electric shaver that last year, I just stopped shaving. My wife put up with the beard for about a year... but she put her foot down a couple weeks ago :-). I told her that if she wanted me to shave, she had to buy me a straight razor. My new Dovo 6/8 half-hollow should arrive later today and tomorrow morning I'll give this a first shot. Big thanks to everyone who has posted 'beginner' articles in the wiki!

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Hi Marc, best of luck with your straight shaving journey! Were did you buy your straight, is it shave ready? :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blix

Hi Marc, best of luck with your straight shaving journey! Were did you buy your straight, is it shave ready? :)

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Thanks! I bought it from Vintage Blades. I thought I remembered seeing something in the wiki about their razors being shave ready.

I just found the Member Introductions section, so I'll post over there too.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leadingedge

Blix, how are you enjoying your Shapton 16K as a finisher compared to your Ozuko Asagi, or the Chinese 12K?

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I just shaved with the Friodur with the Ozuku edge, and it was great! A lot smoother than the 16K edge, very very nice.
And just as sharp of course. This little €40 stone is off the charts when it comes to value for money :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Blix

I just shaved with the Friodur with the Ozuku edge, and it was great! A lot smoother than the 16K edge, very very nice.
And just as sharp of course. This little €40 stone is off the charts when it comes to value for money :)

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Great stuff, it's good fun to compare the stones every once in a while on specific razors and see how they compare!

Where did you get hold of your Ozuku Blix?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leadingedge

Great stuff, it's good fun to compare the stones every once in a while on specific razors and see how they compare!

Where did you get hold of your Ozuku Blix?

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Here: JNS japanesenaturalstones.com

OK so I have been lurking and finally had my Dovo arrive which was shave ready Had a 3 day growth and spent plenty of time reviewing the DVD Not a bad start with short strokes but one nick @ left upper cheek I was not as smooth a shave (felt every stroke and a pulling of hairs ) guessing technique not razor Had steal hard time with under lip (moustache area ) and under chin wil give a day or two and try again Any imput is appreciated

Technique very likely is your issue here, but look at it this way: How could your technique possibly be good at this point? Your first shave attempt sounds much, much better than most, certainly much better than mine. Stay with it, progress comes with time and experience, and it does take some time. I think you're off to a great start. Congratulations!

Where in VA are you I have a hone in Onancock