First Straight Shave!!!! Great!!
Good day everyone!
After receiving a Dovo from my girlfriend as a gift, and FINALLY getting together with xman to have a very enlightening honing session, not to mention some great coffee and Bailey's, that night I decided that I was going to jump right in and try out my razor.
So, first I pulled out my strop and worked the cloth side about 15 passes on either side of the edge and then worked the leather for about 30. I decided to do the HHT and stole some hair from my girlfriend brush and started trying it, WOW this thing is sharp!!!!! The hair didn't have a chance! I still havent invested in a good cream or soap specifically for the straight so I use my Zirh Shave cream(which I wouldn't suggest because it dried out fast on my face), after wetting my face with hot water and applying the cream, I slowly go to work starting with my right sideburns, Now at this point I have been letting my beard grow for about 5 days so I am looking a bit like a sailor 5 days at sea. Pulling the skin tight behind the blade and stroking down with the razor I am amazed at how easy it cuts and how great it feels to be shaving with a straight. One thing that I really liked was the SOUND of the blade working accross my face and cutting the hair, not to mention the feeling of a blade that sharp against my skin being controlled by ME! It felt "zen" like, the focus it takes is a form of meditation similar to what X said about honing. Talk about a powerful feeling! Working with the left hand was a little bit of a challenge but I managed to keep fairly good control of the blade, although I did manage to inflict one small nick under my lip, it was nothing worse than the odd one that I would get when using a disposible. Then I finished and splashed my face with cold water and put on a little aftershave.
All I have to say is WOW, what an experience!!! I cant wait to shave again!
I would like to thank xman, for his honing and knowledge, Straightrazorplace.com and all of its members for all of the information they have made available.
I can't wait to shave again!
Happy Shaving. :)