Thread: The Noob Chronicle - My Straight Razor Experience

Originally Posted by RITCHIE1411

Finally finished this thread late last night. It has been a wonderful journey that i will look back on so as to help me chart my own progress next to yours. Of course after reading about it all day i finally convinced myself that i really did have some stubble and that a shave was definately called for. This is where jealousy sets in, after reading about all your products both pre and post shave and now your wonderful variety of razors i went upstairs to stare at my shavette a tub of cheap cream and a tiny synthetic brush which is the sum total of my shaving products bar some nivea a/s balm. Nevertheless i struggled on manfully with a hot shower, then lathered up in my daughters breakfast bowl(SWMBO was not impressed). I still got what i believe to be a lovely lather out of it which lasted for two shaves with no problems. The shavette was definately feeling rougher by the end so i think it must be time for a blade change.

The end result was not to bad no major cuts and only a few little nicks, i think an alum block must go down on the list for next month though as i am curious to see what effect this has post shave. In the meantime i shall look forward to your next installment and continue with my shave envy until i can start to increase my own collection.

Kindest regards

Ritchie

Sounds like it works for you though. I am fine with my van Der hagen luxury shave set (after they replaced the super shedding brush), dovo 5/8's full hollow with factory edge for the first few months. Rehoned by me a couple months ago. I did try some col conks, bit that's set aside for the occaisional change of smell. But it is a wonderfull read, but i dont think n00b is still appropiate!

Originally Posted by RITCHIE1411

Finally finished this thread late last night. It has been a wonderful journey that i will look back on so as to help me chart my own progress next to yours. Of course after reading about it all day i finally convinced myself that i really did have some stubble and that a shave was definately called for. This is where jealousy sets in, after reading about all your products both pre and post shave and now your wonderful variety of razors i went upstairs to stare at my shavette a tub of cheap cream and a tiny synthetic brush which is the sum total of my shaving products bar some nivea a/s balm. Nevertheless i struggled on manfully with a hot shower, then lathered up in my daughters breakfast bowl(SWMBO was not impressed). I still got what i believe to be a lovely lather out of it which lasted for two shaves with no problems. The shavette was definately feeling rougher by the end so i think it must be time for a blade change.

The end result was not to bad no major cuts and only a few little nicks, i think an alum block must go down on the list for next month though as i am curious to see what effect this has post shave. In the meantime i shall look forward to your next installment and continue with my shave envy until i can start to increase my own collection.

Kindest regards

Ritchie

Hi Ritchie,

Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad my ramblings are of some use to you and help you on your way. As for gear acquisition, that won't make you or break you. I got the bug pretty badly, but it also coincided with me selling off a bunch of computer parts (another hobby) to help finance my AD. I could almost say that the large variety of products and hardware have sometimes set me back, as it throws a lot of variables into the mix. Take it slowly, focus on your shave and on getting great lather(good lather always helps me a lot) and worry about acquiring gear at your own pace. Don't let the insanity of this place push you into crazy AD. I had a sort of transfer, where one hobby, which had a couple years of investment, financed the other. If not, I'd likely be sitting pretty with one or two razors, my Proraso and my Omega 10005.

The most important thing is to have fun!

Originally Posted by LameBMX

Sounds like it works for you though. I am fine with my van Der hagen luxury shave set (after they replaced the super shedding brush), dovo 5/8's full hollow with factory edge for the first few months. Rehoned by me a couple months ago. I did try some col conks, bit that's set aside for the occaisional change of smell. But it is a wonderfull read, but i dont think n00b is still appropiate!

I think it still applies. I still feel like a Noob, just not a complete one, anymore. Having this stuff written down does help, as I can reference past experiences.

I have just got off the phone to my Dad for our weekly chat, just happened to mention that i was SR shaving now and apparently he still has my great grandads razor still boxed. He has promised to dig it out of the garage so hopefully i will get to see it soon, can't wait now i am so chuffed. Of course as soon as i get hold of it i will post some pictures.

Today is a good day on the straight road.

Ritchie

Great news, Ritchie! I look forward to seeing your great inheritance.

Originally Posted by RITCHIE1411

I have just got off the phone to my Dad for our weekly chat, just happened to mention that i was SR shaving now and apparently he still has my great grandads razor still boxed. He has promised to dig it out of the garage so hopefully i will get to see it soon, can't wait now i am so chuffed. Of course as soon as i get hold of it i will post some pictures.Today is a good day on the straight road.Ritchie

What do you know, I received both strop and razor from my grandma. Neither are usable for shaving, but it is nice to have around. I do use the straight to clean my strop block that I use for swords. DaFaour & Bros Full hollow:

insert picture later

Barbers Special Shell Horse Hide Strop:

insert picture later

computer is being funky.

The Straight Road - Part 60: Tough Thursday
Thursday was a bit of a strange day. After spending a couple of days with SWMBO Jr. off school sick, I was back to work after a brief trip to my eye doctor in the morning. My work day would prove short-lived, as I received a call in the early afternoon that SWMBO Jr. needed to be picked up from school due to a return of the abdominal pains she'd been having. I took her home and she seemed to be feeling better, so I opted for a shave in the early evening, right after SWMBO arrive. Well, during my shave, the pains returned with enough strength that we needed to return to the emergency room to have her checked out again. Thankfully, the doctors were able to determine that it was nothing more serious than some intestinal irritation and the need for more fibre in her diet, so the pains should clear up with some correction of her food and a mild laxative.

All of this leads me to be able to report back on yesterday's shave, such as I remember it, so here we go.

The Anticipation
The razor of choice was my newly-restored W&B 6/8 Barber's Notch, which had been honed using a Norton progression from 1k to 4k/8k, then onto the PHIG and finally finished up on the Thuringian. To go along with that, I selected my Trumper's Spanish Leather and MWF, as well as Trumper's Unscented balm. This would be my first shave with a razor I had finished on the PHIG/Thuri, so I was sort of excited to see how it felt. The bevel on the razor was certainly shiny, so I was hoping for some decent smoothness.

The Prep
A hot shower helped relax some of the stress that having a sick child tends to put on a parent. Thankfully, she has been remarkably healthy, so this has been a bit of a rough ride for us the past week. Even though you know it's nothing serious, it's never easy to see her in pain and not be able to fix it. Anyway, the shower was pleasant, helped along by RazoRock Artisan Coconut soap and a good scrubbing with my bristle shower brush. I ended it off with Real Shaving Creamy Face Wash, hoping to give my whiskers a good prep for the shave. The razor was already stropped so that step was removed, the brush had been soaked, the scuttle was warm, so it was time for some lather.

The Lather
I decided to try a little different lather technique, one which is championed by Marco over at B&B, which is to leave the brush really wet and not shake it out at all. I had pre-soaked my MWF, so I took the very wet brush to it and, without applying much pressure, swirled it for a solid 125 rounds on the puck. It seemed to pick up a fair amount of product, though I think in the end I didn't pick up enough, as the lather ended up very runny, which required me to squeeze out the brush and swirl some more to pick up more soap. In the end, the lather was a bit airy and thin, though there was a ton of it. My next attempt with MWF, I think I'll try to start with a drier brush and add water as I go, which seems to work better for me. Overall, I've been getting better lathers from my DR Harris soaps than MWF lately, which is a reversal of how I started. Time to run some practice lathers and figure that out! Either way, the lather was passable and got the job done, though the glide wasn't as great as it could have been. Three passes, touch ups and still some went down the drain.

The Shave
The razor was sharp, that's for sure. It took off the whiskers and did so without any trouble, but it wasn't quite there. It didn't pull, but it wasn't as smooth as it could have been, either. The first pass was a good one, without nicks or discomfort, though I do have an irritated ingrown on my neck which required some careful manoeuvering in that area. The first XTG, which is then "outward" one, was also quite smooth, as I paid special attention to a light touch and practicing a slight scything motion with the razor, whose smiling edge makes that fairly easy. You can really feel the difference with a scything stroke, I'm finding, so I am going to work on that technique over the next few weeks. The third pass was a bit tricky, as the lack of smoothness on the edge was starting to show up and I was a bit sensitive on the throat area, though I still managed to get through without too much razor burn. I did, however, manage to ding my nostril at some point, which left the tiniest nick. Luckily, it barely bled and hasn't left a mark.

The Post
The brush and scuttle came first, both getting a nice warm water rinse and then returning to their spots on the shelf of the den. After that I went after my face with a whole bunch of cold water, washing away the residue of MWF and soothing the slightly tender areas, especially on the neck. Alum was next, providing its own special form of feedback on the areas that were a touch stingy, which always gives me some perspective on how the shave ended up. Witch Hazel was next, then I moved onto the rest of the cleanup, stropped the blade for 25 on the webbing then 50 on the 'roo and splashed on the Spanish Leather. There was some sting, but it wasn't as bad as I suspected. The unscented balm came last, finishing up a nice smooth shave, though unfortunately my next stop was a trip to the ER with SWMBO Jr..

The Verdict
The shave was what I would classify as "not bad", which means the razor gets a trip back to the stones. Overall, I am happy with the direction of my shaves, as I am feeling pretty good about my technique and the feel I get on my face. There is still a lot of work to do on the chin area, but at least I haven't been cutting myself anymore. The MWF lather is also a bit of a challenge, as I need to figure out where I'm going wrong there. A week of straight MWF will likely help that out. Now it's time for me to finish out the JaNorton challenge and see how that goes.

Exploration and discovery are keeping things interesting on The Straight Road.

Well, I had thought I'd be taking a break from my ADs, but a couple of items caught my eye and I could not resist hitting the buy button. First was this Nagamasa Kamisori, which was waiting for me at work yesterday. It appears to have the Tamahagane marks on it, which makes it an interesting specimen. It also appears to be NOS, which is a bonus. I have posted a few photos in this thread: http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...-kamisori.html



The other thing I have on the way is a purple Welsh slate hone called Llyn Melynllynn, which has been getting rave reviews and is said to be a great finisher. I am looking forward to trying it out. With quite a bit of home time this week, I also rigged up a couple of razor racks out of coat hanger, which I've put on the shelf in the den. Eventually, I think I'll make some out of wood, but for now these don't look too bad:

Den Shot


Up Close


So as you can see, things are moving forward at quite a pace on The Straight Road! I also have a couple more restores that need to be moved to the next stage, which is scale finishing and polishing. Lots of stuff to keep me busy!

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Jack

That looks awesome....what a set up compared to three months ago~! Damn!

Originally Posted by Maxi

That looks awesome....what a set up compared to three months ago~! Damn!

Yeah, it sure is growing, isn't it?

This is what it looked like on November 1st
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...tml#post870599

Originally Posted by Maxi

Ahhhhh.....It's a grande feeling when a whole bunch of packages arrive in the mail.

You know what: In a day and age of instant gratification, or in some cases where "instant gratification" simply isn't "fast enough!", the online shopping in the razor world is the ticket!

1. You read a whole bunch of other peoples research and findings.
2. You look around the internet for hours, scouring online stores to find that extra 99 cent savings.
3. You think you've found it, click the Buy It Now button.
4. Then you find another page where it "just went on special".
5. You kick yourself, and then buy something else to compensate for your gloom (we are consumers after all)
6. Then you hurry up and wait....and think about your purchase....and wait some more, and think a bit more (rinse and repeat several times).
7. It comes in the mail.....and by this point you're so excited about whatever "it" is, that you are like a small child who just realized that Santa brings stuff "just for you" (raised eyebrows an and open mouth are part of this "look")
8. You use it, and you love it.
9. Delayed gratification......

Good times,

Ahhhh, I just looked at this post after your November 1st pictures and I had a giggle. Now, I'll admit, at this point I've had about 6 pints, so maybe I'll smile at just about anything...but I thought it was comical nontheless.

15 years ago, there was no way I could type correctly after this many beers. Oh how we've changed.

Only 6? Lightweight!