Thread: The Noob Chronicle - My Straight Razor Experience

Congratulations! I know you are excited and I hope your wife has a pleasant pregnancy. My wife always enjoyed being pregnant and that makes for a great experience. I'm a bit jealous on the pipe. My wife hates when I smoke, so I've all but given it up. I only ever had the occasional cigar or pipe, but I'll have to enjoy them vicariously through you, lol. Keep up the good work, enjoying your travels.

Originally Posted by jdto

The Straight Road - Part 72: Big News

It has been an immensely eventful week on The Straight Road. First off, I decided to give my kamisoris a workout, hoping to get the technique down a little better, my PAD has kicked in a bit, with a couple of new pipes incoming and I've also sent my Grandfather's old pipe out for restoration. Finally, SWMBO got the all-clear from the doctor and we are happily expecting our second child, due in mid to late August! So amongst all this flurry of activity, we also have three shaves and an SRP meetup in Guelph.

[indent]

Saturday

Congratulations... on the "all-clear from the doctor"!!!!!!

How old is the first child? ... I ask because it may be
well past time to childproof the shave den and kitchen.
My kitchen knives would worry me with small children.
Also child-improve the smoking den. Tobacco smoke is
not something that you want your children to be breathing.
At least not to the degree I was subjected to growing up.

Do check out some of the radon vent solutions. A heat recovery ventilator,
or HRV, also called an air-to-air heat exchanger is a good thing for a lot of
reasons and smoking could be one. Ontario is in the worst of the
radon risk belt so this may be easy hardware to find.

And yep I have seen too many friends suffer cancer and/or COPD after
decades of smoking or second hand smoke so I do have a bias. I am
also an X-smoker and can look back and say WTF was I thinking.

Again... Congratulations... on the "all-clear from the doctor"!!!!!!

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

Congratulations... on the "all-clear from the doctor"!!!!!!

Thanks!

How old is the first child? ... I ask because it may be
well past time to childproof the shave den and kitchen.
My kitchen knives would worry me with small children.
Also child-improve the smoking den. Tobacco smoke is
not something that you want your children to be breathing.
At least not to the degree I was subjected to growing up.

She's 7 and has been pretty good about the shave den and the kitchen. The shave den is well out of reach for a young kid. As for the smoking den, it's the balcony of our apartment, so no smoking happens indoors. I won't do that. If/when we eventually move into a bigger place or buy a house, I would have a dedicated "Man Cave" where I would look into very good ventilation/filtration of the smoke. My smoking is only an occasional thing, at most one bowl per day, but I often skip days.

Do check out some of the radon vent solutions. A heat recovery ventilator,
or HRV, also called an air-to-air heat exchanger is a good thing for a lot of
reasons and smoking could be one. Ontario is in the worst of the
radon risk belt so this may be easy hardware to find.

I will look into this.

And yep I have seen too many friends suffer cancer and/or COPD after
decades of smoking or second hand smoke so I do have a bias. I am
also an X-smoker and can look back and say WTF was I thinking.

Again... Congratulations... on the "all-clear from the doctor"!!!!!!

Thanks! I used to smoke cigarettes, but I haven't done that for many years. Pipe smoking is not something I will do all the time, but rather as a sometimes thing.

I appreciate the advice and the well wishes.

congrats on the impending child!

on the cream sampler lather front, i tend to take a little gobbit out with my little finger, and deposit it in the centre of the brush. then i face lather with it. seems to work ok for me. perhaps that might transfer well to the scuttle method?

steve

Hey Jack,

Congrats on the upcoming edition to your family!

Just curious since reading your blog I know you have tried numerous, but what is/are your favorites (top 1 or 2) shaving creams/scents so far?

And out of your collection so far, which is/are your top shaver(s)?

(Still trying to narrow down my next AD purchases )

Regards,

Jason

Thanks JC! We are really looking forward to this new stage in our lives.

You pose an interesting question, as it's something that fluctuates quite a bit. My reaction to scents can vary a lot, depending on time of day, mood, weather and other things, and the same goes for SWMBO. That said, I don't think I'd like to be without Truefitt & Hill Trafalgar or DR Harris Marlborough. They have really nice scents in cream, soap, aftershave and colognes. Then there's the RazoRock King Louis Lavender lineup which is really a nice, clean scent.

As far as individual soaps go, two of my real favourites in terms of scent are Truefitt & Hill Luxury Shaving Soap, with a nice lavender/citrus thing going on, and Mitchell's Wool Fat, which is just a nice clean scent I can't quite pin down.

So..I managed to squeeze in 5 there, hope this helps!

As far as "top shavers" go, it's a tough call, but my 8/8 Friodur is tough to beat, though I got a wonderful shave from my 7/8 W&B Barber's Use (the one with the bocote scales) just yesterday (which I still have to write up!). It seems like, perhaps, big, hollow-ground blades might be the ones that work better for me, based on what I've tried so far. Makes me want to try a Filly 14 DT

The Straight Road – Part 73: Big Blades, Big Fun!

This week was supposed to be calmer, but then I got the word that I was going to be on conference booth duty for Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as several other meetings and the usual hectic schedule with SWMBO Jr’s dancing. Combine that with a pipe restoration I’ve been working on (http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...sportsman.html) and all of a sudden, it’s Friday! That said, I had great fun this week with some really nice shaves, to it’s time to share.

Sunday Afternoon
This Dovo Bismarck Ironwood razor of mine doesn’t seem to get enough love, of late, so I decided to get it back into the rotation again. Combined with a relatively leisurely Sunday afternoon, I was all set to discover a new product: T&H Ultimate Comfort.

The Anticipation
The shave was calling to me for most of the afternoon, but I was a bit lazy. Still, we had Sunday dinner with the family, including relatives from out of town, so there was no putting it off and I headed in for the shave.

The Prep
I went with my usual hot shower this time, before which I stropped the blade on the ‘roo strop. This blade can be a bit of a challenge to strop, as it tends to be a bit loose in the scales, not to mention the thumb notch. I was up to the task, though, so finally the blade was ready, the brush was soaking and I was scrubbed down and good to go. Taking a bit of the Ultimate Comfort pre-shave oil, I rubbed it into my whiskers and turned to the scuttle.

The Lather
I wasn’t expecting much from this product line, to be honest, since it didn’t have any of the T&H scents I love. Little did I know how great this stuff really is. The cream has a very light scent to it, reminiscent of the citrus/lavender scent of their Luxury Shaving Soap. The lather it produced, in combination with my amazing Bryce C Silvertip, was simply astonishing. A perfect combination of slickness, cushion and comfort that I suppose lives up to the name! I was almost reluctant to stop after only two passes.

The Shave
As you can imagine, after getting such great lather, the shave was a dream. This Dovo is just a great shaver. Forgiving edge, easy to handle and really well-balanced. I don’t even notice the loose scales so much when it’s shaving. I went for my standard two-pass shave, paying extra attention to the lightness of my stroke. The end result was a quick, easy and painless experience. In fact, not only was it painless, it was actually a great pleasure. I finished off the touch-ups under the chin and along the jawline and I was ready to go.

The Post
I’ve been avoiding the alum block for a while, which has helped my skin in terms of dryness. First thing I did was rinse out the brush and scuttle, getting them squared away, then I hit my face with icy cold water, followed closely by witch hazel. That done, the Ultimate Comfort ASB came out. Really, I am impressed with this stuff! It got me to thinking that a bottle of this ASB, combined with their soap and their Spanish Leather splash, would make for a pretty amazing lineup of shaving products.

The Verdict
A pleasant, very pleasant, surprise from T&H. I am quite happy with the products, the hardware and the experience from my Sunday afternoon shave. There will likely be a permanent place in my rotation for this stuff, when I can start to fuel the ADs again.

Wednesday Morning
After having been volunteered for booth duty on Tuesday, I had no time to get anything done, mainly because I was running around like a maniac at 6 AM to get to the conference and get stuff set up. Luckily, Wednesday was a bit more tame, so I was able to have a shave before heading out the door.

The Anticipation
I always look forward to shaving with my Wade & Butcher razors, but this one in particular is a great shaver. Combine that with the beautiful bocote brush in finest badger, and you end up with quite a winning combination. So in reality, there was very little chance of me not shaving on Wednesday morning, no matter what the timing looked like for starting the conference.

The Prep
It had to be a quick shower, since most of my grooming time was allotted to the shave, but that was no issue, as I can be in and out of there in minutes when necessary. After that, it was onto the strop with the razor for 25 quick laps, then I was ready to get down to business.

The Lather
No scuttle for this one, as I find this brush doesn’t do well in the bowl. I went straight to the soap with my sample of Trumper’s Coconut. This brush picks up soap very easily and, before I knew it, I had a great amount loaded, which then went onto my face easily and quickly, building a well-cushioned Santa beard of lather. There was easily enough for two passes and touch-ups, or more, if I had so desired. One drawback is that I did feel a bit of sting from this lather on my face, which is a shame as I really like the coconut soap. Maybe the shaving cream will be better.

The Shave
This razor is...well...wow. I experimented with this one and found success! This edge is a dilucot edge (look it up on coticule.be if you’re not familiar with the process), where I set the bevel on the 1k, then took it all the way to finishing on the coticule. I haven’t had very much success with doing that, but this razor can attest to the fact that, at least once, I got it right. The shave was smooth, effortless and clean. All important qualities when shaving with a straight. But the thing that really surprised me was how easy the edge was on my face. It really felt like I was passing a butterknife over my cheeks instead of an incredibly sharp razor.

The Post
With such a smooth shave, you might think that your aftershave wouldn’t sting, but then again, Dominica Bay Rum is not just any aftershave. I started out with witch hazel, which would hopefully mitigate some of the sting, but all the same, the Dominica asserted its dominance, waking me the rest of the way up and announcing its presence in a way that brooked no argument! Still, the sting subsided quickly and my face felt great, so I was pleased. I followed that up with my Trumper’s Unscented lotion, which keeps things moisturized and soothed. It was time to get out the door and down to the conference for day two.

The Verdict
It was really a smooth shave, combined with a very reliable lineup of soft products, so I ended up in a very good mood, despite the upcoming trials of a day manning a booth with very little traffic. Overall, I was pleased and things are really moving forward with this razor!

Friday Morning
As the week comes to a close, I managed to find enough time in the morning for another shave. This morning I had a conference call, so I decided to take it at home, rather than try to rush into the office, which gave me the time I needed to enjoy my big bad Friodur.

The Anticipation
This razor is always a treat, so I was definitely looking forward to it for the past couple of days. Combine that with the Omega Pro 49, some Trumper’s Violet shaving cream and Coral Skin Food, and you have all the makings of a very pleasant, floral morning for a spring Friday.

The Prep
A soothing hot shower brought me to full wakefulness, followed by twenty-five passes on the episaacs ‘roo strop. That done, I turned to the scuttle and brush, ready for flower power!

The Shave
What can I say? It was awesome! These big hollow-ground blades are really agreeing with me lately, so I think I might have finally found the excuse to get a Filarmonica 14. Or maybe a big Wacker, or Revisor...hmmm. Anyway, the shave was quick and easy, in part because my technique as I reach four score shaves is much improved, but also because the huge, wide blade covers more real estate. A few swipes on each cheek takes care of most of my face. In the end, two passes, touch-ups and smooth. Can’t beat that.

The Post
Cold water helped finish the job of waking me up, then I reached for the witch hazel. That out of the way, I rubbed the Coral Skin Food into my mug, paying special attention to the beard area. I followed that with some Trumper’s Milk of Flowers cologne, which isn’t the greatest, but seemed to fit the theme of the day. I was ready, it was time for work, so off I went.

The Verdict
A great way to end off the week. The more I use this razor, the more I think it’s about the perfect one for me. I am almost tempted to get another one, just in case. The stainless blade also means a bit less fussing about taking care of it, which is always a plus. With 81 shaves under my belt, I am getting closer to that century milestone that is so often bandied about. Soon, I’ll graduate from Noob to .... not sure what, but it’ll be fun, I know.

All in all, I had a happy week of shaves on the Straight Road.

This week was great, and I also got a pipe done that really turned out well, so that is doubly satisfying. New hobbies are always nice, but perfecting “old” ones is also immensely satisfying, so getting consistently good shaves for a whole week is really a plus. Now my toughest decision of the week remains which whiskey to pick up for this evening’s relaxation.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Jack

The Straight Road - Part 74: Bocote Week
This week marked the beginning of my "Getting To Know You" phase with regard to my shaving gear. I have decided to shave for a whole week with the same kit, just to see if I can get a little deeper into the nuances of the blades, the brushes, the soft products and the whole experience. Since I had such a great shave last week with it, the first candidate was the W&B 7/8 Barber's Use in Bocote, the match TGN Finest Bocote Brush and a great lineup of products: Trumper's Coconut Shaving Soap, T&H West Indian Limes, shaving cream ASB and Cologne and, finally, Dominica Bay Rum. A week of tropical shaves to get me in the mood for spring as things warm up around here.

The Anticipation
This week was a more relaxed week as far as my schedule was concerned. With SWMBO Jr. on March Break and attending camp all week, there was no dancing insanity and rushing. I was determined to enjoy a few morning shaves, which I was able to do on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The Prep
Each shave was prepared for in the same way, with a nice hot shower to wake me up in the morning. My standard stropping routine of late is just to go for fifty passes on the wonderful 'roo strop that episaacs made, then lay the blade aside, ready to go. For brush-soaking, I have been experimenting with just running it under very warm water for about a minute, then a few shakes and onto the soap. As a pre-step, I take a dab of the T&H cream and rub it onto my face.

The Lather
I am pleased to report that the lather I got in all three shaves this week was great. The combination of the coconut soap, the lime cream and the finest badger knot makes for a wonderful merengue of lathery goodness. The other pleasing aspect was the consistency from day to day of both my technique and the resulting suds. Gone are the days of the same brush and product producing variations for me, which I consider a good thing. Lather enough for two passes and touch ups, with some left over, was the norm.

The Shaves
Again here, there was not much variation, which is a good thing. Monday's shave was probably the worst, as I did feel a little bit of roughness left behind on the right side of my chin. By Wednesday, that had been improved upon to the point that there wasn't much there at all. The only problem with Wednesday's shave was that my attention to the chin wasn't as great, which left me with a bit of a rough patch on the point. The great thing about using the same gear for a few days was the ability to perfect things to the extent that, by Friday, I was completely smooth, I got everything taken care of on the chin and, overall, the shave was great!

The Post
Here is where I mixed things up a bit, as I am experimenting a bit with the alum block. On Monday, I used only witch hazel following the shave, then applied the Bay Rum, the ASB and finished up with a few dabs of the cologne. This left me smooth and well-moisturized, without the dryness I was getting from using alum. On Wednesday, I switched things up a bit, skipping the witch hazel in favour of the alum block. Again, I got a nice smooth feeling, without tightness of dryness. Maybe alum will work in warmer weather. One thing's for sure, the Bay Rum stings a lot less when it follows the alum versus the witch hazel. This morning, I rotated back to the witch hazel and did find a fair bit of sting in the Bay Rum, though nothing to extreme. I think, in the future, I'll combine alum with this Dominica and perhaps witch hazel with other aftershaves that don't quite have the same bite.

The Verdict
What more could I want from my shaving than smoothness, comfort and a great overall feeling? The combination of products for this week was surely a winner, though I still have a lot of samples left! This little sample of Trumper's Coconut soap shows no signs of running out, which leads me to believe that it will be making quite a few more appearances. I have pretty much put SGAD on hold for the time being, given my PAD and PTAD (pipe and pipe tobacco, for those of you not acquainted with my latest ADs). I should have enough products to hold the fort for a long time! There are still samples in my cupboard I haven't even touched yet. Ah...variety, isn't it great?

Enjoying the spice of life on The Straight Road!

Things are going well around here as I ding 84 shaves. Tomorrow I have a full day of travel, but I might squeeze in a straight, or maybe DE, shave in the morning. My pipe collection is coming along nicely and I'll post some photos once I get a rack to hold them and display them a bit. I am also working on building a bit of a tobacco cellar, which will allow me to age some blends and enjoy them at later dates. And by cellar I mean Mason jars and a cupboard. Anyway, there's lot's going on, it's Friday and 21C here in Toronto, so let's have some fun!

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Jack

I have been using the under running water method since I started. A very small stream seems to work faster. I just run the water at the base and slowly rotate as I see the tips get waterlogged. When the tipside is smooth with water instead of pointy with just tips, I just let it hang tips down for a moment letting excess drain, maybe a quick shake to get some more water off, then start my swirl in the cup. It is kind of tricky to find that sweet spot for water, but the brush can hold too much water for the soap. It takes a long time to make enough lather to keep it from being to wet of lather. Its more efficient to get too much water out of the brush and add more if needed. You probably already know all this, but maybe you can gleam a tidbit from it.

I am really thinking I will like a scuttle, by the third pass the lather is pretty cool. With the hot weather on its way in, the cool lather may feel nice with the heat compounded by a steamy bathroom.

The Straight Road - Part 75: Honing Breakthrough
It's been a while since I posted a journal here. In part, life has just been insane since my last post, also, I just haven't shaved often enough, something I need to remedy. We had been doing an experiment for beginning honers with attempting to shave off our 1k stones, followed only by some stropping to finish up (http://straightrazorpalace.com/honin...-1k-shave.html). An interesting, and eye-opening, experience.

Tuesday Evening
It really has been almost a week since, but last Tuesday I pulled out the Norton 1k and my TI Le Canadien 6/8, which had a small ding near the point of the razor. I decided to take this opportunity to try out my hand at the 1k challenge. Of course, if you've read my Noob Chronicle at all, you'll know that I have had nightmares trying to hone the C135 razors, but luckily I got a good edge on the snakewood, which now resides with a satisfied straight razor shaver in Atlantic Canada. Of course, I'm not going to back down, so I decided to give this razor a go on the hone. I followed a pretty standard routine for honing (which you can see in the above-linked thread), then I stropped it up and got ready for a shave.

The Anticipation
I was a bit trepidatious about this shave, as I haven't been getting the greatest results from razors I've honed lately. That said, I knew I had the great edge on my Friodur, honed by Maxi, to back me up, so at least that was covered. It was time to just get in there and get it done!

The Prep
My prep routine was the usual shower with hot water and Real Shaving Exfoliating Scrub. The razor had already been stropped, so I was pretty much set to go. Prior to jumping in, I had splashed some water on the T&H soap, as well as soaking the Omega in nice warm water, so when I was out of the shower, all that was left was to get to it.

The Lather
This was a bit of a challenge. It's been a while since I've had this much trouble with lather. I wonder if it was the fact that I haven't used this soap, or this brush, very often in the past few months. Either way, I ended up with airy foam on the first lather-building attempt, which was so frustrating I ended up ditching it and starting over. Problem solved, right? Wrong. The second attempt provided me with the same results, which were so bad that I just decided to lay the T&H aside and lather up with some RazoRock King Louis Lavender soap, which did the job admirably, with more than enough lather for three passes, which is what I ended up needing to get a decent shave.

The Shave
The shave started out poorly, as the edge on the Le Canadien was not where it needed to be. I tried to get a feel for it, but after I'd finished my right cheek, I knew it wasn't happening, so I switched to the Friodur and basically started from scratch. This worked well and I was able to get a great, smooth shave from two passes with the big German blade. As for the TI, it was back to the drawing board, or in this case, the bevel set.

The Post
I followed this shave up with some alum, which has been part of a little on and off experiment. I definitely notice I get a bit less burn from the splash after alum, but also more tightness and dryness, requiring more balm or lotion. I rinsed up well with some nice, refreshing cold water, then applied the Trumper's Spanish Leather, which is a great all-around scent that I enjoy. After that came the fragrance-free balm, which really puts a nice finishing touch on my shaves.

The Verdict
Well, I ended up getting the job done, but there wasn't much sense of satisfaction. With frustration on both the honing and lather-building fronts, I decided to just take a little break from shaving and not let myself get too frustrated. One thing I've noticed is, if I can't get a good combo from products, I can always grab a "go-to" or very effective combination of products, brush and blade, which usually brings my confidence roaring back.

Sunday Afternoon
As you can see, I took several days off, but finally, as Sunday rolled around and we were getting ready to visit my mom's for a family dinner, I knew I'd better get in there and get the job done properly. I pulled out the 1k and let it soak for a good hour, then set up to hone on my little desk, focusing on technique and pressure to ensure I was getting it right this time.

The Anticipation
With a new edge and a renewed enthusiasm to get a good shave off my 1k, I was more positive about this shave than the previous one. There was also a touch of nervousness about getting a decent lather from the T&H and Omega combo, which just didn't play nicely together last time. The only true test for an edge on a razor is the shave test, so no matter how confident I felt after trying it on arm hair, it was time for the real thing.

The Prep
Before getting into the shower, I decided to try a practice lather, which turned out quite well. To get the lather right with this combo, I started with a very dry brush, picked up a fairly hefty amount of product, then slowly added water back into the mix in my scuttle. The lather was so nice, I used it to wash my face in the shower! Of course, the blade had already been prepared with the stropping on balsa with two different pastes and 50 passes on the 'roo, so once the shower was done, the brush was soaked and the soap was ready, it was time for some suds.

The Lather
A much better effort this time around. I did add an extra ingredient to the mix, by applying some RazoRock King Louis Lavender shave gel as a pre-shave treatment, so that may have helped, but also the lather was just plain better. This stuff does work really well as a preshave, though apparently it can also be used on its own. I prefer to use a lather, so I'll likely just continue to use it as a preshave. The T&H soap has a really great scent to it, with a sort of citrus and lavender scent that is really enjoyable. The lather was really nice this time and there was enough of it for two passes and touch-ups as well.

The Shave
Talk about night and day! Suffice it to say, the Friodur sat there, forlorn, unused and lonely, while the Le Canadien became the star of the show. I have to admit, it is quite an eye-opener to get a very comfortable shave from an edge off of a 1k. It wasn't quite as comfortable as the finer edges I've had, but if this were all I could use, it would certainly be more than acceptable. I can honestly say that, based on this, I have only begun to scratch the surface of the honing world. I can only imagine what I can do with higher grits once I've been able to get a shave of this calibre from a 1k. I highly recommend to all my fellow noobs that they master the lower grits and shave test with them before even thinking about finishers and the like. That is, of course, if you want to hone from scratch. If not, then probably a fine barber's hone will be good enough to maintain an already good edge. There are lots of options, but make sure to do your homework and get what's right for you.

The Post
Once the two passes with touch-ups were done, I rinsed the brush and scuttle and put them aside. After that, cold water took care of the remaining lather on my face, then it was witch hazel. I followed the WH with a nice, mostly sting-free splash of Trumper's Spanish Leather. Now, let's be honest here, it wasn't as sting-free as some of my shaves with smoother edges, but again, it was very acceptable. I finished it up with the Fragrance Free lotion and I was ready for dinner.

The Verdict
Hey, it works! You can get a decent, relatively comfortable shave off of a 1k stone. Not only that, but it's important to remember that, if a soap or cream doesn't work for you the first time, or even the second, if you like the scent, you might want to stick with it, because it can often be worked out by making adjustments in your lathering technique. That's one of the dangers of having so many different combos, you sometimes forget what works for each product! Anyway, I'm quite pleased with the results from my bevel-setting experiment. Now we'll move on up to the 4k and try to maximize the edge from that.

It's time to maximize on The Straight Road!

Well, it's good to be back in the saddle and getting some success with honing, shaving and the straight blade. There are a few projects I need to get back to, including my beautiful Bow Razor that is currently with dllandry for some tumbler polishing. We also have the Toronto area meet-up in less than two weeks, so I look forward to some razor geek time in the near future.

The sun is shining, the weather is warming up and it's a great time to be alive!

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Jack