Thread: The Noob Chronicle - My Straight Razor Experience

Great! Now I have to go back and read this whole thing. It's wonderful and should be in the Wiki.

Thanks for the kind words Ace, and for the encouragement, Maxi.

After a good night's sleep, I feel a little better about things and this morning brought some new joy.

The Straight Road - Interlude: Enter the Beast
I needed a bit of cheering up after last night's frustration. Since SWMBO was already asleep, I guess I needed another source, so I called up my girlfriend...oh wait, no I didn't, I just went to bed.

This morning brought new light and life to The Straight Road, and of course, new gear! My last razor for a while arrived, a beautiful, large 8/8 Henckells Friodur new grind. This razor is big and the design is very nice. The Spanish point really looks great and I like the simple spine design. The finish is a satin finish, not flawless or perfect, but it speaks to me in a very utilitarian way. This razor means business. I opted to go for the plastic scales, which are nothing special but do their job, because I will be making my own set of scales for this razor. I already have a piece of bocote wood at home, waiting for this assignment. I also received a couple of pieces of black horn, which will likely end up as scales for one of my W&B razors that has had the originals quite damaged. If these work out, I just might do black horn scales for all my W&B razors, to keep them in the spirit of the originals, which quite appeal to me.

Anyway, here are my cellphone shots of the new monster!

Not a bad way to start a Wednesday!

Cheers,

Jack

Like you, I've been eyeballing the Straight Road from afar for quite a while before jumping on it. I've spent the majority of my free time today reading your blog from start to finish. It came in spurts, working a 12 hour tech support shift while deployed overseas. I've learned more today from reading your blog than I could have searching posts for the same amount of time, I'm almost positive. I've been searching for some answers for a couple weeks on what to buy, where to buy it, and when. Thanks to your positive outlook, and willingness to experiment, you've helped me narrow down quite a bit of choices. I really like your layout of all the different parts of your shave. Its like a scientific breakdown of all the parts of the whole experience.
I'd already decided that I really want a Theirs Issard, even though there seems to be some debate on the best type of blade for a beginner to start with. You seem to be having pretty good luck with yours, after having it honed by a skilled honemeister. Sound is a big help, I think. After driving both standard engines and rotary engines, with a manual shift, for the last decade or so, sound has become a big part of my driving. Hopefully the sound of a 'singing' razor will help me with my first 100 shaves as well.
I've also been able to put together a reasonable shopping list based off your posts and Lynn's noob guide. I found out that Vintage Blades, LLC is veteran owned, which is a huge plus in my book, being on my 2nd deployment. They will also hone the blade for you before sending it out, also a plus. Thanks for all your hard work, your incredibly valuable input, and for staying the course. I think documenting my shaves would also help me out in the learning process. I will probably just document it personally, unless there's a call to have a 2nd thread.

Thanks again for your great writing, with enough humor to make it more than just a learning experience.

- Lucas

Lucas, I very much appreciate the kind words. It is a good feeling to know that I've been of some help to you. The fact that my rambling musings on straight shaving can actually be of use to someone is quite encouraging. The audio component of shaving with a hollow ground razor can be reassuring, as you know you're cutting hair, so I am a fan. That said, I have a few heavier razors making their way into my collection, so it will be an interesting variety.

The Straight Road - Part 35: I'm Back, Baby!
After the frustration of the past two shaves, my mind had turned to looking at DEs and contemplating getting off The Straight Road and selling everything to settle down with a nice Gillette Fatboy and a few test packs of blades. But I don't give up that easily and today, after receiving my Henckels Friodur 8/8 Spanish Point, you'd better believe I was going to be back to straight razor shaving. Well it turns out that was a good move.

Here are a few more shots of the new razor, taken with the real camera instead of my cell phone:

The Beast


Comparison of 5/8, 6/8 and 8/8 - yes, it's big!

Seeing this razor in person is quite an impressive thing. I was unsure about what I was getting into with a blade this wide, but it was here, so it was time to give it a go.

The Anticipation
My shaken confidence was given a boost by the arrival of my new razor, as well some pieces of black horn I intend to use for scales on one of my razors. When I got home, I had to cook, then mom came over for dinner and that required quite of bit of social time, which was a nice diversion from the usual mid-week drudgery. SWMBO Jr. was delighted to see her Gamma and was suitably wound up, so it took a while to get her settled and into bed. That left me waiting until after our visit for my evening shave, which was alright by me, as it's always nice to see mom and SWMBO Jr. loves it. But finally, everything was out of the way and I got the OK from SWMBO to retire to my bathroom and begin my evening ritual. I should note here that I don't need "permission" to have a shower and shave, but rather was just checking in to make sure things were under control with Jr. and the kitchen. SWMBO is a supporter of my new shaving habit, especially since she hasn't seen what my SGAD has cost these past couple of months (shhh). She likes the attention to my appearance and the fact that I'm always clean-shaven and smelling good.

The Prep
The scuttle was filled with near-boiling water and I dunked my Omega Pro 49 in the soaking reservoir, then hopped in the shower. It was nice to have a leisurely ten-minute shower, where I made sure to scrub with my bristle shower brush and wash and condition my hair, which is starting to get long again. I finished up with Real Shaving's Exfoliating Scrub and I was ready. Shave time!

The Lather
After less than stellar results, it was time for The Fat. When I use Mitchell's Wool Fat Shaving Soap, I sometimes question why I even bother to use any other lather-producing shaving products. This stuff is a dream for me. I love--LOVE--the scent and the lather it produces with almost all of my brushes is phenomenal. Even Old Floppy, my Vulfix 2234, can produce a nice lather for me with The Fat. Tonight I didn't have to coax it or baby it, though, because tonight I was using The Pro. This brush is easily the best value in shaving, as far as I'm concerned. For $10, I got a huge stinky boar brush that took a bunch of lathering and washing with shampoo to break in. But after those initial efforts, I ended up with a brush that is big, dense and luxurious, with a ton of backbone and soft tips. It lathers amazingly in the scuttle and just as well on the face. It doesn't need to coax a lather out of MWF, it demands a lather and beats it out of the soap if the soap is unwilling. I am seriously concerned about this brush, because if it breaks in even more and gets softer on the tips while maintaining this backbone and the ability to build this kind of lather, I am going to have trouble using any of the other brushes in my den. In short, this brush is threatening my BAD quite severely. Why spend $100 or more on a badger brush when this $10 boar brush does the job in stellar fashion? I can't answer that question at the moment. Tomorrow my Ironwood Silvertip 24mm is up in the rotation, so maybe it will remind me, but as of tonight, this brush blows all my other ones out of the water. That's right, a $10 brush. My other brushes combine to cost well over $300. Noobies beware!

Anyway, I was talking about lather. Talk about lather! I got smooth, firm, creamy, cushiony, wonderful lather tonight from this combo. Enough for three full passes, touch-up and also washing my face after the shave, just because I love the scent of MWF that much. Can you tell I'm in a better post-shave mood tonight?

There's one other note I'd like to make in the lather section, because it may have helped me get a better shave. While I was charging my brush, I ended up with a bit of the "pre-lather" on my fingers. Instead of rinsing it off or transferring it to the bowl, I rubbed it into my whiskers and kept it moist with water while building lather in my scuttle. I don't know if this helped with the shave, but my skin is more moisturized now than usual.

The Shave
There's been all this build-up, you might say, but Jack, what about the shave? How was the new razor? Well, I have a bit of a problem with this new razor. The problem is similar to the one I have with my Omega Pro 49 brush. I don't want to use a different razor after shaving with this one! I went for my three-pass shave tonight and this big beast of a razor glided its way through the stubble on my face like it was nothing. Combined with the wonderful lather from MWF, I felt more like I was just removing lather and not shaving, but the whiskers were disappearing. I must give kudos to John from Shaving Shop for the honing job he did on this bad boy, as the edge is every bit as smooth as my other professionally-honed blades and it shaves like a dream. It did take some getting used to, however, so I'll not let my post-shave euphoria gloss over the fact that I had some pressure issues with the big blade. I probably could have just done two passes, but the third pass was more about the luxury of the lather and the smooth feeling of the razor. I know there have been some doubts expressed over these newly-ground Henckels Friodur razors, but based on my experience, they are top-notch, with a shave quality right up there with my Dovo and TI razors. The plastic scales aren't that well-balanced and my original intention was to replace them with Bocote wood, but now I am thinking I might go with the black horn. There's something badass about a big blade like this with solid black horn scales. It speaks to me. I think I've found my favourite razor...

I was talking about the shave, right? Well, I needed extra attention with this big guy, especially regading angles, but the weight of the blade helped it glide nicely and I had less trouble in the challenging chin area. Overall, I ended up smooth and comfortable!

The Movember Report
The point profile on this big blade makes it surprisingly decent at manoeuvering around the 'stache. I was able to trim the hairs around the mo' with few problems and ended up clean and well-groomed, without dinging the mo' whiskers and requiring further pruning. I am getting tired of promising photos, so I will make sure to nab SWMBO to snap one in the morning. Just to scare you guys a bit.

The Post
There was some sting here. It's the usual sting I get on a three-pass shave, though, and more to do with that than my lather or the razor. I still need work on my ears-to-chin XTG pass, as my technique is lacking there. I rinsed off with lukewarm water, both my face and my brush. Then I shook and towelled the boar and put it back on the shelf. After that, the alum did its job, then I rinsed with cold water and rinsed the scuttle. After that, I applied my Trumper's Spanish Leather Aftershave, which is slowly, but surely, becoming #1 on the go-to list. I followed the splash by cleaning up the counter and putting the scuttle on its shelf, then did a touch-up splash on the cheeks. That done, it was the Trumper's Unscented moisturizer and 50/100 on the SRD 3" Black Latigo (post-shave strop as the blade was honed before being shipped). SWMBO approved the smoothness and the scent this evening, so my post-shave was also a success.

The Verdict
I needed this. A great shave, an exciting shave and a satisfying shave. Experimentation is lots of fun, but when you have something that you know always works for you it's rewarding. Finding another good soap that works for me like MWF is going to be a challenge, as it hits all the high notes. Moisturizing, great scent, great lather and great shaving performance. If MWF made an AS I'd surely buy the whole line, that's how nice and clean I find the scent. I am going to continue with my experimentation, no doubt, but this is my go-to soap right now. The same goes for this humble boar brush. What a workhorse! But not only is it a workhorse, it also does the job with aplomb, combining backbone and soft tips and leaving my face luxuriously lathered. Anyway, enough gushing about tonight's shave products, the verdict is: this razor wins. I know there have been doubts expressed about the fact these are newly ground blanks of old Henckels Friodur steel, but I don't care about that. It's not ground by Henckels, but it's a sweet-shaving razor and that's good enough for me. The 8/8 blade was somewhat intimidating at first, but after I got it going, it was pretty much smooth sailing. I got my best straight razor shave ever tonight, so there's not much more to say than that.

There will be lots to say on The Straight Road, but sometimes it's good to just bask in the glow of a great shave!

Wow, that was fun! Now I remember why I do this. This razor was going to get Bocote wood scales, which would probably pair it up with the black badger bocote brush in my rotation. While a nice brush, I don't know that it will ever be a good match for this blade, so I think I might go a different route. That, plus I do like the way this blade gleams menacingly as it nestles in its black scales. I find the big blades with black horn to be quite appealing, so I am now thinking about doing Bocote for another of my blades and using my black horn pieces on this one. The Manhattan, for example, has black micarta scales which I don't like too much, so it might be a good candidate for Bocote. This is fun, too, isn't it? I've found the fun again, which is what this is all about, fellow noobs. Keep that in mind.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Jack

I'm glad you had a good shave Jack, I know the feeling of an amazing shave after a few lack luster days, continue threw your experimenting as right now I must live vicariously threw your SGAD till after Xmas, as well as its always such a good read.

Rob

Excellent, excellent.....

I was getting a bit nervous about your shaves. Your text hasn't been as floral or descriptive as of late. Now it sounds like you're back on track.

Good stuff!

Glad you enjoyed your shave with your new 8/8 blade. My first SR shave was in the 1st week of October this year so I think our experience levels are similar. Until a couple weeks ago my razors were all 5/8's. In fact my Boker Red Injun is a small 5/8. I have my toughest time with that razor. I think because of it's size I have difficultly keeping the correct angle. My newest razor is a Revisor 6/8. To me a huge difference in size and weight. The added weight helps me keep the razor moving and I think the size makes the angle easier to hold. It has become my favorite razor. Lynn has a 6/8 Geneva I sent to SRD I am anxiously awaiting.
Wacker makes some 15/16 blades I have been eyeing but the size has been a little intimidating. You may have pushed me over the edge.
Enjoy, Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!
Karl

Hey Jack I think you have come to the right conclusion. I to was tempted to leap into to all aspects of this art . But after some thought I decided to 1) Not fight my R.A.D., but embrace it, find & buy Razors that I like and were interested in shaving with . 2) Have my straights honed by professionals Giving me perspective on the different edges gained by different people as well as having a great base line to aim for when I do start on my own. I also bought a Barbers Hone from glen to get me started and help me keep those edges. 3) Practice stropping. As I have become more proficient with it so has my shaving technique. 4) With R.A.D. as intense as mine , I have enough razors (and I think you do to) to get a handfull restored and still have plenty to do myself when I make the leap.
Hope this helps . Have a great Thanksgiving! To you and al my Straight Razor Shaving Brethren.

Originally Posted by Maxi

Excellent, excellent.....

I was getting a bit nervous about your shaves. Your text hasn't been as floral or descriptive as of late. Now it sounds like you're back on track.

Good stuff!

Yeah, it was really an epiphany last night. I had to stop myself from smiling while shaving so I wouldn't wrinkle the wrong way and cut myself.

Originally Posted by karlej

Glad you enjoyed your shave with your new 8/8 blade. My first SR shave was in the 1st week of October this year so I think our experience levels are similar. Until a couple weeks ago my razors were all 5/8's. In fact my Boker Red Injun is a small 5/8. I have my toughest time with that razor. I think because of it's size I have difficultly keeping the correct angle. My newest razor is a Revisor 6/8. To me a huge difference in size and weight. The added weight helps me keep the razor moving and I think the size makes the angle easier to hold. It has become my favorite razor. Lynn has a 6/8 Geneva I sent to SRD I am anxiously awaiting.
Wacker makes some 15/16 blades I have been eyeing but the size has been a little intimidating. You may have pushed me over the edge.
Enjoy, Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!
Karl

I've found that I like my 6/8 or bigger blades more. I have a 5/8 ERN that is a nice little razor, but I don't get the same solid feeling from it. It's still in the rotation, but as I get more of these bigger blades, it might not get as much use.

Originally Posted by CFSapper

I'm glad you had a good shave Jack, I know the feeling of an amazing shave after a few lack luster days, continue threw your experimenting as right now I must live vicariously threw your SGAD till after Xmas, as well as its always such a good read.

Rob

Oh don't worry, I still have a ton of products and I will most certainly be experimenting and running through them. But I think I might have to go back to MWF at least every couple of days, as it's always a joy for me. I also have to make a decision on my Tabac lineup, as I'm finding the scent isn't my favourite. I sort of like it, but I sort of don't. I'm going to try dropping the cream and the balm next time I use it and see how I do with just the soap and splash, with an unscented balm. If that works, I'll probably move the other two on. Tabac is a staple in the shaving world, but with the abundance of great soaps, if one of the classics doesn't do it for me, I won't be losing out on too much.

Originally Posted by Omega1975

Hey Jack I think you have come to the right conclusion. I to was tempted to leap into to all aspects of this art . But after some thought I decided to 1) Not fight my R.A.D., but embrace it, find & buy Razors that I like and were interested in shaving with . 2) Have my straights honed by professionals Giving me perspective on the different edges gained by different people as well as having a great base line to aim for when I do start on my own. I also bought a Barbers Hone from glen to get me started and help me keep those edges. 3) Practice stropping. As I have become more proficient with it so has my shaving technique. 4) With R.A.D. as intense as mine , I have enough razors (and I think you do to) to get a handfull restored and still have plenty to do myself when I make the leap.
Hope this helps . Have a great Thanksgiving! To you and al my Straight Razor Shaving Brethren.

You make some good points. I am still going to try my hand at honing and restoration, but I think I'm not going to get so focused on it. If I can learn to hone eventually, I'll be fine, but in the mean time, I'm going to focus in on getting better at shaving and enjoying the great lineup of razors I've accumulated. Slow and steady will serve me well and, if I get discouraged, I can always pull out my Friodur and Pro 49 with MWF to get my mojo back. My ironwood pairing is another great one, so I have that, as well.

And yes, Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans on SRP. We had ours last month up here, but I'd happily go for another round of turkey, if I could get it