Thread: The Noob Chronicle - My Straight Razor Experience

Hi Guys

Well holidays over back from Vegas and back to work, the good news is having to shave two days on the trot. First time i have done that and its gone ok , there have been no cuts and hardly any nicks. I think its gone better because i have forced myself to slow down and stop getting to excited. I have payed more attention to stretching the skin, holding the razor lightly and keeping the angle correct. Also i have not worried if the first pass hasn't got close enough and i am starting to have an appreciation for the different passes and what they acomplish.
My major problem is still the chin area, since i am in the military having a scruffy chin is not permissable so i am having to try and figure out some way of getting a smooth enough finish to pass muster. So far i am doing two passes across the grain each way and that seems to be good enough for now.

Can you guys tell me if you consider an alum block essential? If so what does it actually do? I am coming up to pay day and am trying to get a list of essential items to get this month.

So far : Razor, Strop, Boars brush and two sample sets from Trumpers which i am really looking forward to getting and i have already won a lovely looking shaving mug on ebay.

Many thanks for your suggestions.

Best regards

Ritchie

Sounds like you're on the right track. I wouldn't consider alum to be essential. In fact, I sometimes wonder if my skin might be better if I skipped that step. I'll try an experiment next week and report back how it goes without it.

I have only recently started using alum, and I think it works well. I bought a small block for about $10 on amazon with free shipping when I purchased a few other items (sort of as an afterthought). I'm glad I did, because I think I have much less razor burn when I use it. I like witch hazel, but the smell isn't very pleasant. I guess I need to try some of the nicer varieties like the ones at SRD.

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bThe Straight Road – Part 63: A Double Whammy
It has been a couple of days since my last post and a couple of shaves, as well. Wednesday and Thursday of this week were occupied by a conference here, so I was both exhausted and pressed for time in the evenings, leading to my decision to hold off on writing up my Wednesday evening shave until later. Of course, later became later again, so I ended up with another shave in there before the last writeup. The good news is, now we get double the fun! The bad news? Have a read and find out...

Wednesday Evening

The Anticipation
After my less-than-stellar results on Monday evening, I decided to give the razor another touch-up on the hones. I had received some good advice from Maxi via PM, so I hopped back on the Nortons, taking the blade for an extra ride on the 4k, trying to really get a feel for the strokes and make sure the edge was ready, then moving onto the 8k for polishing it up and finishing. With my shave products already picked, all that was left was to have at it and shave.

The Prep
The blade came fresh off the hones, so I gave it a good stropping, with fifty passes on the SRD webbing and then at least 100 on the episaacs ‘roo leather. I pulled the MWF and the SOC down off the shelf, filled the scuttle with hot water, dropped some water onto the soap puck to soften it up and dunked the brush in the reservoir. Then it was shower time. A good scrub and a few minutes later, I was ready for action.

The Lather
After declaring I would stick with my dry-brush start, I flip-flopped back to the wet brush. This came after watching a video of the technique and realizing I needed a bit more pressure to load the brush than I was applying. What a difference that made! I got quite a lot of smooth, lubricating, slick lather, which basically exploded out of the bowl of my scuttle. This SOC is a great brush, with both bowl and face-lathering properties that are second to no other brush I’ve tried so far. It is also nice and soft on the face. Three passes of great lather usually make for a great shave, provided your razor edge is up to snuff. There is one thing that concerned me, which is a slight feeling of sting or burn on my face while the MWF lather was on. I sincerely hope this soap isn’t going to start irritating my skin, as I have been enjoying the scent and the lather immensely.

The Shave
I had to admit defeat here. Part way through the first pass, WTG, I felt enough tugging to know this was not going to be fun. Rather than soldier on with an edge that wasn’t ready for it, I opted to pull out my other Le Canadien (same blade, horn scales), the one honed by Maxi, and finish the shave with that razor. The difference in smoothness, keenness and comfort was palpable. I can definitely say I had not come close with this razor, yet, when compared to the edge on the identical blade of its brother. The three passes with that razor were a joy and I ended up with a nice smooth shave, only a little bit of irritation in the areas where I had stubbornly tried with the Snakewood, and a general sense of frustration with the whole honing process.

The Post
After such a nice shave with the Le Canadien edge, the post shave routine was still a touch unpleasant. The alum stung under my chin, while the Trumper’s Spanish Leather AS burned like fire. I finished off with some soothing Trumper’s Fragrance Free balm and then headed off to bed, tired and ready to crash.

The Verdict
Wednesday night’s shave was sort of a two-headed monster. On the one hand, I had the frustration of not getting the edge right on this razor, but on the other hand, had the smooth, close shave that came from the well-honed razor that served as backup. This razor gave me a lot of trouble to get the edge right the first time, so I’m sort of regretting rehoning it for JaNorton, though it definitely has been a learning experience.

Thursday Evening
Ok, so after Wednesday, my shave was pretty smooth. I probably could have just waited until Friday night for my next shave, but I was eager to get back on the horse. The Snakewood Le Canadien was going back on the hones for some more treatment. I was pretty beat after spending two days on my feet at a conference, but I figured a relatively quick shave would help me unwind at the end of the day.

The Anticipation
Despite being tired and a bit out of it after all day at a conference and most of the evening at SWMBO Jr’s dance school, I was itching to have another attempt at honing my Le Canadien. Once that was done, I headed into the bathroom for some stropping, eyeing my soap and brush in the process. From there, one thing lead to another and I decided I had better test-shave that razor right on the spot.

The Prep
There actually wasn’t much of it this time, as I simply splashed my face with some warm water and then began with the face-lathering. The razor had been given a good 50/100 on the webbing and ‘roo, so the next step was to check out the lather.

The Lather
Face-lathering with the Semogue Owner’s Club is a lot of fun. There really isn’t anything that balks this brush, it would seem. I soaked the bristles for a good 30-40 seconds under hot running water, let the excess water run out of the bristles, but didn’t shake the brush at all, then started to swirl. Swirling with a very wet brush takes some finesse, because too much pressure will cause the water to be squeezed out of the bristles, running into the soap dish and leading to poor loading. On the other hand, too light a touch will also cause poor loading, leading to runny, thin lather that has neither protection, nor slickness. A moderate amount of pressure and lot of swirling got me what I needed, which was a good pre-lather and a well loaded brush. This method also makes for a bit of a messy lathering experience around the sink area, but the amazing quality and quantity it produces make up for a little extra cleanup in the end. I haven’t face-lathered in a while and it was fun, with enough suds for an easy three passes with touch up. Should I have done three passes for a second day in a row? Well, that is something we should look at.

The Shave
It is not usually a good thing when the high point of the experience is the lather, but that was the case here. The shave was a bit troublesome, with the razor still pulling a bit. I managed to fight my way through two passes, though I question the wisdom of doing so, and I think my face would agree. Finally, for the third pass, I pulled out my W&B 7/8 Barber’s Use (the one with the bocote scales) and finished up with that blade. There was no mistaking the superiority of the edge, a wonderfully smooth, mild and great-shaving coticule job. I hope I can reproduce that edge again on my next coti honing, because the difference was night and day. I finished up with that, probably saving myself from some of the torture the post-shave was sure to bring.

The Post
The alum stung. The witch hazel even stung a bit. The Trumper’s Spanish Leather burned like the pit of hell. Instead of the Trumper’s balm, I opted to try rubbing some pure glycerine into my face. It was greasy and sticky, but it definitely left my face well-moisturized, once it dried. Once that was out of the way, I stropped the two razors and put them on the rack (though I’d like to stretch the TI over the rack!) and headed to bed.

The Verdict
I need to take a break from this TI razor and clear my “honing brain”. The comparison between the edges I’ve been using and the coticule edge on the W&B was like night and day. I have noticed that the coti edges tend to agree with my skin, as I’ve had good results with them in the past. It’s now been about 20 hours since I shaved and my neck is still tender, so I know tonight is out of the question. Maybe for February, I’ll do a coti month. One good thing is, I know my honing ability can only get better, since it can’t get any worse!

For better or for worse, I’m on The Straight Road!

Well, I have to admit, it was a tough week in shaving-land for me, but overall, I’m still having fun and more determined to learn to hone properly than ever. Of course, some new SGAD results have arrived in the past couple of days, including a finest badger knot from TGN, which should hopefully replace the scratchy black badger in my bocote shaving brush, as well as a Llyn Melynllyn purple Welsh slate hone, which are said to have great properties as finishers. I will try to get it lapped nice and smooth this evening and hopefully take it for a test run. My JaNorton patience has been stretched thin, though I have learned a lot, so a change of pace—and stones—might be just what I need to continue on my merry way.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Jack

This thread is outstanding. I myself am in a similar position now to where you a few months ago. I have been wet shaving with a safety razor for a while now and I find myself more and more drawn to the straight razor. It is just too tempting to not try. I am pretty comfortable with my skin prep and lathering now and I get pretty comfortable shaves with my DE. I have been doing the same process you did by reading, reading, reading, watching videos, more reading, etc. I think this thread has inspired my confidence enough to finally take the plunge. Thank you for the great info

Originally Posted by Cochese2323

This thread is outstanding. I myself am in a similar position now to where you a few months ago. I have been wet shaving with a safety razor for a while now and I find myself more and more drawn to the straight razor. It is just too tempting to not try. I am pretty comfortable with my skin prep and lathering now and I get pretty comfortable shaves with my DE. I have been doing the same process you did by reading, reading, reading, watching videos, more reading, etc. I think this thread has inspired my confidence enough to finally take the plunge. Thank you for the great info

I am glad to hear it! You won't find a nicer bunch than in the straight shaving community, especially here at SRP. There are some strange people, some opinionated people, and a lot of crazy people, but overall a great community and a lot of fun. Enjoy yourself with the straight and take it slow. This is a whole new world vs. the DE, with all new and dangerous ADs. There is something immensely satisfying about this when it all comes together.

Yeah the learning curve with the DE was pretty easy. This is a whole different animal. It is just so cool and classy. Just can't imagine anything better than a nice brush, a lather bowl and a straight razor sitting on the bathroom counter. I had a little family get together for new years at my house and everyone was fascinated by the the DE and the whole idea of making your own lather. It is so hard to describe the feeling to someone unless you actually experience it yourself. I imagine the feeling of straight shaving is even better. After 15+ years of being suckered into cartridge razor marketing, I am so glad I found this great hobby. Now.....to find a suitable razor. Off to the classifieds.

As has been said already.. brilliant thread, Jack. I always find something to learn in your postings, (and of course, checking out the shaving gear porn!).

I'd be curious to hear what you think is giving you fits with the honing, since I'm approaching that point on the road. Do you think it's technique.. gear... time in grade.. a combination?

Cheers,
Scott

Originally Posted by 94Terp

As has been said already.. brilliant thread, Jack. I always find something to learn in your postings, (and of course, checking out the shaving gear porn!).

I'd be curious to hear what you think is giving you fits with the honing, since I'm approaching that point on the road. Do you think it's technique.. gear... time in grade.. a combination?

Cheers,
Scott

Thanks for the kind words, Scott, I appreciate it.

As for honing, I think it's a combination of two things: my lack of experience and the hard steel on the TI Le Canadien razor. For example, my W&B Bow Razor is back to shaving wonderfully off the Nortons, but the TI is giving me a nightmare. I'm putting it aside for a while and will revisit it later, maybe on the coticule.

Originally Posted by jdto

Thanks for the kind words, Scott, I appreciate it.

As for honing, I think it's a combination of two things: my lack of experience and the hard steel on the TI Le Canadien razor. For example, my W&B Bow Razor is back to shaving wonderfully off the Nortons, but the TI is giving me a nightmare. I'm putting it aside for a while and will revisit it later, maybe on the coticule.

It sounds to me , like your bevel needs more work . I would keep honing on the 4k until you feel a suction between the blade and the hone . Good luck with it , whatever you do .