Thread: The Noob Chronicle - My Straight Razor Experience

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

Wow, that 1K challenge makes a lot of sense. It kinda of defines my whole approach to sharpening, though I guess setting a proper bevel is just something I assumed. I dont move on until I have what I like at the low stones, then I just smoothed out those scratches with the next couple stones and finally I give the edge a good inspection and test cuts. After that its just rubbing scratches till the old scratches are gone, grabbing another stone and repeating in a different direction. Except with a razor I can create the edge on 1K (okay i used a DMT Fine, 600 grit) and it just gets a bit finer from there. Then the big plus is the bevel is like 1/8" or 1/16" an inch at 2 inches long. I unfortunately could not participate as I just got done with the C-nat-athon. My second hone shaved as good as the first!

Well I hope your insanities stay within a reasonable amount, all your bevels stay set and your bowl stays full!

The Straight Road - Part 76: Marlborough Country
Well, it's been another interesting week on The Straight Road, starting off on Monday morning when we awoke to SWMBO Jr. and a 39 C fever, which meant I was staying home with her. Monday was fairly uneventful as I did what work I could without my computer from the office and making sure to keep an eye on her. Unfortunately, Tuesday wasn't any better, so I had my laptop couriered up from the office so I could do some work. Naturally, for those two days, I didn't bother with shaving, though I did get a fair bit of work done. Finally, on Wednesday, I asked SWMBO to get a supply for herself for Thursday so I could get to the office, as missing a whole week wasn't in the cards based on how much needed to be done. That meant a shave on Wednesday afternoon, which is where this chronicle kicks off. This week's kit of choice was Marlborough from DR Harris with my Friodur and Semogue Owners Club, a formidable lineup, indeed.

Wednesday

The Anticipation
After three days at home with a sick kid, I was grumpy and scruffy. With SWMBO on her way home, I figured I'd get cleaned up and have dinner ready, so I headed in for a nice hot shower and shave. Knowing the lineup that was waiting for me, I knew I was in for a treat, so off I went.

The Prep
The hot shower, naturally, followed by a nice stropping of the blade with 50 passes on the 'roo. I had forgotten to soak the brush before getting in the shower, so I ran it under hot water for a minute while I stropped, while also letting the top of the soap soak. With the pre-shave steps out of the way, it was time to dive into the real business.

The Lather
This brush combined with this soap make for a delightful lather. DR Harris soaps have been a joy for me, performing better that any other hard soap I've tried so far, though it's a close thing with MWF. The face-lathering I did with the SOC and the Marlborough got me a thick, abundant and creamy lather, which was slick and protective. Really, I can't complain about any part of it.

The Shave
Another winner, the Henckels 8/8 Friodur, simply wiped the three days of growth off my face like nothing. It took two passes and some touch ups to get me clean and smooth, though I admit to having to take a bit of extra time under the nose area due to the large size of the blade. I find that I need to be careful in the soul patch area, even after all these months, but my stroke is much more confident and I am happy to report that I went completely nick-free.

The Post
I decided to go with alum after a thorough rinse with cold water. Of late, I've been skipping the alum and I think I might do so again in the future. I've noticed that, with certain soaps that dry a bit more, using alum leaves my skin a bit more dry than I'd like, even with moisturizer. Following the alum, I applied the DRH Marlborough splash, then some Trumper's Fragrance Free balm, after that, it was the DRH cologne and I was ready to receive my beautiful wife when she arrived home.

The Verdict
That was a heck of a shave that left me feeling good and smooth, happy with the products and the hardware used to achieve it. A lot of the frustration from my early days has dissipated, which is a great feeling. Shaving is now a pleasurable ritual of relaxation during my week, an oasis of calm. Good stuff!

Friday

The Anticipation
I had been on a bit of a run of morning shaves not too long ago, so I decided to have another one on Friday morning to help start the day off right, especially after the great shave I got on Wednesday.

The Prep
The regular hot shower, with Real Shaving Creamy Face Wash to help condition things. This time, I had remembered to pre-soak the brush, pre-strop the blade and pre-wet the soap, so out of the shower it was straight to the suds.

The Lather
Once again, the SOC and the DRH soap delivered in spades. I've been neglecting my scuttle a little bit with all the face lathering lately, but, hey, it works! There was plenty of lather for two passes, with touch-ups and enough left over to wash my hands.

The Shave
Not much else to say here that hasn't been said before. I ended up smooth and the shave was easy. The only extra comment I might add is, the blade felt a touch less smooth than last time, which I figured could be fixed up with a touch-up on the balsa strop.

The Verdict
Not a bad way to start the day. Smelling good, feeling good and looking good!

Saturday
With Toronto playing on Saturday against the visitors from Columbus, it was soccer day for me, so I decided to get cleaned up and hope my good feeling would transmit to the team and we'd get a win!

This shave was just another wonderful continuation of the week's success. After touching up the edge on the razor with 25 passes on the CrOx side, 25 on the FeOx side and 50 on the 'roo strop, I dived into the shave and got an even better shave than I had on Friday. Unfortunately, my preparation and my ritual had no bearing on the outcome of the game, a 1-nil loss. Still, at least I looked and smelled great. Sometimes the shave rescues what could otherwise be a bad day.

After all, life's too short for too many bad days on The Straight Road!

This week coming up should be fun! We've got a meetup for the Toronto area SRP members on Saturday, Friday is a day off and the weather is shaping up to be pleasant. I've got a Gold Dollar razor on loan to test it out, so it will be interesting to try this notorious razor and see how the shave goes.

Until then, have a great one and thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Jack

I went for a flashback after reading that. Reading up on page one, oh what a difference 5 days short of 6 months makes! Imma make a quiet toast to you when your done. You sir have done a lot of hard work, and not only persisted in the shaves, but in documenting them.

The Straight Road - Part 77: Closing In
After a couple of weeks without writing up my shaves, I've only had five shaves to my name! Things have been hectic, as usual, and I've also been a bit under the weather, with a bad back for a whole week and a pretty decent hangover somewhere in the middle there. Of course, last weekend was the occasion for a great straight shavers meet-up in the Toronto area, as we were hosted by Dllandry at the Legion hall in Scarborough. As usual, the even was a hit, with wonderful food, good people, some beer (yeah, some haha) and, of course, razors and hones. We put Maxi to work, showing us some of his honing techniques on different stones as he helped us with our troublesome razors. I was lucky enough to have him give me a hand with the W&B near wedge that's been tying my honing skills in knots for the past month or so. I also picked up a really nice W&B Bow Razor blade from Dllandry, which had spent some time in his tumbler. It really came out great and now I need to get the scales put on, so I can add another beauty to my rotation. The other nice little surprise of the past two weeks was the arrival of a Gold Dollar 300 razor, which was loaned to me by a member of the wet shaving community. These razors have been the source of much controversy, but when they are worked into shaving shape (no task for a beginner, that's for sure), they can be made to shave very well. As it's been a while, I will summarize my weeks of shaving, as opposed to one at a time.


April 1-7



This was the week of the Gold Dollar, during which I was able to squeeze in two straight shaves and a DE shave on Good Friday. The gear of choice for the week was TOBS Shaving Shop, which is a less popular lineup, but whose scent and performance I have come to quite enjoy. The brush I chose to test alongside the Chinese steel was my trusty bocote handle with the TGN Finest knot, which is a face-lathering champ. Yes, that's right, I face-lathered my cream, rather than using the scuttle. At this point in my journey, there is not much sense in me extolling the virtues of the lathering properties of my products and hardware, as those who have read my stuff will know them by now. That said, I'll simply comment that both on Monday and on Wednesday, the TOBS did not let me down, producing a wonderful, protective lather that lasted for two passes touch-ups. The Gold Dollar did the job admirably, removing the stubble of two days of growth with no trouble whatsoever. Again, I won't recommend that a new shaver buy these razors, but if you want a cheap piece of half-decent steel with which to fool around, mod or otherwise play, this might be a good place to start.

By the end of the first week of April, things had gone very well with my GD, but on Good Friday we were having a bit of a lazy day around the house, so I decided to pull out the Proraso and the Gillette Fatboy, into which I slipped a Feather blade and went for three passes, which got me a very nice shave, though not as nice as I can get with a straight. I do think I need some more practice with a DE before my technique will approach that of my straight shaving.

Saturday was, of course, the meet-up, so there was no shaving done by me. A lot of drinking, though. Probably too much!

April 8-14



After the meet-up, I was in no mood to shave on Sunday, nor was I in very good shape, as I had fallen asleep on the couch in our living room, which tends to do bad things to my back. Good thing our boss had given us the day off on Monday, so I was able to at least rest it for one more day. This also gave me a chance to try the edge on my W&B, which had been bugging me for a while. I decided I'd use a luxurious and reliable line of shaving products, so I opted for my RazoRock King Louis Lavender lineup, as well as my Semogue 1460, which is breaking in to become quite a nice little brush. Monday's shave was alright, but I must say I had a bit of a challenge with holding my position in front of the mirror due to my stiff back. I also found that, having not used the KLL soap in a while, that I didn't add as much water into the lather as was needed, so the lather dried on me a bit. On top of those two bumps in the road, the heavy blade on this razor just didn't feel all that comfortable for me. I also found that I had to do an extra pass to get the same quality of shave that I usually get in two passes from my hollow ground razors. So there was definitely some adjustment required there. In the end, I found a couple of whiskers were missed during my shave, so I used my little kamisori to touch up after I had applied the ASB. Thursday's shave was much the same, though I did find that I got a close shave on the chin area and had less stray whiskers missed, which would seem to indicate some progress. The KLL lather was also much better the second time around, as the amount of water required to get it to lather well came back to me. This is one benefit I'm finding of my latest technique of sticking with one lineup for at least a week is that I get to know both the blade and the products much more intimately. I am considering trying a month with the same gear, which would allow me to really dial in the technique and also to do some edge testing off the hones.

The final shave of the week was this afternoon, as I ducked into the bathroom to escape SWMBO's wrath at not having shaved for a few days and to get out of her way so she could sweep and mop (tasks which, even though she's now almost up to 5 months, she won't relinquish to me - not that I'm complaining too loudly yet). Today's shave followed the same pattern as the previous two, as I felt a bit more comfortable with the razor and the lather was my best one yet with that brush/soap combination. In the end, I was left smooth and smelling great, which felt really good at the end of a busy weekend.

All in all, I'd say I'm moving along nicely in my progress down The Straight Road!

This week saw me ding shave number 94 of my first 100 straight razor shaves (yes, I counted). Only a few more and I guess I'll graduate from being a total noob to only a beginner? Anyway, whatever the "ranking system" may say, I am certainly happy that I found this little corner of the world, from the people, to the experience, it's been only positive.

Next blog might just include shave number 100! I'll have to pick the gear very carefully for that momentous occasion.

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Jack