5th shave, the planets have aligned and I'm in love!
Let me just say wow! I acquired a matching pair J.A. Henckels Friodur razors today from a retired barber I know. I had joked around in a thread I had posted about them in the razors forum saying I'd bet I could give them a good stropping and probably shave with them they were in such good condition. So when I got home tonight I did just that. I did 30 laps on the harder leather and 60 on the softer finishing leather. Did a quick arm hair test followed by a HHT and it looked good so away I went.
Stated off with a hot shower while my bowl and brush soaked in hot water. I used a sea salt scrub while in the shower. When I was done I whipped another fine lather using my Bald Frog Soap, adding a few drops of glycerin just to experiment a little. Lathered up and got to shaving. From my first pass down my cheek I could already tell a huge difference. The razor cut like a hot knife through butter. Now the rest of this post I know while shock some veterans and I'm sure you will find it hard to believe, I even can't believe it, but trust me it's 100% true. I was able to go through all three passes with no trouble at all. Something just clicked, I seriously felt like a duck in water, like I had been doing this my whole life. I was able to notice and use the feedback the razor was giving me to adjust my angles. Just from the sound of the razor I could tell if I was to steep or to shallow, or if I needed to go over it again. Even my chin and lip were a breeze which is shocking seeing how I just posted after my last shave asking for advice in these areas cause I was having so much trouble. Especially my lip which had a lot of tugging and pulling and was out right uncomfortable a pretty much painful. In the end...BBS! Yes thats right BBS, to the point that it even surpassed what I had thought was the closest possible shave achieved with my cartridge.
Now I don't know what was so different this time around but it was like a whole new world of shaving. Was it the razor? My previous shaves were with a W&B 5/8 French tip, quarter hollow smiling blade, freshly honed by the honemeister himself. This one as I stated before was with a J.A. Henckels Friodur 451 5/8, spike point, full hollow. Lord knows when it was last honed, all I did was give a proper stropping.
Was it my technique? I know my angles are getting better and I'm more confident in my strokes but could it really make that big of a difference? IDK....
What ever it was let me just say I couldn't be happier or more excited than I am right now. This is exactly what I was hoping for when I started this venture into straight shaving. Like I said I know some of you veterans will find this hard to believe but I swear on everything it's just how I stated.
In closing I would like to thank SRP and all it's members. In the three weeks leading up to my first SR shave I spent all my free time on here reading, posting and asking questions. Every one here has been so encouraging, willing and readily forthcoming to share your knowledge and experience with me. I know there is still much for me to learn and skills that need to be honed but I honestly doubt I would have been this successful this quick if it weren't' for you guys. So once again THANK YOU! And to all my fellow novices out there, don't give up or get discouraged. I by no means think I'm an expert nor do I claim to be but let me just say the one thing we all have in common is achievable....The perfect shave and a damn fun time doing it!:rock:
