Howdy y’all… I posted a thread in here when I first joined raising some concerns about my early experiences as a newbie with the Feather AC. That had been my first foray into straight razor shaving, having recently ‘graduated’ from DEs. Well, I wanted to just post a quick update on my experiences since then.
I purchased a new regular str8 – a 5/8 Dovo round point carbon (from Tony Miller), and my first experiences with it with it were a little dodgy at best… I attributed that to A) the basic (and expected) differences in performance between that edge and the Feather, B) my beard being tougher than I thought, and C) the very real possibility that I totally whiffed on my first stropping attempt and screwed up the edge. I sent the Dovo to Lynn for re-honing, and then decided to try and soldier on with the Feather rather than reverting back to my Merkur DE.
So in the interim, I’m happy to say that I am getting the hang of this beast! I decided to heed Joe Lerch’s sage advice – to respect and enjoy the sharpness of the Feather – and I’m really glad I did (thanks Joe!). :tu My daily shave keeps getting better and better, and my technique is steadily improving. Hell, I’ve even begun shaving with both hands – something I would not have even considered early on. I do now have a nice new little battle scar on my left cheek that is likely to leave a very tiny but permanent mark (probably ¼ inch), but hey – that’s a sign of character, right?!? ;) And, as you would expect, that was totally my fault – I got distracted for a split second and got a little reminder of why it’s so important not to allow that to happen. Lesson learned! :o
There is no question that this razor gives me an incredibly close shave. Going forward, I plan to definitely keep the Feather in my rotation, and continue to enhance/perfect my technique to the point where I can adapt it to different blades and razor types. Oh – and for any other newbies out there reading this – public service announcement: BUY LYNN’S DVD AT ONCE. Do not hesitate, go do it right now. And then watch it. Repeatedly. I promise you it will be the best $21 you’ve ever spent! :bow
And now… I embark upon my “soap experimentation phase”! :D
Cheers!
Randy