A Journey of 100 Shaves

...Begins with a single strop ;)

I've read over and over that it takes ~100 shaves until a decent level of proficiency is acquired in the art of straight razor shaving. While this number is obviously not absolute, I thought it would be interesting to keep track of how many shaves I'd completed as well as some notes, lessons learned, and things to improve from each. As of today I had shaved twice and had jotted down a few notes in a Word document. Then I realized, what better place to keep a running journal of each shave than here at Straight Razor Place? (After recent revelations, it looks like I will be shaving and updating the journal about every other day).

Of course, if anyone stopping by has any advice or comments, please post them up!

-Alex

First Shave – 12/26/11

My first shave! I looked back at my forum account and saw that I joined in Feb 2011- it took my almost a full year to finally get my hands on a set (courtesy of my wife). She got me set up with what looks to be a promising starter set- the Dovo BQ 5/8” set from SRD.

I had done a lot of reading last year, but it was time for some refreshing. It was evening when I finally decided I was ready to shave. Of course, everything was harder that I had assumed. The lather didn’t look quite right, my grip on the razor was clumsy (it looked so easy in pictures!), I couldn’t find the right angle to make my first pass.

But then I finally put the blade to skin and drew it down my cheek. It was sloppy, the hairs pulled, but I was doing it!

By the time I was done I had only managed to nick myself a half-dozen times, and my neck (which is prone to razor burn) was no more irritated than from a disposable. Parts of my face were smooth, others still a bit stubbly. I cleaned up with my Mach3…I had done it! My first shave with a straight!

On my list of improvements to make- Moustache, chin, and lower lip areas.

2nd Shave – 12/27/11

The biggest thing I learned from this shave is that I am one of those people that cannot shave every day. While the end result was a fairly smooth shave, the process was full of nicks and razor burn (and just from a single WTG pass!) Hopefully every other day will work for me. In the meantime I have decided to spend my non-shaving days doing more reading and learning.

I also realized today that one culprit of some of my nicks is my lather. It dries out too fast and makes the razor stick. Next shave I will try and get a good lather going before I even pull the razor out.

Things to improve? Lather

Sounds like a good start. The problems encountered seem to be common to most of us starting out on this journey but hopefully this thread will help others realize that their problems are not unique. Excellent idea and keep on shaving!

Try wetting down your face before re-applying lather for the next pass, I find this helps "wake up" drying out lather

One other thing about that dry lather. When I was first getting started, shaving my whole face took so long that the lather on one side was dry before I got to it, which is common. I learned on this site to just lather the side I was working on until I got faster/more proficient. Your lather may also need a little more water; try dribbling in a few drops, then working it with the brush, until just before it gets to the soupy/runny consistency. The 'cleanup' with the standard razor is also a great backup plan until you develop more confidence with the str8; I probably spent a couple of months doing that-rarely now.

Many of us also started with that Dovo 5/8" from SRD; honed by Lynn, it will give stellar shaves once you've got your "100 shaves" in (probably sooner, with your obvious enthusiasm). Keep us posted!

Keep at it Alex, so far so good.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by armiller17

I've read over and over that it takes ~100 shaves until a decent level of proficiency is acquired in the art of straight razor shaving.

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I'd like to know who keeps perpetuating this myth???? Where does it say this in an official capacity?

100 shaves is not only misleading, but sounds downright depressing too. Though I'm sure it took some members that many shaves to become proficient, but I'm willing to bet it took the vast majority of us far less. Some even as low as 10-15 shaves. Stropping, now that's another story. YMMV.

+1 for the above
Mine were more than good after probably 25, after that it was learning different angles and overall finesse and tweaking. BBS after almost every shave by 50 or so and feeling like a pro by 100 (even though I wasn't!:p).

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

Keep at it Alex, so far so good.



I'd like to know who keeps perpetuating this myth???? Where does it say this in an official capacity?

100 shaves is not only misleading, but sounds downright depressing too. Though I'm sure it took some members that many shaves to become proficient, but I'm willing to bet it took the vast majority of us far less. Some even as low as 10-15 shaves. Stropping, now that's another story. YMMV.

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Well, it's in the official guide to straight shaving written by..well I forgot his name but he's an expert and it's right there on page 22 paragraph 3 line 6.:rofl2:

I can definitely say that, while I could get decent shaves after 25, now that I've got 50 under my belt they are much better. I can only think that by #100 I'll be well on my way. That said, even guys who have thousands of straight shaves under their belts still get nicks from time to time.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, Alex!

I have been shaving for about 4 months now and all i can say is practice make perfect!! Also if you get the chance try diffident type razors.

I was lucky enough to try a variety of blades last week and learned what i like and what i did not..

Keep you chin up and your blade sharp!

Thanks for all the advise about lathers! I had read someone yesterday (I think it was somewhere on this forum) that some people had better luck whipping up some soap in their hand rather than a mug, while a few others recommended using a small rice bowl that was textured. On the way home from work I stopped by the World Market near my house and picked up a small japanese rice bowl. Its fairly textured inside and is actually small enough I can fit it in the palm of my hand. The best part? $2. I'm looking forward to giving it a try with my shave this evening.

I know there isn't any actual science or law behind the idea that it takes 100 shaves to be proficient, but I'd seen the idea propagated around the internet so many times I figured it would be a nice easy number to work towards. And if I get skilled before then, well, that will just give me plenty of shaves to work on different techniques or maybe a new razor!

I will be working on my 3rd shave this evening when I get home from work. But in the mean time, I thought I'd post up a picture of my shaving set. Just a basic SRD set with my new bowl and a gillette aftershave lotion from my Mach3 days.

Attachment 86057

A person can have a thousand shaves in and still find something to learn in SR shaving. I have well over 100 SR shaves in and I still find something new to learn about this craft. The learning never stops.

3rd Shave - 12/29/11

It seems I was right about my assumption that I need to shave every other day. Razor burn was minimal, if not even a little less than I am used to with a cartridge razor. I put more effort into my pre-shave set up for this one: I stropped a bit slower and paid more attention to the feel and sound of each strop and I spent more time getting my lather ready. I shaved a tad bit slower as well, though it felt like I was shaving in a more efficient manner.

I feel pretty comfortable with the WTG and XTG on my cheeks. I'm still having some trouble with my neck. My beard there grows in a strange pattern- the grain originates from my left collarbone and grows straight up to my left cheek, then arcing sideways across my throat

(the flag of seychelles comes to mind, haha)

Attachment 86126

I'm sure I'm hardly unique in having a difficult beard pattern, but I am unsure as the best way to handle it. Right now my strategy is to shave from the bottom of my neck up, which on my left is a WTG shave, but slowly becomes a XTG by the center and right. It works well enough, but does create some amount of razor burn.

I was overall happy with the shave, but I want to work on making the neck part of the shave more uniform in closeness, and less irritated.

4th Shave - 12/31/11

I think I have finally gotten a consistently good lather. I've put a little more time into whipping it up, and as some others advised, added a bit more water to the mixture as well. For once I went an entire shave without having any spots where it dried out. I've also started to reapply it more often as I shave. What is working for me is: Lather -> Strop -> re-Lather -> Shave cheeks and mustache -> re-Lather throat -> Shave throat. I repeat the same process again (minus the stropping) for the XTG pass.

I'm getting happier with how my jawline and chin look after each shave, but I still need to work on some improvements there.

5th Shave - 1/2/12

First shave of the New Year!

This shave had the least amount of irritation so far! I don't know if it is my skin getting used to the straight, my technique improving, or both, but there has been less and less razor burn after each shave. Today I barely felt any at all after I cleaned up and put on my aftershave.

I've also gotten better about getting the bottom of my chin, which has been a spot I've been unhappy with so far. I still am having some trouble with my mustache- particularly the area just under my nose. I tend to have to clean that up with my cartridge because I'm not sure how best to approach it. That's my project for the next shave.

6th Shave - 1/4/12

I don't know that I tried anything new with this shave, but I did make several observations:

Even after only a few shaves, I now feel comfortable enough with WTG and XTG on my cheeks that its been several shaves since there was any stubble or cuts on that area of my face. I could probably get it even closer with an ATG, but I haven't really tried. I started an ATG approach once some time last week, but it felt like it was going to tear up my face so I abandoned it.

On my throat, there is just one small patch (about the size of a quarter) that will get razor burned seemingly no matter how well I prep or how little pressure I use. If a razor of any type passes over it, its irritated. It tends to clear up fairly well, and for now I have other things to focus on.

I am still having troubles with the mustache area. I am unsure of how to best approach it, and because of that the razor will slow down significantly as I shave there, leaving me prone to small nicks if my face or the blade moves side to side. While I haven't cut myself in this way for a few shaves, I don't like that I leave myself open to it.

Lately I have been wondering if an alum block might be a good addition to my post-shave routine. I will probably acquire one sometime soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by armiller17

6th Shave - 1/4/12
I am still having troubles with the mustache area. I am unsure of how to best approach it, and because of that the razor will slow down significantly as I shave there, leaving me prone to small nicks if my face or the blade moves side to side. While I haven't cut myself in this way for a few shaves, I don't like that I leave myself open to it.

Lately I have been wondering if an alum block might be a good addition to my post-shave routine. I will probably acquire one sometime soon.

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1. I find using my right hand is much easier than left for under the nose and parts of my chin. That said, I start in the middle with the spine touching my nose, maybe using two hands, making a yawn face so my lip is stretched, as I draw down, increase the angle of the blade, taking off only about 1/4 to 3/8 inch each pass.

2. I saw you mentioned razor burn in another post, for me, eliminating this on my face came down to not making too many passes in one area without having lather there. I shaved last night wtg, xtg x2 with zero burn. I just keep lots of lather in the area of shaving. Also when you apply the lather make sure you rub it in with your hand. I find that just placing it on the skin with a brush doesn't quite get it attached to the skin but that's me. I brush on, hand rub, re brush.

Razor burn. Lighten up on the pressure. I know it feels like you need to press into the skin to cut the hair, after all thats how it worked with your past razors... Use very light pressure and you can make more passes even when the shaving cream is already scraped off. Not too light, not too much pressure.... It will Feel right when you have gotten it right... Light pressure is more important on the mustash area so perhaps that is where you have the problem with that area. Nice smooth scoop motion with very light touch. Make smaller short movements if you need to.

Thanks for the great advice guys. I've managed to slowly confine my razor burn to one area on my throat, just below my jaw on the left. Jeffegg2- you might be right about me using too much pressure. The hair here has typically been harder to shave, and I probably am used to pressing harder with a cartridge to cut it smooth.


7th Shave - 1/7/12

While in the shower before my shave I noticed that behind my wife's shampoos was a small can of barbasol slowly rusting away in the shower, unused in several weeks. I remembered reading somewhere on SRP that some people used to lather up with Barbasol in the shower to help prep their beard if they were going to shave afterwards. I figured I'd give it a try.

After getting out of the shower my stubble felt as rough as I've ever noticed it to- the shaving cream certainly got their hair to stand up, but I don't know that it did anything to soften it. The rest of the prep I did the same as I have been- lather, strop, re-lather. I don't know that I noticed any difference that the Barbasol pre-lather caused, either positive or negative.

I tried klingenmeister's advice on approaching the mustache and was able to shave more of the area than I have been. I still didn't get it all, but I think its a mix of my amateur technique combined with feeling like I'm going to cut myself at any minute when I attempt the mustache. Still, I made a little more progress in tackling that area, and I look forward to getting more and more as time goes on.

All in all, not a bad shave :)

8th Shave - 1/10/11

This was my first shave in which I did not cut myself once in the process! I don't know if or how long I will be able to keep the streak going, but I was pretty happy with myself for it.

This shave I REALLY paid attention to the angle of the blade when shaving my chin and jawline. Previously it "seemed like" I was using the proper angle, but after many rough passes and pulling I finally took the time to really examine what I was doing. What I found out shouldn't be a surprise to anyone- I was cutting at much to steep of an angle (nearing 45), and unconsciously making up for the inefficient cutting by applying too much pressure. I worked on correcting both, and wouldn't you know it? I got the closest shave yet along my jaw and chin. Of course these were all techniques I knew I should be doing, but I think I had to develop some level of proficiency in the basics before I could understand what felt right vs. wrong.

I have not mentioned it for several posts, but I have been getting better still at my lather. I have not had a problem with it drying on my face for a long time now. One thing I have noticed, however, is that sometimes the lather seems to improve just by sitting. Is this something that can happen, or is this a figment of my imagination? What I mean is I whip up the lather, brush it to my face, strop, and then when I come back to reapply the lather it seems to be slightly more firm and full. I didn't whip it anymore, it just sat in the bowl while a stropped. Not that I'm complaining ;), just wondering.

Nice Thread

Shows you that "Knowing" and "Doing" are two different things! So much of this is muscle memory and can only be accomplished by practice.

It sounds like you'll be straight shaving for quite some time.....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by armiller17

8th Shave - 1/10/11

This was my first shave in which I did not cut myself once in the process! I don't know if or how long I will be able to keep the streak going, but I was pretty happy with myself for it.

This shave I REALLY paid attention to the angle of the blade when shaving my chin and jawline. Previously it "seemed like" I was using the proper angle, but after many rough passes and pulling I finally took the time to really examine what I was doing. What I found out shouldn't be a surprise to anyone- I was cutting at much to steep of an angle (nearing 45), and unconsciously making up for the inefficient cutting by applying too much pressure. I worked on correcting both, and wouldn't you know it? I got the closest shave yet along my jaw and chin. Of course these were all techniques I knew I should be doing, but I think I had to develop some level of proficiency in the basics before I could understand what felt right vs. wrong.

I have not mentioned it for several posts, but I have been getting better still at my lather. I have not had a problem with it drying on my face for a long time now. One thing I have noticed, however, is that sometimes the lather seems to improve just by sitting. Is this something that can happen, or is this a figment of my imagination? What I mean is I whip up the lather, brush it to my face, strop, and then when I come back to reapply the lather it seems to be slightly more firm and full. I didn't whip it anymore, it just sat in the bowl while a stropped. Not that I'm complaining ;), just wondering.

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9th Shave - 1/12/11

I haven't talked about it much here, but I was pretty happy with my stropping before this shave. I have a hanging strop that I usually hook over the hand-towel hook in the bathroom. I wouldn't say that previous to this shave I was stropping poorly, but I think I just happened to find the optimal angle for me to hold the strop out at in order to keep it taught and flat. I played with the positioning a bit more and tried to commit the position I found to memory.

I did cut myself this time around- at the top of my cheekbone. It was an easily avoidable mistake- I came down over my cheekbone with the same angle I would use on the flat of my cheek. Pretty much as soon as I made contact with the skin I realized my error but it was too late to avoid a little nick. Nothing too terrible... and on the other hand I was pleased that I was able to instantly understand what I had done wrong and how to fix it. I must be learning a few things!

Got myself a nice smooth shave before seeing the in-laws for dinner tonight!

Great journal! I am enjoying reading your first steps down The Straight Road.

I see a lot of what I went through at the start, as well.

10th Shave - 1/15/11

Does anyone else here just love the feeling of applying that second lather on a freshly WTG'ed face? I have to say, its one of the small pleasures that I look forward to every shave.

The last several shaves I did every 3 days or so instead of every other. I had a particularly bad spot of razor burn/ingrown hair that I was trying to lay off of and let clear up. I think it has finally gone away now, so hopefully I can get back into my every other day rotation again! One thing I did notice during this holiday from shaving as often as I'd like was that I'd find myself frequently thinking about a particular pass, fiddling with my razor, or even once at work I found myself pulling the skin on my neck trying to envision a better way to approach certain spots.

I'll admit it- 10 shaves in with a straight and I'm addicted!

This shave went well. I decided to shave just before heading to bed. What a better way to decompress from the day than to slow down and enjoy some time with a straight?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by armiller17

10th Shave - 1/15/11

Does anyone else here just love the feeling of applying that second lather on a freshly WTG'ed face? I have to say, its one of the small pleasures that I look forward to every shave.

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I know what you mean ! I take it a step farther , and use a freshly stropped razor for my 2nd pass . It's not really necessary , but it makes a difference to me .

I think it's great that you're taking the time to share your experience's with us . Your journal will give insight , and encouragement to those who have yet to try the straight razor .

Thanks Dave5225!

As a long time lurker on these boards before I started posting I found it quite helpful to read other people's posts to see their trial and error processes in finding that right strop, XTG angle, aftershave, etc. I wanted to start this thread as both a reference to myself as I wind my way down the straight road, as well as make public all my newbie questions, mistakes, revelations, and (hopefully) solutions. The quest for that BBS is definitely easier knowing that it isn't just you who has had those perplexing or frustrating moments!

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Originally Posted by bloodhoundman

Nice Thread

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You may already know this, but for those who don't, one can always rate the thread. The link is on the right side right above the first post on a page.

I've been looking for an update . What happened ?

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Originally Posted by dave5225

I've been looking for an update . What happened ?

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Grad school happened ;). Its been busy, but I have been thinking about how I need to update this thread!

11th Shave - 1/23/12

A week since my last shave! Don't know what happened- a mix of laziness and being busy, perhaps.

Due my my stubble being more like an early beard, there was much more pulling during this shave than usual. Still, I never fail to be impressed as to how easily the SR can just glide through the hair and how much it can take off in one pass. This shave made me think of how often I would have to be washing out my Mach 3, if I was still using it. I think at best I could get 3, maybe 4 swipes before the cartridge was gummed up with lather and hair.

My mustache, as some of you may know, has been the main technique I have been working on for many weeks. Today was the closest I have gotten to completely shaving it with the SR. The only area I'm having real trouble with now is just under my nose- something like the upper half of a Charlie Chaplan. What is the best way to approach this spot? I'm not really sure how to hold the razor at the correct angle when approaching that hard to reach area.



12th Shave - 1/26/12

Finally back on schedule of shaving every other day(ish). Nicked my strop while getting ready for the shave. Nothing serious, but I was a little disappointed in myself for the sloppy technique. I suppose in reality I haven't been stropping very long at all and it probably takes a long time before muscle memory really takes over and your technique is constant.

No complaints about the shave here- didn't take too long and had minimal irritation after. I have been playing with my lather again. I'm not unhappy with it, but I figured there is always room for improvement. Today I added a bit more water than I normally do. I think I almost got it right- the result was a bit too runny and I had to add more soap to the mix. I do think, however, that if I use a tiny bit more water than I usually do, the lather will last longer on my face before it starts drying out.

I've actually begun to think about acquiring a second SR. Right now I just have one, and as I was trying to explain to my wife a few days ago, I don't want to have to go back to the Mach 3 whenever I send this one away to be honed. While the razor is still months away from needing a honing (barring and tragic edge killing accident), I have found myself clicking around the classifieds more and more. Not looking too seriously at the moment, but I can't say I wouldn't buy if the right razor caught my eye...

13th Shave - 1/30/12

Nice evening shave. After a day of work followed by running around the the banks re-organizing several accounts, it was nice to have some time after dinner to decompress, relax and enjoy a shave.

For the first time I was able to do something of a XTG pass on my chin. Previously I have tried to attempt it, but the feeling of resistance kept me from continuing on (and probably tearing up the skin). After some manipulation today it looks like I wasn't pulling the skin taught enough and coming in at too much of an angle. It can be pretty hard for me to judge what angle I'm cutting at with an XTG pass, but I think I'm doing better.

One thing that I would really like to work on into the future is being able to shave with my left hand. Currently I am doing my whole face with my right, and I have a very awkward time shaving my left cheek and my lower right neck. I've been fairly resistant to letting my left hand start to learn since I know it will be sloppier than shaving with my right, but I suppose it has to happen at some point. I think when I shave next I'll give the left hand a go.

I forget how many shaves I did , using only my right hand . I think it had to be around 25 at least . I finally got the courage to try my left hand , and found out it was actually not all that difficult .

A year and a half and I'm still on my right hand....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jeffegg2

A year and a half and I'm still on my right hand....

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Well now I don't feel so bad about not feeling comfortable with my left. I've held the razor up to my face with my left hand a few times, but I'm just not sure I trust it to hold a constant angle and not jerk around.

14th Shave - 2/2/12

(wow, is it really february already? January just flew by....)

Once again another nice nighttime shave. The wife was in bed already, and the cat with her, so it was just me and the Razor ;).

Spent a little more time than usual stropping today. I didn't actually strop more perse, but instead went slower and paid more attention to my technique. After bouncing around the beginners forum a bit over the last few days I was reminded how important to the success of a shave that stropping can be. I think I have a good grasp of how stropping ought to be done, but I thought it might be valuable to slow down a bit and re-examine my technique. (there's just something therapeutic with the feeling of running a razor up and down that leather, isn't there?)

The shave itself went well- I actually found myself humming along at one point as I was shaving under my jawline. It made me chuckle a bit...barely over a month ago I was hesitant to even put the blade to my neck, and now here it is slowly becoming something I don't have to concentrate so much on.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been getting the itch more and more to buy another razor so I don't have to be without whenever I need to get this one honed. I'd also like to learn to hone myself in the future, but I'll hold off on that for now. SR shaving is a complex enough process without me biting off too much at once!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by armiller17

14th Shave - 2/2/12

(wow, is it really february already? January just flew by....)

.....

The shave itself went well- I actually found myself humming along at one point as I was shaving under my jawline. It made me chuckle a bit...barely over a month ago I was hesitant to even put the blade to my neck, and now here it is slowly becoming something I don't have to concentrate so much on.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been getting the itch more and more to buy another razor so I don't have to be without whenever I need to get this one honed. I'd also like to learn to hone myself in the future, but I'll hold off on that for now. SR shaving is a complex enough process without me biting off too much at once!

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Don't let your guard down , when you're shaving . I remember my first , and second good cut was on or about my 16th shave . I thought I was getting pretty good 'til then . I'm not trying to scare you , I'm just letting you know that no matter how much experience you have , you always need to pay attention to what you're doing with the blade .

15th Shave - 2/4/11

For the first time I got my chin to the same level of smoothness as the rest of my face! I have been struggling with trying to find the best pass, angle, position of my chin, etc to achieve a closer shave, but before today all I could get was an ok-looking, but not completely smooth shaven chin. What worked for me finally was a series of XTG passes while i scrunch up my chin, then again while I open my mouth and stretch the skin down versus up (Hopefully this makes sense, its kind of hard to describe).

Assuming that I can continue this strategy to shave my chin much smoother, the only other problem area I now have is the front of my throat, from adam's apple down almost to my collar bone. The hair here grows left to right which is giving me some trouble. I'm not really sure how to shave "across" my throat versus up and down it. The result is this area ends up with two XTG passes and tends to remain a little rougher than the rest of my neck. Figuring out how to achieve a better shave on this part of my throat is my newest project.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by armiller17

I'm not really sure how to shave "across" my throat versus up and down it. The result is this area ends up with two XTG passes and tends to remain a little rougher than the rest of my neck. Figuring out how to achieve a better shave on this part of my throat is my newest project.

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I have a similar situation with the hair on my neck. What helps me is angling the blade lengthwise so that the hair is being cut on and angle instead of keeping the edge perpendicular to the direction of the pass. Hope that makes sense... I can draw a pic if I need to.

16th Shave - 2/8/12

Had gotten a little lazy on shaving, but getting a haircut after work made me decide to stop looking like a bum. It was another nice evening shave, after my wife went to bed.

I had two projects for this shave- First, to keep a more constant pace while stropping, even if that meant slowing down more than I usually do. Secondly, I wanted to continue and tackle the area on my throat that I mentioned last shave.

The stropping went well. I really paid attention to what I was doing, and I found that just by slowing down a bit my technique improved visibly. I'll have to try and keep that up in the future. I know that stropping is incredibly important to a successful shave, but I think sometimes I (subconsciously) just want to get to the shave! I haven't really been neglecting stropping in the past, but I think that I wasn't putting as much effort into improving there as I was with the shave itself. Luckily, I realized this, and now I can keep improving with the strop too!

As for my second goal for the shave- I'm sitting here at work and I still feel incredibly satisfied with how shaving my throat went. I took myersn024's advice along with some other things I had read and tried as best I could. My goal was to try and use as few passes with the razor as I had to, as I've learned through my life that part of my throat is one of the most prone to razor burn. I cut up from the bottom of my throat at maybe a 45 degree angle. With the hair growing left to right this became something of a half WTG half XTG pass. It worked amazingly well. Only a few spots did I have to clean up, and this was easily accomplished with the usual XTG pass.

I must say I'm pleased with how the shave went, and another round of thanks to all those who read my thread and give me advice (on this and all my other troubles! ;) )

This is really encouraging to read, I'm a complete newbie with the same razor.

I was told my razor was shave ready but I'm getting honed and re-scale in the coming weeks. I found my hands get in the way of my line of vision when shaving.

Hoping once it's honed and I know it's correct ill be able to give it a better more dedicated approach.

Thanks for the journal!

I love reading your shave journal...I am going to start one once my strop arrives :)