12th Shave Yesterday. No nicks. I can now reliably do one full WTG North-to-South

I only left a few hairs standing this time. Did some mini WTG passes to clean up the black hairs and left some small white hairs around my mouth.

I think I'd like to get some CrOx paste to "wake up" my razor as I've seen Lynn say around here somewhere. I haven't seen any canvas or linen strops except for maybe the replaceable panels for Lynn's paddle. Do I need a proper linen/canvas strop for CrOx? Could I use an old piece of denim or something?

While I figure out how I'm going to to that, I think I'm going to the north side of town to see an old barber that still straight razor shaves. He might touch up his own razors...

You shaved with a straight only 12 times and you didn't have any nicks on your 12th try? Gee whiz!

(Envious slow learner reporting for training...)

good stuff...Im not big on the pastes and stuff so I'll leave that for someone else to answer :)

Why are you looking to use CrOx? is your razor pulling or tugging?

I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" that is if your razor is still shaving comfortably then leave it alone, just strop as normal. when it starts to pull then you can hit it with CrOx on balsa or linen etc

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Originally Posted by mcgyver74

Why are you looking to use CrOx? is your razor pulling or tugging?

I'm a big fan of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" that is if your razor is still shaving comfortably then leave it alone, just strop as normal. when it starts to pull then you can hit it with CrOx on balsa or linen etc

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I feel like the shave could be smoother, and I feel like the razor bounces sometimes. I also read in an old popular thread something about carbon steel razors needing a touch up after 10 or so shaves.

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Originally Posted by Majestic

I feel like the shave could be smoother, and I feel like the razor bounces sometimes. I also read in an old popular thread something about carbon steel razors needing a touch up after 10 or so shaves.

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The bouncing razor points to the lather not being slick enough for the blade to glide over your face.

If the blade isn't sharp enough it won't bounce. It will just give you a substandard shave. You can irritate your face with a dull blade by pressing it too hard against your face to get the whiskers off.

Check out your lather first.

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Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

The bouncing razor points to the lather not being slick enough for the blade to glide over your face.

If the blade isn't sharp enough it won't bounce. It will just give you a substandard shave. You can irritate your face with a dull blade by pressing it too hard against your face to get the whiskers off.

Check out your lather first.

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One more thing, I'm getting a pimple here and there about a day and a half to two days out from the shave. It's not as many as I had with my Mach3, but it's still happening. I'm guessing this is lack of postshave treatment.

Maj, Bravo!
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Strop pastes can extend the time before rehoning, but stones will be required at some point. I tried the stropping on 2 sheets of newsprint, backed by a hard, smooth, flat surface (c12k in my case), and was quite pleased w/ the result. 'Not sufficient by itself - needs linen/leather stropping after that, but unlike the pasted strop, it doesn't make your edge convex or curved - keeps the bevel flat.

should you need touch ups w/ stones - pm me. 'Postage & envelope costs only.

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Originally Posted by CaliforniaCajun

You shaved with a straight only 12 times and you didn't have any nicks on your 12th try? Gee whiz!

(Envious slow learner reporting for training...)

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I've used a straight about a dozen times myself and I'm in roughly the same boat as Majestic. From what I've read, it seems that after 10-15 shaves most people have a breakthrough where it feels much more natural and less labor intensive. I know that's what happened to me. I'm comfortable applying a decent amount of pressure and I'm not shaving with a fear of the blade. Once I got really comfortable with the North-South passes it cut my total shave time roughly in half.

All that being said, I'm sure this is like anything else with a learning curve. Some people pick it up a little quicker and some just need a little more time. If you're still nicking yourself occasionally I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just learn from your mistake and try not to make the same one a second time. When I first started there was a spot where I'd repeatedly nick myself. At first I thought I was applying too much pressure, but after closer inspection I realized that a contour in my face was causing the problem. I would say take the time to learn the unique landscape of your face and don't rush the process. If you nick yourself enough, you'll learn how to avoid doing it in those spots by trial and error. At least that's how it happened for me. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by pinklather

should you need touch ups w/ stones - pm me. 'Postage & envelope costs only.

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Take this offer.
if you dont now how to hone use the skils from a other who nows what he's doing.