Thread: I had my first shave last night

Hello I am new here, well I have been on a couple of weeks reading. I had an old razor with a chip in the blade that I purchased a while back because it was a local company and I liked the way it looked. I then decided I wanted to get something and try out a shave. That is when I found this site. So I purchased an vintage Henckels twinworks at an antique mall. The blade wasn't cracked or anything but did have a few "rough" areas. I read about the technique and got my stones out and actually went and purchased a 1000/6000 waterstone from a local place. It took me a few hours and I finally had the blade where I wanted it. I didn't have a good strop but I had a piece of one I had used in the past for my hunting knives, etc. I purchased the wal-mart shaving kit and upgraded the soap to col. conk. I had actually been using soap for a little while on my old razor. I am not going to say it was the closest shave I have ever had as I was a little to nervous to go ATG but it was almost as good as my Mach 3 and the only areas I had a little trouble with, other than ATG , was above my lip. I used my M3 to finish up above my lip. I can say this was the most enjoyable shave I have ever had and I am looking forward to learning the ATG technique. I have found the resources here very useful and I am looking forward to learning a lot more!

Sounds like a successful first go! Congrats on your first honing as well! Sound alike you're off to a great start. Keep at it, only gets better.

Cheers

Excellent! To go from a damaged razor to honign it and getting a decent shave is really good work. I think many people wouldn't reccomend ATG on the first shave with a straight anyway, I'd say don't try that for maybe even a couple of months; concentrate on getting a really nice WTG shave first. You'll find your razor really does need to be sharp for an ATG pass, as it'll dig in and cut if it's a little dull.

Carl

Yeah I got a little brave but when I felt it starting to pull I knew I needed to wait. I have ordered a strop that I hope comes in any day. I figure it will help me get it to where it needs to be. It is a hanging strop, a vintage Gutmann, but it was never used.

Yeah? A vintage non used strop? Cool.

The highest grit you went to was 6000? Impressed you managed to shave at all - most would agree that 8000 is the minimum for a good shave. Leaves lots of room for higher grits though so your shaves can only get better and better! enjoy the journey

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Yeah? A vintage non used strop? Cool.

Yes, apparently the guys father was a barber and he had several. This one was in storage and had never been taken out of its original box. It has a few dark (age) spots on the cloth side but thats it. The box on the other hand has seen better days.

Originally Posted by EisenFaust

The highest grit you went to was 6000? Impressed you managed to shave at all - most would agree that 8000 is the minimum for a good shave. Leaves lots of room for higher grits though so your shaves can only get better and better! enjoy the journey

As far as it goes, I can easily shave off my 4000, it isn't as comfortable as when I polish the blade, but it can be done, I don't see any reason why a 6000 wouldn't get a blade ready for shaving purposes. Now, there is a point to made here though. The shave isn't going to be nearly as smooth as when finished with a high grit polisher. You may also consider sending your blade to a honing guru here on the boards just so you know what a really great edge feels like. I got one of those just so I could compare what I have been honing to the standard.
Welcome to the board, and good luck. Enjoy the Henckels, I have only one, but it is one of my best shavers hands down.

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Yeah? A vintage non used strop? Cool.

Here is the strop i was talking about.
I am a little confused on how to use the canvas side of it. Do I fold the leather side back or flip the strop over on the swivel and use that side of the canvas. (that side seems a little rough)

Originally Posted by Cwlee1982

Here is the strop i was talking about.
I am a little confused on how to use the canvas side of it. Do I fold the leather side back or flip the strop over on the swivel and use that side of the canvas. (that side seems a little rough)

Nice! I think flip the strop over on the swivel, but to be honest I've only ever used one strop, a Dovo leather/canvas. I remember thinking the Canvas on mine seemed harsher than I thought should be used when I was new to it all. Actually, it has softened up a little too aver the 12 months I've had it.