Big thanks to DFriedl for my first straight razor shave.
DFriedl volunteered to take a complimentary whack at sharpening the Double Arrow full hollow straight that had been gifted to me. He send it back to me much quicker than I expected and I proceeded execute my first (2 pass) straight razor shave with it. It took the hair off nicely, and I got a close easy shave with it. Had a little bit of trouble but attributed it to my inexperience. Had some weepers, but thats no different than when I try to get too close with the DE. I waited to say anything till I got back my Lynn honed W&B wedge, so I could compare the shaves between the two. Lynn did a beautiful job, but I expected him to of course. :)
A full hollow vs a wedge. The wedge I found to be a degree smoother and perhaps that is only due to the difference in the blade profiles. I like the rounded tip of the Double Arrow, nicked my cheeck with the point on the W&B wedge..but I definitely like the heft of the W&B. Dfriedl definitely did a quality job, smoothed out things I didn't even know needed smoothing. Got something I was under the impression was a piece of junk to shave ready status, out of pure generosity. Thanks a ton bro.
I definitely need a lot of practice, and need to keep from getting ahead of myself. Not going anywhere near the neck ATG pass, which for me is sideways for a long while. I feel confident with the rest if I take is easy, but then I have less to contend with than avg, with a chin strap beard and soul patch that keeps me from having to contend with the harder areas. Cheeks, upper lip, throat. Then I do my scalp with the double edge. My biggest hurdle is going to be figuring out my grip. I'm all over the place with that.
