Eye Candy!!

As a new member I thought some of you might enjoy seeing my kit. OK I'll be honest, I'm just proud & wanted to show it off! Sorry for the poor photo quality, I used a cellphone to take the photo.

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/o...s/IMG_1662.jpg

The razor on the left is a CS DOVO 5/8. I was inebriated when i placed the order, so I forgot to add pro-honing. It had only the factory edge & will be the one I practice honing on once I can shave well enough to know the difference.

The razor on the right is a SS DOVO 5/8 from SRD, honed by Lynn. It was part of a special, which included the honing & a strop. I didn't really want a stainless blade, but between the initial hone & the included free honing certificate I should be able to get at least a tolerable edge on the first razor before that becomes an issue providing I don't drop it or tap the faucet!

The brush is a travel brush, as I spend about 8-9 months traveling each year. The handle extension also acts as a sleeve to protect the bristles when it's packed away. Incidentally, I'm glad I opted for silvertip on my first brush, it feels very nice while I'm working up a lather.

The strop sitting leather-side up is a 2" latigo that came with the SRD razor, I wasn't paying attention & clicked 2" instead of 3", but I don't think it'll matter too much. In this case you'd just use an edge-trailing x-stroke, right?

The linen-side up strop is a 3" latigo that came with my first razor. It was doubled over in the shipping box & held some of the curve. I've got it laying flat on a bookshelf & using the 2" until it's flattened back out.

Other items not shown are a Norton 4x8, a 12k water stone. After playing with the first razor and getting a moderate improvement, I've set those aside until I can get a better shave & more readily able to tell a good hone from not quite so good.

Looking great Ken!!

Yesterday the wife decided we should watch Sweeney todd, so since then every time I handle one of my razors and she's within earshot I start singing 'these are my friends,' followed by holding it out and shouting 'At last, my arm is complete!'

She was completely taken aback the first time & it took me about 5 minutes stop stop laughing & concentrate on a shave.

That's a nice looking starting kit you've got. It'll be interesting to see how your shaving arsenal grows in a year.

Hi, Ken, that's a good looking set you've got there. :tu

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Originally Posted by KenWeir

The brush is a travel brush, as I spend about 8-9 months traveling each year. The handle extension also acts as a sleeve to protect the bristles when it's packed away. Incidentally, I'm glad I opted for silvertip on my first brush, it feels very nice while I'm working up a lather.

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How do you travel? Car? Plane? I used to travel a great deal and ever since I started with a straight I wanted to make a little travel "box" or whatever. As I don't travel nearly as much as I once did, and now mostly by plane - I haven't gotten into it as I had wished I had... But I am always interested to know how people move with their straight gear! Or intend to in your case lol!

I drive 99% of the time because it costs about $1k to overnight my equipment.

Well I just started on straights 2 days ago, so tomorrow afternoon will be the maiden voyage. I'm heading somewhere west of Dallas to do some inspection work at a basf plant next week. Eventually I'll build an oak travel box as carpentry is another hobby of mine. Something long & slender so it'll hold the strop without folding it. I know I'd be better traveling with a paddle, but the hanging strops just look too cool to not use one! I'm also thinking of ways to put a battery powered heater in the razor compartment. As long as its 5 degrees higher than the dew point moisture can't condense and carbon steel will not rust. I was thinking something to run from a wall plug, with a 12/24hr Lipo battery life. Then you wouldn't have to worry about packing oil or the bottle/can spilling in transit as your blades won't need any oil at all. I have a sword display case I made with acrylic tubing that has a nitrogen purge. That's a little overkill for this, but the same goal, to prevent corrosion without needing oil, which oxidizes over time & will eventually attract moisture.

Having my own company truck will make things simpler as I can just hang the strop behind the seat while Im driving there. I'll carry my razors in the tin cases they came in and probably just roll my mug & brush into a towel. My only concern is the soap cake coming loose & making a mess. It isn't very well set into the mug yet, but it's getting there.

@ earcutter, I tried a steeper angle & as little pressure as I could manage today and it was definitely smoother, but I could still feel/hear a good deal of dragging. Since this facility is likely clean-shaven I went ahead & lopped off the mustache/goatee with clippers & shaved there as well. Upper lip was scary but went ok. I got my first cut shaving away the soul patch right on my lower lip. Had blood down to my chin before I even could rinse & set down the razor!

Anyways, the shaves are getting closer & a little smoother. I'm also learning to use the heel more than the tip for tight places, I have a lot more control doing it that way. I think my lather isn't wet enough as my neck is already dry before I can finish a pass on the first cheek. In the 20 minutes it takes to do 2 passes over my face (skipping under my chip since its still pretty tender) I have to reapply lather about 6 times. I also think I have a nick or roll in my good razor (the one from srd). When turning it, I can see the light reflection sort of curve around 1 spot of the edge on one side. Stropping made it a lot less noticeable, but it's still there.

That's awesome! I see you have given the travel a little thought lol!! I love the idea of the heater - I have neither heard of that before or even thought about it to be honest! Thanks for sharing!!

If you make a box... uh, I think you need to make two prototypes lol!

Glad the angle thing made a difference! Really glad! It takes some playing with but eventually you will not even think about it unless you change up you blade size rather radically. Sweet!!

Don't be afraid of water! A dry lather bites!! Big time. Moreover, if you add too much you can let it sit for a bit and then whip it up with some vigor into quite the foam. It always surprises me how much water my creams will take. That - or just dip your brush lightly into some water over and over untill you get the amount of moisture as you like.

Exciting stuff!! Oh and yeah - try just adding the 12K Naniwa for now. You have the 4/8k Norton - that's fine. I can't remember if you have a bevel setter or not but with the blades you have - you should be fine for a long, long time.

I suspect the dry lather is a big part of my problem then, along with possibly not pulling my skin tight enough. Between playing with the angles & improving my lather (it was also wetter during this latest, smoother shave) I think I'm heading in the right direction.

As for the travel box, I'll be doing a few weeks of digging before I bother starting with a design. There are literally dozens of different ways to go about it, so I'll have to find one that'll do the job, draw little enough current for a smallish battery pack to last several hours & be moderately shock-proof to survive baggage handlers.

Just a quick update....

I told my dad yesterday that I started using a straight & this afternoon my mom phones back saying he found his grandfather's old razor. I remember seeing it once when I was about 13 or 14 years old. It had a little patina, but no pitting type rust & the edge had no visible nicks. (don't ask me how I remember that, my family has always been keen observers when it comes to guns & sharp things) When I'm not traveling I carry my grandfather's Colt 1911 (made in 1919), have a revolver from my great-great grandfather locked up in my safe, & a sword my great uncle Jim took from a Japanese captain at Iwo Jima (turns out it's actually an old sword, made during the ban imposed on samurai in 1876, not one of the mass produced sword-like objects so common from WWII). I love old family items & it'll be an awesome feeling to one day start shaving with my great-grandfather's razor! New incentive to improve quickly as I won't be handling it till I know I've got stropping & shaving down pretty well! Will likely send it to Lynn for a hone, so maybe he'll catch this topic and give it a little extra attention ;)

Will post a photo or two when I'm back home & able to pick it up.

Dang!! I would love a family straight!!

Hi Ken,

Nice gear, and your travel box sounds interesting. I'm eager to see it.

I've had trouble with drying lather (live and shave in the high desert), and got two bits of helpful advice from other users here. The first was to add a little glycerine (5 drops tops) to my lather, which I make in a bowl. The other was to monitor how easily the blade rinses. Once the lather and debris starts sticking to it, your lather is probably too dry on your face.

I also developed a shaving routine in which I lather the whole area to be shaved, sideburns to neckline, then do all of it but for my mustache and the rectangle of chin between mouth and jawline. At that point I rinse off the old lather and reapply fresh. These are the zones with the stoutest whiskers for me, so it helps for them to have that preliminary treatment.

What sort of work do you do?

I'm an API inspector. I work for a 3rd-party inspection company & travel to various chemical plants, refineries & paper mills to inspect their equipment (piping, storage tanks, pressure vessels) to make sure it's safe to operate or make recommendations for repairs. I also inspect upstream equipment & tank railcars.

After what you said, my lather is definitely too dry. I'll be going at it again in an hour or two & will pay extra attention on the lathering.

On your next batch of lather, plan on throwing it away. That way you can experiement with it. Start with your normal amount of water, then add a few drops more and mix them in, and see how much you can push into it before it collapses into bubbly slime. Then throw away the bubbly slime and start again, to make the wettest lather you can get away with. Next time you're at the drugstore, get some glycerin--it might be with the laxative sorts of stuff, or you might have to ask the pharmacist for a bottle from their compounding stock--and tinker with that too. It really helps up here when the humidity drops to 8 or 9%.

Interesting sounding work. I'm an electrician, and just finished up a run of industrial work at a big power plant--most recently in the building where they distill the water before sending it off to the boilers. There were a dizzying amount of gages and suchlike poking out from pipes and vessels. Made us extra-careful as we manuevered conduit and cable tray from the floor to its final destination.

Best wishes

I'll pick up some glycerine after work tomorrow & give it a try. FWIW, humidity is generally pretty high in east TX.

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Originally Posted by KenWeir

I'll pick up some glycerine after work tomorrow & give it a try. FWIW, humidity is generally pretty high in east TX.

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And the water is harder than nails lol - the glycerin will do you wonders!

Oh geez, now you've got me thinking about distilled water & hot plates...

Hey no worries! I still get excited when I pull my razor out of the box and get ready to strop before a shave. Sometimes I wish my whiskers would grow faster so I could shave more!! haha. I don't mind it though because I am that much more excited when I do shave!

Welcome, and sounds like you're on the right track. When I travel, either by car or plane, I take a shave stick, when is simply soap shaped like a stick. You just rub in on your face/whiskers, then lather it up on your face with your wet brush. Super easy to pack and use. I have two, one from Mama Bear Soaps and an Arko shave stick. There are others. Try one sometime, and you can leave the mug at home.

As for my straights, I have five, so I strop them all before I pack, place them in the leather pouches they came with, and the throw them in the suitcase. So far, no issues. I do have one straight that does not have a pouch (although I plan on purchasing one from SRD), so I place a rubberband around the blade and scales to keep it closed, and either place it in the suitcase, in a shoe in the suitcase, or in the tioletries bag in the suitcase, all of which have been fine.

Just some ideas. BTW, your shaves WILL get better, give it time and have fun.