Sharpy's 2nd shave

Well i got my new silver tip and I must say it is a little better than using a basting brush ;)
Having one previous shave under my belt I thought it would be a great time to master the art of the guillotine pass. It really helps doesn't it !!
Of course I don't really have the coordination down yet and only attempted carefully with my right hand. Gave myself a cut on my top lip from it but nothing too bad. I will definitely keep practising.

I am struggling a lot with my chin, because of the roundness only a small part of the blade is in contact and so it is very difficult to shave without grabbing.

I am using a shavette, just ordered a straight from whipped dog !

I know it is very tempting to jump in with both feet but reading stuff and following suggestions, such as Lynn Abrams on the first straight razor shaves here, will lead to less suffering on the road to success.

The guillotine stroke is , IMO, an advanced shaving technique. If you are going to attempt to master it at this stage of the game I would advise you to only use it on the cheeks until you really have it down. There are some areas of the physiognomy that do not lend themselves to that stroke .... IME. :gl:

Slow and steady mate. Remember the bloody Hare never won the race, the Tortoise did. :)


Mick

Yeah, I am very careful with the strokes. Thanks for the link Jimmy, I have done a lot of reading so far, still lots to do of course.
I was experimenting with getting the angles right last night as well. That is an area that needs paying attention too as well.

I keep hearing how a shavette is not as forgiving as a straight, does that mean I will find it a bit easier to get smooth strokes when I get the straight ?

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Originally Posted by sharpy

I keep hearing how a shavette is not as forgiving as a straight, does that mean I will find it a bit easier to get smooth strokes when I get the straight ?

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I would say definitely if you get a truly shave ready straight. May take a bit of getting used to compared to the shavette because even though one looks like the other they are a different breed of cat.

well i am getting it from Larry at whipped dog, it seems he supplies truly shave ready razors. From what others here are saying anyway.

Third shave was so good ! 2 almost full passes, still struggling a little on the chin but much better. No nicks ! Just a little claret spotting from wrong angle or something. So smooth ! I am truly amazed how close this shaving is getting, my skin feels like smooth wax out something afterwards, almost sticky...
Still waiting eagerly for the whippeddog razor.. Might have to use the shavette once more :)
I rang up about 'roo hides today, looking forward to picking one up.
Had a baby girl today too (2ND kid) pretty stoked all round :)

Well Congrats to you for the shave and your wife for the child!


Mick

I dont really understand how to do the guillotine stroke or the scaithing stroke. I looked it up in the wiki, but can not really get it from the pictures and description. Any videos out there?

To my understanding the scything stroke isn't really all that different to a standard straight stroke. It seems the blade just travels in an arc instead of a straight line. As you can imagine, the blade is not really slicing the hairs.

The guillotine however is certainly slicing the hairs.
Start a normal straight stroke, and at the same time pull the blade along its axis, along the line of the spine so that you are actually slicing at the hair as well as pushing on it with the edge.

Like cutting a tomato, you don't just push down, you also pull (or push) the knife.

Is this correct all ye great experts ?? ;)

That makes it clear. Especially the tomato analogy. Thanks man.

Just be careful cause a tomato can get squished very easily if you're not careful.

Guess what ?!
I got my whippeddog.com strop in the mail on friday...stoked !
Of course I immediately had to have a shave (instructions said not to strop before first shave!)
It was great (my 5th shave), just as sharp as my parker shavette with a new blade. And MUCH nicer to use, nicer sound to as it cuts through the hair :)

The razor was $28 + $2 shipping. I decided to send Larry an extra $5 bucks and asked him to send me an extra nice one, I have no idea how it compares to the rest of the razors but within 2 days he had sent the razor (even though there is normally a 2 week wait for honing).
The razor is no beauty queen but for a beginner who is going to own plenty of razors in the future, and might stuff this razor up by dropping it or something, it is perfect.
I couldn't be happier with the service Larry provides. I will definitely be getting another razor from him sometime.
He even sent a sample of aftershave, thanks Larry !
Some pics

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Larry sure's good people and the best of luck with your future shaves (and babies)! :D

Thanks Mikael :)

Yep, Larry won't do you wrong. I have several of his razors and they are all great shavers. I got an 8/8 Sheiffield from him once to my surprise. I love the vintage look better than new razors in a way.

Just realised I said strop instead of razor... :gaah: