Thread: it was the best of shave, it was the worst of shaves....FIRST SOTD!!! =)

Hey fellas....sorry I haven't posted in a while. Been extra busy with the business and some new gigs and a new girlfriend. Been meaning to post this for a while but haven't found the time. So here goes.

First off, HUGE HUGE THANKS to Paul (Sharp&Shiny) for hooking me up with an awesome singing blade for the low low price of $FREE.99....I can't thank you enough brother.

Also, GREAT BIG thanks to the 0ctopus for the awesome Mama Bear's shaving soap and Tony Miller for the over-the-top service and added value with my strop purchase!!!

Anyway, first shave was a few months ago now.

Razor came shave ready. 5/8 roundpoint solingen singing blade....didn't quite pass the HHT without some manuevering/cheating....but seemed sharp to this novice.

Shaving brush was best badger 24mm from the Golden Nib (which is also awesome btw, thanks!)

Strop was the Tony Miller Red Latigo 3" Artisan which is BEAUTIFUL and very easy to use! Best strop for the $$$ IMHO, with the possible exception of Tony's Apprentice Strop, it can't be beat!

Put some Tom Waits on the sound system....figured it was very appropriate. Plenty of references to straight razors and switchblades and knives

So as I was getting ready to shave I realized I should probably disarm, so I figured I might as well include my pistol in the picture of my shaving gear, for those who dig that kinda thing.....

So first off, I let some hot water+lotion soak on the ole beard which had been growing for a few days....I washed it off with more hot water after 3-4 minutes.

I had a tough time gauging how much hot water I should leave in the brush to make a good lather. The first time, I didn't shake enough out and the lather was WAY too soapy and thin....so I tried again and it was too thick/not foamy. Third time was about right....made me wonder why people sometimes list "better water retention" in the PRO category for silvertip brushes....but I digress...

Once I got the lather about right and on my face, I went to work stropping the blade....even though I had practiced with a butter knife on the practice strop Tony Miller gave me (THANKS A TON TONY!!!) I had a little trouble stropping both sides of the blade equally....I was very careful to apply little or no pressure (after reading this was a common beginner mistake) while stropping, which made it hard to regulate the amount of draw. I think one side may have gotten a little more attention than the other at first....so I went slower and got better towards the end.

Took a few deep breaths and a swig of whiskey and went to work. Downward strokes WTG, blade more-or-less parallel to the ground, at roughly a 30 degree angle to my face.

I could feel a lot of razor burn, but figured this was normal and kept going. I found that the steep 30 degree angle wasn't working so well and that 40-45 degrees seemed to work better. Still, I was getting lots of razor burn and by the time I had worked down from the sideburns to my chin, it felt like the right side of my face was ON FIRE!

I tried some different techniques stretching my skin and holding the blade to get the most comfortable shave....but had a hell of a time. Also, most of the hair that was being cut was still well above the surface of my skin....there were very few parts on my face that I would call a "close" shave.

After about 20 minutes I heard a knock on the bathroom door and some chick yelling to get in....I figured this might happen as there is only one bathroom at our studio and there were people partying in the office area....so I let her in to take a wee while I continued shaving.....which was a little weird. I had never met this girl before and she was a punk rock chick with a buncha tattoos and metal **** in her face. She was absolutely ENTHRALLED with the fact that I was shaving with a straight razor. She watched for a little while and was very flirty and touchy....but I had a girlfriend and better things to accomplish at the time (plus i'm really not in to gnarly rocker chicks)....so I casually brushed off her advances and kept on truckin like Smokey and The Bandit!

By the time I finished the WTG strokes I realized I still had a LONG way to go. Very little (if any) of my face was actually "clean" shaven and I had terrible razor burn....eh, **** it...keep on truckin!!!

I was a little apprehensive about trying ATG strokes, so I did some XTG with minimal success....by this time I was about to give up. Decided I would TRY a couple ATG strokes just for the hell of it....OUCH!!! It hurt like hell!

At this point I'd already spent about an hour shaving, had a decent sized cut and the worst razor burn I've ever had (seriously, it felt like DRY shaving with an OLD single-blade disposable )....so, with my tail between my legs I headed to the shaving bag to get the old Fusion 5-blade and finish up....which was comparatively wonderful!!!

Soooo....I figured I would consult ya'll before I straight-shaved again.....I was not expecting a great shave the first time around, but I also wasn't expecting a really terrible shave either (even though the EXPERIENCE was awesome)....I DEFINATELY want to switch to straight shaving....just need to get over the initial bumpy road...

So what do ya'll think? I have a feeling the blade simply wasn't sharp enough.....maybe due to poor stropping technique....maybe it needs a hone....I picked up some more blades (10 to be exact....will post pics and more info on that soon)...included in the lot was a couple oldscool sheffields and a gorgeous Otto Deutsch Hans that I might fix up and try for better luck with.....

Anyway, gotta run.....thanks again to EVERYONE on this forum, especially those listed above!

Here's some pics for those who may be interested!!!

The gun in my usual carry piece, a Para Ordnance P12



Before...



Little cut....do not move blade lengthwise over face...



After....this was AFTER the Gillette Fusion razor too....I suppose I shoulda taken a picture of after JUST the straight razor, but trust me, it was not pretty.

Fantastic write up, thanks for sharing!!! Don't force it, don't rush it, and TRUST US...it just gets better and better. If the blade came shave ready from a trusted honer, it is likely not the problem. I had the same thoughts, and the shaves just got better as I figured it all out.

Oh, and from now on, I would appreciate it if you didn't mention flirty touchy, tatted pierced punker chicks with little or no inhibition (clearly) that were into straight shaving. I just spent the last few minutes staring out the window and drooling. I'm an ex punker myself, and that was a little more than my old heart could handle.

First, is your brush just a knot without a handle?

Second, 45 degrees seems awfully high. If you weren't cutting properly at 30 degrees then it might have been an issue with the edge. I'm no expert, though.

Third, no pics of the chick?

Thanks for the write up Jonny and good luck with the new girlfriend. Here is a post by SRP founder Lynn Abrams on beginning straight razor shaving. If you follow that and work into it gradually you may have better luck. Could be a technique issue or the razor may have gotten a rolled edge on the strop but it seems to me it should have done a closer shave.

thanks fellas!!!

A) yeah i don't imagine anymore references to punk rocker chicks who are into straight shaving will come up....and sorry, no pics of her. I thought about snapping one, but figured it would probably give her the wrong impression....u know how girls get

B) Haha, yeah, the "brush" is just a knot...I am keeping my eye out for an awesome handle...holding out for something extra cool! In the meantime I have another vintage pure badger brush that is AWESOME....frikking thing is soft and makes great lather!!!

C) Yeah the angle might have been the problem. Also I had a tough time holding the blade properly, pulling the skin taught and keeping a good angle/direction all at the same time....although I think I did pretty damn good for the first try. I'll expiriment some more with the angle....but first of all I think I'll send a few blades out to be checked and or re-sharpened....the singing blade, the otto deutsch hans and a sheffield blade...maybe a wade and butcher from the lot of 10

Thanks again fellas!!!!!

Originally Posted by jdurango

The gun in my usual carry piece, a Para Ordnance P12

Thank you so much for the write up! [OT] I've never seen a gun in my life, but since when I became a SRP member, I see guns in unexpected places

Nice gun anyways.

It'll get better. Try letting the spine lay on your face and do a pass.

Man, if I ever pull my carry out I get weird looks and I live in Idaho. Now I have something on my to do list- shave at a public bathroom with my gun on the counter.

Dude,

Nice try! i started about three years ago and for the first three months finished up with a mach3. The skin stretching is sooo amazingly key. That and the beard prep, some scientists say that if you let the lather soak in for more than three minutes and then lather on top of that, your beard should be ready to cut with ease - barbers do it that way too. Keep on keepin on!

Loved it! Your definitely a trooper! best of wishes to ya!