Thread: Hello from New York

Hi,

I've been reading for a while now and have been a D/E shaver for a few years. I've been trying the straight razor again for the past few weeks. I bought a shave ready Gold Dollar just to give it a try. It's pretty sharp. Had to hone it with a 4K/8K Norton after 3 weeks. I used the Lynn method. 40 circular strokes on each side on the 4K followed by a 10 X patterns and then on to the 8K for 10 more x patterns. I also find that 40 to 60 passes on the strop gets it fairly sharp. I'm using a Russian strop that I treated with saddle soap.

I'm at the point now where I can do 2 passes and I look pretty clean. But I still feel stubble when I rub my face against the grain. Still getting a closer shave with the Merkur with Feather blades.

How long does it usually take to get to the point where one can match a d/e shave?

Thanks for all the input. This site is great.

Rob

It varies. It took me about 3 months for most (the easy parts) of my face. For my chin and neck, 4-6 months and until about the 1 year mark for my mustache area. Part of it was having a consistently sharp blade that I hadn't messed up some on a strop or my face. At least for me that skill developed along about the same timeline...3-6 months for solid consistency...a year for excellent results every stropping.

Hi and welcome. Haven't really used DE's so no help there but any other questions feel free to ask.

Hello and welcome to the SRP forum.

Hello, and welcome to SRP!! As far as how long it takes to get a very smooth shave is a hard question to answer, because there are so many variable to consider. I'm into this journey 7 months and I still have a problem on one area of my neck. One day every thing is great, the next so so. I would say about 1 years sounds about right . IMO Jsut take your time and enjoy the process!!

Welcome to SRP! It takes time and much practice to get comparable shave. Be patient and don't give up!

Come to the meet up. Aug10. I will get u a free pre-honed gold dollar razor from Bill3123
He is the GD King and a honemeister. And a super nice guy We can discuss angles too. See if we can get your technic up a notch bring your gear or use ours but come

First off welcome to SRP..
I've been straight razor shaving for a month and just now getting that BBS shave that I've been chasing I usually just do three passes ONE with the grain across the grain and against the grain and that seems to give me that no stubble feeling when I touch my face I would say go through the forms and read what some of the other people are having to say lot of knowledgeable people on here and tons of information and help ...the forums are a great tool make sure you utilize them

Just saying, Welcome to SRP!
The Library has a lot of info in it on shaving - lots to read and watch.
Of course, if you can't find the answer, just ask. Lots of friendly people are here to help you out.
Definitely try to make it to a meet up. An hour with an experienced shaver is worth many hours of reading.

I didn't think Gold Dollar and Shave Ready could be used in the one sentence...Times have changed obviously. Welcome to the forum Rob. Time and Technique will improve your shaves I'm thinking.


Mick