Thread: Zak is finally going to try it out!

I am on quite a lot, usually afternoon through early morning.

My nick is from college; I lived in the Hollister wing of my building on the 4th floor. I was quite good at finding things on the internet, so everyone assumed that I pirated things. I didn't actually pirate anything - I don't know anything about hacking, cracking, or other such illegal activities.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

I didn't actually pirate anything - I don't know anything about hacking, cracking, or other such illegal activities.

Hahahahaha!
Sure, sure.

Thanks again for the suggestions concerning make-do strops.

-Zak

Okay. I got my brush today, and decided to go ahead and at least do the prescribed single/couple of strokes down the jaw/sideburn.

I showered, and got a mug ready with a small bit of soap in the bottom of it. I don't have the Taylor's of OBS soap yet, and so used some standard (but nice) goats-milk hand soap. Upon dowsing/squeezing the Tweezerman's brush, and trying to apply a nice lather to my cheek, I noticed a rather distinctive smell - that of old hair on semi-rotten hides. So, my first question: is badger a particularly pungent fur, does Tweezerman have any sort of smelly reputation, or did I just get a bad brush? I brushed this inquiry aside and continued to apply lather.

As this was the first shave, I didn't strop before shaving. I was much too cautious at first, keeping the angle too shallow and not applying much pressure at all to keep the razor close to my skin. Moving the blade slowly doesn't seem to work very well, and I had to increase my angle/pressure to get much of an action on the hair removing front. The soap, had it been really a lather seems like it would have been bothersome, I couldn't always see what I was doing through it and had much better luck following a soaped stroke with a clear-shot second. Second question: Do people mostly shave by feel, not eye, when they have a good lather on their face?

The razor performed quite well (thanks, Dylan!). I shaved my cheek and sideburn on my dominant side, and the cheek on my alternate side (oh yeah, and my mustache, but that's not much to write home about!). I can believe that the neck and chin are going to be very tricky. I'm going to read up on those again before attempting. The shave I did achieve was medium on my right-hand (dominant) side and pretty coarse on my left, but I'm sure that I'll get used to it and the shave will get closer/quicker. I'm very pleased with the results so far.

Thanks again for all the help thus far, and if anyone would be able to address those two questions (smelly badger, lather obfuscation) I would be very appreciative!

...and, in case you're wondering - NO CUTS!!!

Glad to hear you're pleased with how the first shave went.

Badger brushes do tend to smell when new; I believe they can be shampooed/conditioned like you would with your own hair, but I'm not totally sure so I wouldn't take my advice there.

As for the lather, yes, it will make it more difficult to see areas you have not yet shaved. There is no way around that. You should find that better quality soap/cream will give you a better cushion and glide.

Do not apply pressure to try to get the blade to cut better. The razor should be shaving sharp because I shaved with it before I sent it to you, so it is likely beard prep/lather and technique. Be paitent as you develop your shaving skills, and do not fall into the trap of applying pressure at a steep angle or doing loads and loads of passes. You may not, and probably will not, get great close shaves at first, but that's normal; there is a learning curve.

Good luck, and I hope you continue nick and irritation free.

Ah. I will wait for the TOBS soap to arrive before I give it another try. It is quite possible that the beard prep was to blame, but I was working with a really flat razor at first, seemingly <15 degrees. Lifting the spine up just a bit more off the skin really did start the whiskers falling. It's a good trap, if it is a trap. I will try not to get caught.

Also - I dried out the brush as much as possible, dried the blade carefully, and then tried very gently (probably ineffectively) stropping with newspaper 30-40x. Anything I'm forgetting??

Ah, ok. Yes, really flat will not likely shave well. What is it everyone says? The spine should be 2 spine widths off the skin? I forget the degree number...

Sounds like your blade care is good; dry carefully and stropping will help clean the edge. You can oil between shaves if you are in a humid enviornment. I personally do not oil mine.

First off welcome to the world of the str8. Second I looked at your dad's website and it looks like he does fantastic work, you should be able to get some distinct and original lookinf strops. You say your waiting for him to make one for ya, you didn't learn the leather works from him? Again welcome and have fun!