Thread: New with Questions from Merrick, NY

Hello.

First off, thanks for all the valuable information posted by the members on this site and in the Wiki section.

Equipment:
Consistent with my impulsive personality, I bought big for my first foray into straight razor shaving. Razor: Thiers-Issard "Le Grelot", 6/8" in Black Horn - from Vintage Blades, LLC. - professionally honed by Lynn Abrams

Along with the razor, I bought the Vintage Blades black latigo leather strop and Castle Forbes pre-shave, cream and after shave balm. Also, a Rooney badger brush and mug.

First Shave:
First straight razor shave this morning...kind of feels like I got smacked in the face with a strop but its been a few hours and now feel pretty good. Could not accomplish a very close shave due to obviously inexperienced hands. This method of shaving is obviously an art which requires patience and experience.

Few Questions:
1.) How long does a razor (such as mine described above) last before needing to be honed again? Consider my beard average to course and daily use.
2.) Where and how do you hang your leather strop? I understand that the bathroom is not the most suitable place for storage due to moisture. So I am thinking of storing it on the back of the linen closet door and installing an eye hook on the bathroom vanity base.
3.) Is it a bad idea to still use the mach3 turbo for above the upper lip and parts of my throat? I did my whole face with the straight razor this morning but needed to touch up problem spots with the mach3.
4.) Is it necessary to strop before and after each shave?
5.) With shaving soap (col conk amber) that came with my mug, do you drop the whole puck into the mug when preparing the lather? If so, what do you do with the puck after the lather is ready? Let it air dry?

Ok, I think that is enough newbie questions for now. Thanks all.

Hi DPMaltise,
Welcome to SRP. My experience is limited but I will try to answer some of your questions.
#1 Edge life is tied to a lot of variables. Poor stropping and poor technique will greatly shorten the life of an edge, but you have to do to learn. When it pulls on the easy spots it's time.
#2 Sounds good to me.
#3 There is nothing wrong with using a modern razor while learning. Good shaves will come in time. This should be fun.
#4 Stropping is necessary before shaving. I like to strop lightly after to clean the blade. I believe it helps edge life.
#5 My soaps have their own container, but I believe a loose puck is meant to stay in the mug.
Hope this helps and enjoy the ride.

Regarding your first shave, that sounds exactly like mine. The bottom line here is that you applied too much pressure on the blade and razor burned the crud out of yourself...trust me, I know that feeling. It wasn't until it was explained to me that you have to imagine that the razor is a feather and you're trying to tickle your face with the feather...that's how much pressure you should have. ie. none.

Now for the other questions:

1) About 2 months in my experience. Since your razor is already pro-honed, you shouldn't have to really 'hone' the razor as much as give it a touchup. This procedure is actually pretty easy. Get yourself a 12k grit stone and do ten light laps on it and viola, your razor will be just as sharp as the day you bought it. It's only when you want to get into honing antique store beaters that you need the progression of hones from 1k-12k.

2) I hang my SRD 3" Premium 1 in the bathroom on a towl rack. Never had a problem with that.

3) Lot's of folks here promote using a secondary method to cleanup areas that you missed until you become comfortable with your technique. I, however, promote the 'cold turkey' method. Toss all your other shaving methods into the trash (unless it's a collectable DE) and rely solely on your straight razor. It's a mental thing. If you know that you have another method of shaving, you're more likely to rely on that method for various parts of your shave. With the cold turkey method, that option is gone from your mind and you'll have to sink or swim on learning your straight. This will in turn shorten your learning period.

4) Yes...it's absolutely mandatory unless you're a masochist.

5) I use Conk Amber on occasion. I just toss the puck into a coffee mug and go for it. Whatever is left in the mug stays there until the next shave. No harm no foul.

Actually, these were some very thought out questions on your part. Remember that your first shave won't be worth a darn and it won't be until after the second week or so that you'll really see a difference. Until your technique is down, your muscle memory will make several unconscious changes and you'll get one or two days of great shaves and then for some reason, it'll go to pot and you won't know why. This period of flux lasted about a couple months. I didn't have my first truly spectacular shave until about the third month.

But these are just MY experiences with shaving with a straight...

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I will use the cold turkey method and use only the straight razor until either I get that mythical perfect shave or my face falls off. I definitely applied too much pressure first time out, maybe the lather was a little too dry as well, your advice regarding a feather's touch is probably spot on.

Next attempt will be Saturday morning...Thanks again.