Thread: Greetings from Yokosuka Japan.

Hey all, I am Robert, originally from Oregon, but have been serving in the Navy for the last 10+ years. I am currently stationed in Yokosuka Japan. I started my ventures into straight razor shaving about 2 months ago.

The downward spiral all started about 2-1/2 years ago when I went to the Art of Shaving in San Diego, I was tired of the constant recurrence of ingrown hairs and irritation. I ended up buying a double edge safety, some soaps, and a brush. So begins the journey... I liked the products there, the double edge was fun to shave with and got me a lot of confused looks from shipmates. Refills were cheap, everything was great, until I got underway one time without my trusty double edge. I suffered a month of regular gillette sensor something or other, came home and my wife had commandeered my good razor for her personal shaving use. Wanting a better shave, the perfect shave, and something that she would not steal from me, I started looking at straights... I purchased a Thiers-Issard set from the ClassicShaving website, and hopped right in. I had no one I knew of that used a straight, and all I could find at the time was the FAQ's on classic shaving. I jumped in with the factory honed edge, a strop, and a lot of hope.


2-pints of blood later, I had finished my first shave. Oh, my face was smooth, along with the missing top 3 layers of my skin. Not to mention the many cuts and gouges I had imparted on myself. I have gotten better since then, not great, but good enough to not cut myself anymore. Even underway on a rocking ship.

I found this forum last week and started lurking for a bit, just to see. I wish I had seen this forum sooner (say like 2 months ago). Anyways, have been digging, looking at the Wiki section, the FAQ's, and doing some searches. I still have 2 burning questions/issues.

1) While shaving my chin (between my lower lip and about 1 inch back from the jaw line) ALWAYS ends up bleeding and/or with severe irritation. What am i doing wrong. I notice this only happens after the against the grain pass.

2) My shaving cream turns to a dry paste really fast, even after whipping it up really thick and with good amounts of water. Is this a function of having really hard water?

Thats all i really have for now, other than a need for a way to justify more razors to my wife.

Cheers

Welcome aboard. The only advice I can give since I consider myself an FNG is keep at it and listen to the advice of the folks here that know. The first thing I would do is have your razor properly honed by one of the experts around. It will make a huge difference in how the razor performs. Factory edges just don't cut it.

Enjoy the journey.

ようこそ！

Your first question: try skipping the ATG pass. Add another XTG from the other direction, you should still get as smooth but without as much risk of irritation and nicks. ATG is actually a good way to irritate sensitive skin in my experience, as you're bumping up against more hair follicles.

As for your lather, have you watched Mantic's videos? He is THE source when it comes to learning your lather. Drying out is usually a good sign of improper mixing, but it might also just be a sign of taking too long on your shave. Try lathering one part at a time, shaving it, then moving on to the next lathering.

Am I right in understanding you're using the AOS cream?

Yes I use the AOS cream.

@Mvcrash, as much as i would like to send my razor off to be professionally honed, it is my prefered and only method of shaving for the time being, and being in the military, not shaving is not an option. I have purchased a hone set, and have set about putting a proper hone on the blade with ok results. I hope to be able to justify a new razor in the near future. Or find someone to sit down and learn honing from. Having had my daughter bump me and make me drop the razor in the sink with resulting chips and damage, I was able to restore the edge.

@JimR - The advice seems to be working so far, have only managed 2-3 shaves, and previous damage is clearing out. I also think I wasn't stropping enough. Haven't had a chance to watch the video's. I am underway on a ship, and our internet is really limited and restricted. Where in Japan do you reside?

Robert,

Ahh, that would make the videos hard indeed. Hard water is less damaging to cream lather than to soap, as I understand it, so I'm not sure about that. The goal is to make a lather that is smooth and roughly the consistency of mayonnaise, with a glossy look and a smooth texture without visible bubbles.

That's what Mantic59's videos teach, basically. But it's hard without the visuals...


I'm in Yamaguchi prefecture, down near Hiroshima, on the Seto Inland sea.