Thread: Hello from Thunder Bay, Ontario

Hello SRP, from a soon to be (if not already) SR addict.

Just started SR shaving a 2 weeks ago. Purchased a full set-up shaving kit from Larry @ Whipped dog. Came with an Osgood, Bray &Co. 5/8 extra hollow ground (yay for carbon steel sharpness) some tastey rosemary soap which I've been temped to take a bite out of (makes my bathroom smell like a mojito) and all that other fun stuff. So I've completed 2 shaves thus far, the first being a new release of Texas Chainsaw massacre and the second not so bad... but the first was all red...and painful...bad memories...moving on.

So at first i was upset because my first attempt was a bloodbath which i think left a few scars (should of just done the side burns but i got cockey and did the whole thing 3x pass). And the second shave was not so bad. Still not BBS - nowhere near as a matter'o'fact, but that's life. So i tried my hand at stropping and noticed an immediate difference in the finish on the edge and the way it caught my thumb which was nice. Checked the edge under a bright light for wiring and chips...seems okay but no expert. Tried the balsa strop w/o paste since it was already coloured - figured it was strop ready and didn't notice much of a difference (theres a bump in the middle of mine).

Just purchased a nortons 4/8 hone with the other hone to make it straight, gonna use geofatboys technique of drawing lines on it with pencil than scraping till gone to make sure it's nice and flat. Only reason i purchased a hone is because i read a lot of the blades folks get that are used and stated to be shave ready are not... so i wanted to make sure my blade's cutting like a light saber

I have fairly sensitive skin (red bumps on cheecks and lots under neck, spreads all over and i hate it) so i purchased some anothony pre-shave oil, an osma alum block, and some dolerma almond emulsion for an ASB, a whole bunch of Kells Original Extra Aloe blend soap samplers and some witch hazel from shoppers to hopefully erase the sensitivity issue.

So far I've blown like 400$ in a month on this stuff ... yup i went balls deep. And am hoping to become a SR master by 2014 (cross your fingers for me). I feel dumb since i already get a BBS with my mach 3... but i wanted to get fancy since i truly love shaving and making sure it`s a good one at that plus i read SR shaving is better for sensitive skin and has a nice overall effect after a good bit of use on ones skin making my face silky smoothe or so i hope.

I`ve read like 400 threads, watched about 50+ videos...checked numerous websites and am now planning on planting myself in this forum to share my experiences and hopefully years from now help newbs like myself become SR jedi.

If you have any feedback on my set-up, my blade or anything else please share as I intend to become a master of this art.

Thanks and HAPPY SHAVING

Welcome to SRP. Try less pressure when shaving. A good pre-shave route helps (hot shower,hot towel, etc) I like to use Proraso for my pre shave cream. You can get it at shoppers.
Most importantly, Take your time.

Colin

Forgot to add these photos, quick shots from my iphone for a quick blade. blades got a few black spots on it and rust where it rotates and at the top just under the spine. Plan on practicing with this for a few months than off to a nicer razor so i will have a comparison for honing etc.

Enjoy

Welcome to SRP!

Colin speaks truth.

If I may offer one other suggestion it would be to hold off on the honing until you have your shaving technique down pat. The reason is that if you take your own blade to the hones and have a miserable experience, how will you know whether or not it was the blade that was responsible? Having a truly shave-ready razor at least removes that factor from the equation. The best thing would be to send it to a pro to be done (SRP member Maxi in Toronto, for example). It doesn't cost much, and is worth every penny.

BTW if you got your blade from Larry at Whippeddog, then it arrived shave-ready. *However* it is really easy to ruin an edge on a strop when you're learning so it could well use a touch-up.

Whatever you do, take your time and try to be patient. It will come in time, and the bloodbath will be replaced by a fantastic, relaxing ritual.

Originally Posted by LikesBBS

Forgot to add these photos, quick shots from my iphone for a quick blade. blades got a few black spots on it and rust where it rotates and at the top just under the spine. Plan on practicing with this for a few months than off to a nicer razor so i will have a comparison for honing etc.

Enjoy

Don't sweat the black spots (unless they bug you) - they are just cosmetic and won't affect its performance as a shaver.

As for the rust at the pivot, that can be tricky to get to, but dental floss and some metal polish does the trick sometimes. Just don't force anything in there as you may crack/break the scales. Basically scale material can be quite fragile at times and if it is tightly pinned, any extra stress between the scales and the blade can do damage.

And if you're doing *any* work like that on a razor, don't forget to pay attention to the sharp bit!

Thanks for the responses bro-skis . I will take more time with my 3rd shave... happening tonight (wish me luck). Been practicing dry shaves on my arm hair and noticed when i do fast deliberate strokes with no pressure at all and a flat angle (maybe 10-20 degrees) i miss and cause irritation where if i put a slight bit of pressure and a slighly steeper angle than flat and move the blade slower maybe 1é2 speed it seems to take off more hair. Hope i havent messed up the blade at all...cut some paper with it to see how sharp it was...and succeeded at maybe 5 of 25 HHT attempts.

gonna try a full blown prep this time for super soft whiskers.

Hot shower while brush sits in hot water, hot towel, minute of rubbing on soap than a hot towel over top again... rub it off and re-apply lather, WTG pass, re-lather than XTG relather than ATG followed by a nice warm rinse some Witch hazel a cold rinse than some ASB

WISH ME LUCK

Someone mentioned once that they used hair conditioner on there beard when in the shower. I started doing this and it helps.
Its sounds like you lost your edge. You said your strop is pasted (Green?). Touch it up, 10 passes then strop it. Nice and slow with no pressure 60 passes.

Uh-oh... in testing on paper you might have messed it up!

Best only to test it on your thumbpad (carefully!) or on hair. BTW the HHT is not a reliable test until you have calibrated it. Much ink has been spilled on that topic though, so I won't get into it here. The only real test is the shave test.

Aim for something around 30 degrees when shaving with the grain, a little shallower against. Somewhere in that ballpark should work best.

I'm going to start sounding like a nagging granny here, but what the heck... the best way to start out is sloloooooowly. Right now your technique is still being learned, you're most likely struggling with angles and pressure, different grips, how to approach this bit or that bit, how to stretch the skin, etc. That's a lot to take in. So generally the advice when starting is to just ease into it, restricting yourself to the simple parts: with the grain on your cheeks for example. Then, as things start to feel more natural, work in additional areas, then across/against the grain, etc.

However, that having been said, it is ultimately your face and so it's your decision and your decision only how you approach things! Whatever you do, best of luck with it.

Welcome to the forum and I wish you luck. You have had some good advice here, especially to "take your time". I don't think cutting paper did the edge any good either or the dry shaving. There is some good advice here First straight razor shave - Straight Razor Place Wiki in case you haven't seen it.

Bob

Thanks for all the input fella's, much appreciated.

Third shave went well, no cuts this time with a little burn on the cheecks. Felt like the razor was pulling the hairs out in some spots. The chin this time went much smoother, needed to give it some oomph though to make it pass through but not bad. I have yet to feel the smoothness and ease of the SR though, to me it feels alot rougher than my mach 3 and in general misses quite a bit more hairs compared to it. It does however do a nice job pulling up those hairs that my mach 3 normally leaves behind as little black dots (ingrown hairs?) but feels extremely nice when passing over my throat area. I think the witch hazel (first time using it) made a difference in calming my skin since my normal neck irritation is nowhere to be seen and my cheecks which were on fire have calmed down quite a bit since last night.

The blade itself makes my skin burn though while shaving so I think it might be dull?

Anyone have any sugesstions on stropping it? Was thinking to go over the balsa (i have both green/red paste on it, came like that from whipped dog) a bit than finish with the leather.

By the way if i should be posting any of this elsewhere please let me know.

Cheers