Thread: What's Your Prep and Process?

I've been having trouble keeping an edge on my razors. I've been very careful with my angles as I shaved and have watched all the stropping videos I could find so I'm pretty sure my technique is good. I've increased the number of stropping strokes to 80-100. I would get about 7 or 8 shaves before the razor started tugging and pulling. A couple days ago I decided to do the hot towel treatment even though I had just gotten out of the shower and it made a world of difference. Razors that I thought weren't quite sharp enough plowed right through the whiskers and felt brand new again. So here's my new routine...

1) Shower (scrub the face and whiskers with soap)
2) Deodorant
3) Fill my shave bowl with hot water and soak brush and washcloth
4) Work up a lather with shave bowl and brush
5) Wet face and apply lather
6) Apply hot washcloth for 30-60 seconds
7) Re-wet face and re-apply lather
8) WTG pass at 30 degrees
9) Re-wet face and lather up left side
10) XTG/ATG pass at 15-20 degrees on left side
11) Re-wet face and lather up right side
12) XTG/ATG pass at 15-20 degress on right side
13) Rinse, re-wet and re-lather
14) Touch up
15) Final rinse with cold water
16) Apply either witch hazel or Burt's Bees unscented aftershave lotion depending on my mood and/or how much irritation I have
17) Clean up

It is a little involved but it sure starts the day off right!

You get 7-8 days of shaving from one stropping and you're complaining(#11)!
What am "I" doing wrong 'Master'?

Originally Posted by Johnus

You get 7-8 days of shaving from one stropping and you're complaining(#11)!
What am "I" doing wrong 'Master'?

Wow - 7 or 8 days between stropping?

I strop my blades before and after every shave....

One has to ask what divine substance you apply to your strop to achieve that! Angels tears or aqua vitae paste might be contenders.

Originally Posted by Phrank

Wow - 7 or 8 days between stropping?

I strop my blades before and after every shave....

Same here.

Sorry, I wasn't clear -- I strop 80-100 strokes before each shave. I just meant that from what I've heard, *with regular stropping*, I should get a good month or two out of a razor before I have to break the hones out and touch it up. I was only getting 7-8 shaves *with regular stropping* before I felt like I needed to re-hone. The point I was trying to make is that face prep seemed to have a much bigger impact on the performance of a razor than I thought.

1. Make lather in bowl. 2. Splash hot water on face. 3. Strop razor. 4. Shave. 5. Shower. 6. Apply Clubman.

Get up, Sit on toilet and do whatever, Use water pik, brush teeth, take a hot shower, wet brush, strop while brush soaks a few mins, lather up brush and face, a nice 2 pass shave..mmmmm, splash on aftershave, grit teeth, then smile, coffee, for the love of god coffee, then see what I can find for breakfast

Gents:

1) Hot towel 3 times for a minutes each.
2) 1st pass with either the cream or soap I'm using.
3) Removed with the same towel and after that I put a nice 3P coat.
4) 1st official pass with either a soap or cream I decided to use.
5) 1st shave.(with the grain).
6) Hot towel one time for a minute and a half.
7) 2nd coat of 3P.
8) 2nd shave ( across the grain).
9) Hot towel one time for a minute and a half.
10) 3rd shave (against the grain).
11) Aluminum block for 3 to five minutes (sometimes hurt)
12) Clean it with water and a nice aftershave.(3 coats of aftershave)

And after that rock and roll.....


Thanks
Kenneth

Originally Posted by Phrank

My morning prep...

Get out of bed.
Rinse face, brush teeth
Select straight razor and shaving soap
Select my corset, which should be easy and stylish, instead of making me feel big and swollen.
Shower
Shave
Coffee

.....and done!

Very advanced prep, I see. I'm not at that level... yet.