Thread: Looking back

Coming up on four years next month, but after three years watching movies and reading books in the truck every night, I needed a hobby. I went to YouTube and searched hobbies. After all the cooking and gardening stuff up came this guy (Lynn Abrams) honing a straight razor. One video lead to another. Lynn lead to Glen, drmatt357 and geofatboy. I was hooked. I watched everything I could on honing and sr shaving for nearly a month before buying a thing. I want to know as much as I could to be sure I was buying quality stuff. This effort served me well - 42 razors, 13 stones, 5 strops, and over 20 brushes later.

My first shave on my own honed edge with a Norton 4/8 on a Gold Dollar left a gash on left side of my mouth that bled for a couple of hours. Undeterred, I carried on. More practice, more videos. I didn’t come to SRP till a couple of months after starting. Wasn’t on my radar.

After four years of practice, experience, continued learning, I am very satisfied with my progress.

As an OTR tanker driver I’m in the truck stops most nights, using their showers. I prep and strop in the truck before hitting the shower. Shower and shave used take a little over two hours - start to finish. Nowadays I’m down to about 90 minutes for both. I don’t worry about hurrying since it’s so relaxing and enjoyable; not to mention I spend the day on the edge (pun intended) between the lines at 65mph.

When I was still working, I was on the road 8-10 nights per month. Sometimes I drove, sometimes I would fly. Shaving was something I did to get ready to go meet customers. Generally, I took the easiest route and shaved with either a Norelco or a cartridge razor. My lather of choice was often whatever shampoo or conditioner the hotel offered. My shaves were neither close, nor comfortable. I hated shaving, but had to shave daily.

After I retired in late 2013. Sometime during the next two years, I began to transition to the use of DE razors. Then when my uncle died, I acquired two straight razors that I suspect might have belonged to his father. One was a Wostenholm pipe razor. The other was a Shumate. That started my adventure into straight razors.

I now have a collection of straight razors, DE razors, hones, strops, soaps, brushes, etc. I recently won a ATT SE1 single edge razor at the Maggard meet. It was my first SE razor since I used a Schick Type L injector back in the late 60s, early 70s. With a collection of good hardware and good software and with the techniques I have learned from this forum, I now get wonderfully close, irritation-free shaves and what was once a chore is now one of the more enjoyable events of my day. I do rotate between shaving with straight razors, DE razors and the newly acquired SE. Although I can get good shaves from either, I get the most enjoyable shaves when using a well honed, well stropped straight razor.

My first straight razor shave was with a kit I bought from a Fellow member on SRP back when it was only a yahoo group. It was a dovo 5/8 silverstahl with ebony handle and wide dovo strop.

It took me 45 minutes and the results were mediocre at best.

This was before YouTube so the learning curve was quite steep.

First shave took me an hour of nervousness and sweating. No nicks or cuts, but my arms and back were sore from being so rigid.

You too? I wasn't going to bring up the back and arm pains. Glad I'm not alone with that one.

I started right after I retired in Feb. 2013 and suddenly had plenty of time on my hands in the morning. My son had been urging me to try for quite some time.

After acquiring an acceptable razor, soap and strop and watching a ton of videos, I did my first shave. It was a complete three pass, WTG, XTG and ATG shave. No cuts, maybe a nick or two and a face that looked sunburned was the result. I remember watching Lynn's video where he kept saying to shave one cheek and stop. Ha!, not stubborn 'ol me.

Anyone that tells you that there knees weren't knocking and their hands weren't shaking the first time they put a straight razor to their face isn't quite normal. This was certainly the feeling that I had, but I remember that it passed rather quickly.

I haven't touched my face with anything other than a straight razor since then.

Pete <:-}

Originally Posted by petercp4e

I started right after I retired in Feb. 2013 and suddenly had plenty of time on my hands in the morning. My son had been urging me to try for quite some time.

After acquiring an acceptable razor, soap and strop and watching a ton of videos, I did my first shave. It was a complete three pass, WTG, XTG and ATG shave. No cuts, maybe a nick or two and a face that looked sunburned was the result. I remember watching Lynn's video where he kept saying to shave one cheek and stop. Ha!, not stubborn 'ol me.

Anyone that tells you that there knees weren't knocking and their hands weren't shaking the first time they put a straight razor to their face isn't quite normal. This was certainly the feeling that I had, but I remember that it passed rather quickly.

I haven't touched my face with anything other than a straight razor since then.

Pete <:-}

I don't think anything but a straight razor, would want to touch your face either, Pete.

I don't understand the fear related to straights

Your are shaving with a sharp knife.

I didn't get nicks until I started to get to comfortable.

My first shaves were not very good and i didn't expect them to be.

Being worried creates more issues!

If you don't trust yourself and your motor skills than maybe it is not for you.

Originally Posted by outback

I don't think anything but a straight razor, would want to touch your face either, Pete.

You got that right Mike

Pete <:-}

Good stuff fella's.. Enjoy reading others trials, tribulations and eventual succes.. @ criswilson10 & Jerry, almost forgot how bad my back , arms,shoulders and especially my neck hurt in the 1st months... Good times though
Scott