Thread: Attack and Plaster

What happened to the 4k challenge, I'm actually ready for it now and it hasn't happened since i was struggling to shave at all, come on guys, let me strut my funky stuff with the best.

You guys are really killing me. Sending one of my best to keep you in line!

@sharptonn is that AFTER the 4k challenge???

Originally Posted by sharptonn

You guys are really killing me. Sending one of my best to keep you in line!

You should get that treated. We had a dog like that and the vet gave us some stuff, fixed him right up in just a couple of months.

Originally Posted by Muttley

One of the most important lessons I have learned on my journey is once the RAZOR touches your face to shave and you feel it's NOT quite in the right place, DON'T change your mind, continue with that stroke or REMOVE the razor and replace it as desired!!! Every time I have put the razor on my face and thought hmmm it just needs to be a little more over I inevitably move the razor and as if by magic the red stuff immediatly.

What you describe here, has two elements worth thinking about: a) concentration and b) the lateral stroke.

The obvious one; a straight shave demands more concentration than any other shave.

The second one; a purely lateral move with the blade resting on your skin is a sure way to ask for trouble.
Yet, you may find one day that a small element of lateral movement during a vertical stroke will produce a closer shave, which incidentally also holds true for safety razor shaves.

But to correctly apply that lateral element during a straight shave requires concentration, perseverance, and experience.
It is one more thing a novice straight shaver needs to come to terms with, but don’t believe or get discouraged by the story that after 100 straight shavers you will have become an accomplished shaver that some people peddle.

The truth is that it is a long journey with hardly an end in sight.
After 100 straight shaves you may have achieved adequate shaves, after 300 shaves you may reach a point where your straight shaves are as good as a typical (meaning small negative blade exposure) safety razor allows with skill, and from there onwards you enter an area where you make from time to time small tweaks and adjustments to your shaving, honing and stropping routine, and start approaching shaves that cannot be surpassed with any safety razor, no matter what blade exposure or blade gap.

Some people may tell you that they became accomplished straight shavers after 100 or less shaves, but I do not know how they define an impeccable shave and I have been doing this long enough to know how late in the game some new ideas pop up in one’s mind and how pleased I am when they produce what by now may be minute improvements, but improvements nevertheless.


It’s the journey that matters, not the destination…


Apologies for the rather long write-up.



B.

In short...there will become a time when all fear of the straight just goes away. And you become very comfortable using a straight.

That's when the tweaking begins. At least it did for me, then came experimentation with everything, till I found what works for me. I just shave, now. Nothin to it.!

Never take your eye off the blade

Originally Posted by rolodave

Never take your eye off the blade

For several years, my home, a boat, had no mirror. Away at work, on ships, I always had one of course, but on my boat I never saw the need to have yet another thing that could be broken and cut me. I figured since I knew where my face was and where my hand was, and therefore where my razor was, and could also feel it touching skin, I didn't need a mirror for shaving, and I didn't. An awareness is needed, but eyes-on is not. In fact on another forum we had a member who was blind and shaved with a straight razor. I think reading the forum threads was more of a bother than shaving, for him.

I kinda agree with CCR.

It's not what your looking at, it's letting your mind become distracted from the task at hand. In reality, how many things do u do daily, instinctively without thought. But if distracted while in progress, screws us all up. Just saying.

But hey...we can blame it on our age..right.