Thread: I am on the fence now after the first DE shave.

Thank you for those encouraging comments. I will give it a good try. The stropping is somewhat frustrating at the beginning though.

Originally Posted by str8fencer

I recognize a lot of my own personality in your description, I am also a dive-in kinda guy and started much like you - with everything. I also did my won honing right from the start, and this had a funny side effect: I was having trouble deciding which razor was my favourite, until it dawned on me - my favourite would always be the one I honed last, as my honing skills picked up

Best of luck!

I had a good laugh when I read this. I am getting to the point that my favorite is 3 honings ago!

I too jumped in with both feet to straights. After this weekend I am glad I did. I decided to do some experimenting. Saturday I tried a Star SE. I bought a honing jig and of course I had to get a blade dull to try it out. I am yet deciding if I will give it a chance to get dull. I have never seen so much blood/razor burn. You might think that would be enough to stop my experimenting but then I got out my Rolls Razor and honed that up today. I irritated all the spots from yesterday and added a few more. I don't know how they could sell these "New and Improved" things.

Then to add insult to injury I cut my pointer finger while repairing the scales on a W&B. It cut so quick and clean I have had a tough time getting it to seal. I had a bandaid on it for three hours or so and it came loose and then started bleeding again.

Oh well, If this is the worst that will happen I will be happy. I think in the morning I will use that W&B.

Tim

Seriously, you should go to the ER for a few stitches for a wound like that.

Originally Posted by 32t

Then to add insult to injury I cut my pointer finger while repairing the scales on a W&B. It cut so quick and clean I have had a tough time getting it to seal. I had a bandaid on it for three hours or so and it came loose and then started bleeding again.

Tim

Originally Posted by remingtonmarlin

Seriously, you should go to the ER for a few stitches for a wound like that.

Thanks for your concern but I think all that I would be doing is adding to the high cost of insurance if I did that.

I have read many times the recommendation to try and hone a blade to see if it is worth restoring. If you can get a good edge then fix it up. I don't do that. They are dangerous enough when they are dull.

Tim

The W&B did a wonderful job this morning. I am wondering if my honing skill increased in proportion to my shaving skills. They got sharper as I got better?

That dang cut opened up again late morning. I had heard many times the superglue treatment. I gave it a try and it works great. Now as long as I don't get ethyl cyanoacrylate poisoning!

That got me thinking... If I was going to continue to try and use that SE has anyone ever tried Super Glue as a post shave treatment?

Tim

First off, if you do decide you don't want to go the straight shave route you can make a non-tax-deductible donation to the BigJim Shaving Gear Fund.

I used a DE for the first time last night, as my straights are off being honed. I picked it up at an antique shop, grabbed some blades from the local grocer's pharmacy section, and away we went. It wen't at least as well as my Hydro's shaves. Little more blood loss as the Hydro won't cut the shaving bumps it leaves, but the Fatboy level's the Hydro's bumps (no serious blood loss though...didn't even need my styptic).

For the ability to pop in a blade and get a comparable shave, it was very gratifying. The shave was equal to or better than the cartridge, and I'm sure will be even better tonight. I'm still all about getting my straights back and mastering them, but instead of finishing up those straight shaves with the Hydro, I'll be reaching for the DE for sure.

What's BBS?

Sorry, new guy.

Regards,

Paul

Hey Dr. Pepper, welcome to SRP. (Striaght Razor Place). BBS stands for Baby Butt Smooth. There are a whole bunch of other abbreviations thrown around here. You can find most of them in the Wiki (in the menu bar above). Along with a ton of other great info on wet shaving.

Originally Posted by PhatMan

remingtonmarlin,

A lot of people, including myself, use a straight not just because if the quality of the straight shave, but because of the entirety of the straight shaving experience.

I shave after work, and for me, my straight shaves are a tranquil oasis.

During the shave, all the bad crap from the day disappears, and I fell very much the better for it !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

+1to that, im the same way, i have both and i use the straight on my face, and the DE on my dome, seems to give me a better bbs on top that way, love them both but the straight is ME TIME

I would like to add a question to this thread. I am struggling with an SE right now. I have probably mangled the blade with poor stropping technique and need to send it in for sharpening. I am consider getting a DE to fill in the gap during the learning curve. Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance

JeffH