Noob thoughts on the straight (so far)

Since putting a 1" slice in my cheek, I've been shaving exclusively with the slant/feather combo. It works real nice and I've gotten my shaves down with it to a few minutes. I have to be careful with it though as added pressure really gets the razor burn going.

I got my 7/8's Filly (plain jane model from classicshaving) back from Lynn today. I put about 20 passes on a 4 sided strop, lathered up, and did a complete shave with it. It seemed much nicer to shave with than the spike point. The main thing I liked about the razor is it was much more forgiving than the feather/slant combo. It pulled more, but I was able to do pass after pass with little to no skin irritation.

I was even able to shave atg, which has traditionally been a no no for me. The neck, chin and to some degree, the top of the sideburns (cant see the blade) were the most difficult - the chin by far the hardest. I just couldnt figure out how to shave it - I musta changed hands 20 or 30 times to get it done. The blade seemed hard to start at times, but I attribute this to dry lather (took me a while) as once I added some water to the lather and face it eased up. Shaving with a straight definately provides more thrill!

I'm not so sure the the Tony Miller 4 sided strop is good for a beginner like me. I've been practicing, but the narrow, rigid face makes it hard for me to keep the razor completely flat - as the razor comes off it wants to balance on the corner. I contacted Tony about a 3" model.

Also got some soap from Colleen - I used the bay rum/orange which, imo, is the best smelling bay rum scent out there. I experimented with lathering on the face and it worked much nicer for me. I didnt have to fuss about mixing, adding water, mixing, etc.

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Originally Posted by M Guthner

I'm not so sure the the Tony Miller 4 sided strop is good for a beginner like me. I've been practicing, but the narrow, rigid face makes it hard for me to keep the razor completely flat - as the razor comes off it wants to balance on the corner. I contacted Tony about a 3" model.

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This should solve itself with some practice. I hold the strop loosely in my hand, so that when I place the spine down on it the strop can rotate to match. As I reach the end of my stroke I roll the razor so the edge lifts off the strop while the spine stays on the strop. The spine is the first thing down at the beginning of the stroke, and the last thing off at the end of it.

Some guys brace the strop on the counter so it's more stable, it's just a matter of experimenting to find which approach works for you better.