Thread: A personal triumph

This morning I got a really nice shave with a traditional straight, and I have only the slightest lingering irritation. And I did it with a razor that I brought back from the grave and honed on my collection of barber hones.

That's a huge step for me because of all the problems I've had. Lately I've been shaving only with a Feather AC and doing pretty well. But if I don't pay attention the entire time, it's easy to use too much pressure and end up with razor burn that lingers for several days.

This razor was the Edlis Barber Co. blade that I sanded down and rescaled. (I posted a photo in the restoration forum a while back.) I was having trouble getting it to hone up on my Norton because it has a smile, and I haven't mastered the rolling hone stroke yet. So I grabbed my Gem from Tilly and started working on the edge. It came up to HHT sharp quickly and uniformly--that's what I love about slow hones. You can take a duller patch up to shave sharp with little danger of overhoning the sharp parts.

On a whim, I grabbed another hone I have had sitting in a drawer for six months. It was the first hone I bought, one of those nondescript red-brown types that are so common on eBay. I've never had any luck with it, but for some reason I doggedly hung onto it. I had an irrational attachment to it.

Well, apparently it's a really nice finishing hone. The edge it produced--dry, no lather or water--passed the hanging hair test better than just about any other edge I've ever tested. I gave it a few strokes on my diamond paddles just for good measure, and stropped it up.

The shave was the best I've had with a traditional straight. Only slight pulling, gentle on the skin, no nicks... I'm pretty psyched.

On top of that, I was using my first tube of Trumper's cream, their Limes scent. This stuff is incredible--I may not miss Proraso after all.

So anyway, I just wanted to share my excitement. As always, I appreciate all the support everyone has given me.

Josh

Congratulations!

I had one of those superfine barber hones once, it was called "The King" and like yours it looked like a generic brown barber hone. Except that this thing produced an incredible edge. I could dry-shave with those edges with only a modicum of pulling (comparable to a feather). Unfortunately I dropped it on the edge of the sink and chipped it deeply, and it's taken me many months to find a system that will match those edges on a consistent basis.

Congratulations!!

You know, I kinda expected something like that to happen. That whole Feather thing wasn't gonna fly for long.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

You know, I kinda expected something like that to happen. That whole Feather thing wasn't gonna fly for long.

Yeah, I did too!! Congratulations!!!

Glad it finally worked for you. It always seemed unfair that someone that can get a razor that sharp should have to wait so long to get a good shave from it.

Ant

Hey Josh - I'm really glad things are starting to work for you shave-wise. By the sounds of what you've had to go through, you'll have acquired skills and knowledge that will be of immense benefit to us all at the forums.

I for one look forward to picking your brains!

James.

Hey Josh,

Well done. Happy to hear of your success.

Today I shaved with another razor that I finished just on this barber hone, instead of going to the pasted paddle afterwards. It was actually nicer than the diamond-finished edge. This is the first time I've found a non-pasted finisher that works for me.

I have always wanted to use a barber hone for maintaining my edges, so this is really exciting for me.

The edge did seem to degrade quickly near the end of the shave, so either the honing needs some more work or mid-shave stropping will have to be a regular part of my routine...

Josh

You know, one thing I get a huge kick out of is how you guys like to just wind me up, sit back, and watch the fun. It's probably better that way, because I'm the type that sometimes has to learn by hard experience...

Anyway, I thought I'd post a quick update and mention a few more things that I'm finding to make a big difference.

I'm off the Feather, at least for now. I'm using two straights for my daily shave; I switch halfway through to cut down on mid-shave stropping. Both razors are insanely sharp, courtesy of this amazing barber hone. In terms of the HHT, they seem equal to or possibly better than the Feather blades I've tested.

My face feels great. I'm getting just the slightest bit of irritation after the shave, especially on the left side of my face. (This side actually has more hair and is consistently harder to shave than the right.) But it doesn't hang around long. By the next day I can run my hand over my face without any residual tenderness. It's getting better day by day; I figure I have many months of irritation to heal.

- Mid-shave stropping is essential for me. Maybe the ultra-sharp edge I'm getting is just very delicate, or maybe it's my beard, but I can feel a big improvement when I give the razor 10 extra swipes on the paddle strop.
- Did I mention I'm using a paddle strop? This is helping me use less pressure and get a finer finish on the edge. I'm also less worried about stropping and can focus on the shave more. Later I need to work on improving my hanging strop skills. (By "improving my hanging strop skills," I mean buying a honey-brown Heirloom #1 from Tony. )

- I realized that I was using a toe-leading stroke on some parts of my face, but not others. Where the toe-leading stroke makes the biggest difference is in the against-the-grain pass. Unfortunately, this is also the hardest time to use it, at least for me. So far I haven't sliced myself, but it does make me nervous to go up under my jaw at an angle this way...

- Lowering my standards by not going for BBS, or even necessarily smooth, is helping my face heal. Healed skin is easier to shave, I'm finding. Which also means the shaves are getting smoother as I go.

- Sticking with the same setup is good. I've tended to jump around a lot, so settling down to a routine is helping me isolate problems.

So, things are continuing to improve. In a month or so I just might have my sixth shave.*

Thanks again,
Josh

*Reference to the point where "it all starts to come together" for most average shavers. It's taken me a few more than average.