Two years before the Straight
Apologies to Mr Dana for borrowing a bit of his Title (ok, he's dead but I feel guilty) but its appropriate as this month marks my two year anniversary of shaving with straight razors. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts as I always find these types of threads entertaining and informative ('how I messed up').
My journey actually started in the eighties when I expressed an interest in straight razors (honestly, I don't remember what sparked it) and my father handed me a bundle of straights held together by a rubber band. One was in good shape and my father showed me how to hold it. I bought a strop and away I went. It was a terrible experience; horrible shaves and a flapper on my cheek ended the experiment, though I stayed with using soap and an old, cheap badger brush. I wish my father was still around so I could ask him where he got them (and, you know, to have him around).
Two years ago I finally needed a new brush and doing a little searching on the internet found this site. Found the razors and started out again, this time armed with the internet. From day one I never used anything else (except for two longish vacations where I used a cartridge for convenience, awful) and yes, my shaves were poor with lots of nicks and irritation. But I'm stubborn.
Some thoughts on my journey:
--Strops: IMO this should be the first purchase. Learning to strop properly was difficult for me (I literally butchered by Illinois 127 right out of the package, really). If starting again I would buy a quality strop and a crappy razor. Kill the edge completely and practice, practice, practice. If you can't strop properly you will have poor shaves and lots of nicks. Do not practice with a butter knife or some other dull instrument; use a razor with a completely dulled edge.
--Hones: I was always going to maintain my own razors from the get-go. My favorite razor has still only been touched by me since my dad gave it to me. Two of the other razors I sent in for light restoration and honing; I quickly compromised those beautiful edges with poor stropping. I was crazy about getting a hone immediately and was intrigued by the Arkansas stones (bit of a rock hound). The local Woodscraft store had a 'Washita' stone that looked pretty and I bought it. Then I got a soft, hard and translucent; all in! Well, thank the forum for Euclid 440! He dialed me in. However; these are not easy stones to learn on and I would be hesitant to recommend them to someone starting out. Having said that I've maintained all my edges using these stones for the last year and a half and I get close, comfortable shaves. I have no doubt if one of my edges were evaluated by a pro honer they would be alarmed I was shaving with them; my idea of comfort is probably not universally held.
--Brushes: I have three. They are all fine. My Thater 3-band is like a pillow and I do love it. I do like a bit of backbone and this one has little. I bought a boar brush (Semogue) and it is a fantastic brush once broken in. I'll probably be picking up another badger before long with a bit more backbone.
--Soaps and creams: I'm a puck kind of guy but do have a couple of creams. Learning to make a great lather was a challenge initially because I'd spent the past 30 years using Williams and Colgate pucks; my goal then was to see how long I could get one to last. Pretty much was shaving with crappy lather and cartridges. Most products will produce a fine lather; find one's that stimulate your sense of smell. Big part of the joy of shaving.
--Aftershaves: I had never used an aftershave in my life prior to the start of this journey. Now I have a bunch. For me, big part of the joy of shaving. Floid Suave is amazing. Bay rum is wonderfully bracing (and gives excellent feed-back on your technique!). Get a bunch and enjoy!
--And razors: If I was to start again I would just have two razors of equal geometry that were pro-honed and learn to shave properly. Angle and pressure. You've never heard this before as I've come up with this on my own but, Shave the Lather. I should coin this. Brilliant! (just relax, I'm kidding about coming up with this). I currently have 5 razors in my rotation and am getting ready to pull the trigger on a custom. Excited!
--number of passes: I shave on average every other day. I like to feel a heavy stubble prior to shaving; maximizes the wonderfulness of BBS. My experience is one pass is an unacceptable shave. Sure you can do a bunch of touch up and get out the door but, really? Two passes is a DFS. Three is what I'm looking for; BBS. If you are an everyday shaver then two passes is probably sufficient as long as the second pass is ATG. IMO ATG is key to true BBS. Sometimes I'll throw in a fourth pass for luxury sake. I did not truly experience BBS until probably 80-100 shaves in (but I thought I did). I spend about 20-25 minutes in the bathroom from strop to cleanup. If pressed for time I can get a two pass shave in under 10 minutes but I feel like I cheated myself.
Well, its been two years and I just love the experience of shaving with a straight. It is a luxury that men can embrace and you know what? We frigging deserve it! Not sure about you, but I've spent most of my life working hard and worrying about others. So nice to take a little time for myself and luxuriate!!!!
I must be getting tired of writing as I'm now using way to many acronyms (not a fan) so I'll stop rambling. Hope you enjoyed the read!
Smooth shaving.
Paul
