After a Year with a Straight
Happy holidays everybody!!!
Well figured I would do a little write up about my first year shaving. The ups, the downs, and everything in between. Looking back at it all, I am so happy that I stuck with it and worked through the troubles to get to were I am today.
As most of you know, shaving with a straight can be an uphill battle in the beginning. Trying to get everything just right and minimize the variables is a challenging endeavor. My shaving technique has had a huge impact on my results, watching my angle, and pressure mainly. However if you are thin like me, the contours around the jawline and chin are challenging, and has taken me months and months to get to a point I'm happy with. Even though I now have hundreds of shaves under my belt, it would be arrogant of me to say that I was done learning. The process and ritual of shaving with a straight is a constantly evolving beast. Over time you figure out what works for your face and what doesn't.
I would say stropping was one of the most challenging parts for me to learn. In the first few months or so, my edges would barely make it passed 10 shaves before I was sending them out to be re-honed by Lynn. After reading a lot on the forums and other internet resources I came to the conclusion that it was my coarse, thick stubble that was trashing my edges. Well after a lot, and I mean a lot of trial and error, I finally figured out that it wasn't my beard that was the culprit, it was my stropping. It only takes one or two careless stokes to ruin all the work you just did. Pressure was another thing that I noticed was important. Now when people hear the word pressure and stropping together they usually cringe. However I'm not talking about bearing down on the blade and forcing the strop to turn into a U. I'm talking enough pressure to keep good consistent contact along the edge. My advice would be to experiment, however always test shave after you change something so you can get an idea of what is happening to the edge.
Consistency was another area I struggled with in the beginning. I would have a great shave one day then the next with the same products have a bad shave. Ironing out all the variables can take some time. In the beginning its important to only change one thing at a time, that way if it works you can pin point what it was that actually helped and vice versa.
Honing a straight, then shaving with that straight has become one of my most treasured hobbies. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of nicks to be able to get a great shave every single time. I'm sure most have already heard this but TAKE YOUR TIME WITH THIS HOBBY. If you are new and are using a shave ready razor from a reputable vendor, a soap that is well know as a good performer, and a reputable brush and are still struggling to get good results. Buying an expensive soap or $300 razor most likely isn't going to change anything. In the beginning this is hard because, when you get a bad shave your more likely to blame the hardware than yourself and this is natural. Now I am not saying expensive soaps and razors aren't nice, but I am saying that I can get an amazing shave using Palmolive(shave stick), and a $40 ebay special.