Thread: Spoke too soon on closeness of the shave

Having previously posted about not getting a very close shave with a straight, this morning I managed to get a close shave on all areas except a bit on the chin. I used my Wostenholm wedge. All last week I used a vintage with a hollow grind, but I find the wedge much easier to use. I can’t believe how quickly muscle memory kicks in. This is only my fifth week with a straight. At first, I had a terrible time shaving the upper lip. This morning, no problem. I just hope my stropping technique is okay. For a while I’ll stick with the Wostenholm.

Can't go wrong with uncle George.

My favorite for sure, and wedges are a plus for me, too.

I really enjoy shaving with the old wedges. I do own hollows, but more often find myself using a wedge razor. I like the feel of that soft, smooth edge on my skin. The weight of the thing. And using a razor thats 170 odd years old is kinda cool too. As far as stropping an old wedge razor, just lay it on a taught hanging strop and smoothly run the razor up and down. Windscreen wiper action with a wedge for me. No need to put a heavy twist or tourque to the edge. Just feel through your fingers that the edge has constant, even contact with the strop. At least thats my method

Ditto here on the wedges although my favorite is Wade & Butcher especially the FBUs. I shaved with this one yesterday.

17/16 FBU wedge with a BBW/Coti natural combo finish. What a buttery smooth shave; like wiping away the whiskers. That great big thing makes me feel like a little boy playing with my Daddy's razor.

Good job by the way getting good close shaves this early. That's a good trend. Keep up the good work. I too got close shaves early. My trouble was nicking myself but the closeness was not an issue.

Originally Posted by Elnones

Having previously posted about not getting a very close shave with a straight, this morning I managed to get a close shave on all areas except a bit on the chin. I used my Wostenholm wedge. All last week I used a vintage with a hollow grind, but I find the wedge much easier to use. I can’t believe how quickly muscle memory kicks in. This is only my fifth week with a straight. At first, I had a terrible time shaving the upper lip. This morning, no problem. I just hope my stropping technique is okay. For a while I’ll stick with the Wostenholm.

Happy to hear that everything is falling into place.
From years ago, I remember how satisfying a (what I considered at that time) good straight shave was and how frustrating it was when my shaves seemed to have reached a plateau and despite all my best efforts I did not seem to make much progress.

But I wonder though whether you might do yourself a disservice by alternating between (full) hollow grind and wedge.
When learning something like straight shaving I try to keep the number of variables to a minimum, so that I can easier identify when something does not quite work right.
There is some difference in between guiding a wedge and a full hollow straight across the skin and it could make polishing your muscle memory harder.

Just a thought, in the end do what you think works best for you and enjoy your shaves.


B.