Thread: During shave question

I haven't even recieved my straight, but trying to get ducks in a row. I've read many posts and wikis but have a question. During the shave, how often do you have to rinse the blade? And knowing how fragile the edge is, how do you do it without damaging the cutting surface?

This may be a technique question that I will figure out after starting, but just wanted to ask. My Dovo Special tortoise is on the way from SRD. Hopefully honed by Lynn. Cheers

I actually never rinse. I just wipe on a piece of toilet paper.

When i am in a rinsing mood... I make sure the edge is pointing away from the faucet/back of sink to avoid accidents. I do not have much clearance in my setup.

I'm not afraid to use the fingers of my non-razor-holding hand. I'm just cautious and gentle (as we always should be with specialized shaving implements). I don't build a thick lather with any soaps so it usually isn't a problem. Can't recall the foam trickling down to the shank and effecting the grip on the razor since the first ten or so shaves, either..

I just hold the razor under a slow running faucet and gently squeeze/wipe off the hair and foam with thumb and pointer finger or thumb and bird-flipping finger. I'll occasionally gently wipe off excess water using the same digit setup with the primary body-drying towel (not the small moist towel used for pre-shave prep) if I'm worried about water trickling down into the pivot pin on the shank. It's pretty casual and a non-issue for me.

Techniquely, how often you rinse could be determined by the size of your blade. For example, a 7/8 blade will need fewer rinses throughout the course of a shave then a 5/8 blade.

However, rinsing is a preference thing. I will rinse the blade when the lather on it starts to whipe off on my face as I'm shaving. I guess it's about every 3 or 4 strokes. I wouldn't worry though, you will naturally figure it out like you did with your multiblade razor.

A good point was made though. If you are going to rinse vs. whipping, be careful of the faucet and sink. IMO The water itself really wont do too much harm to the blade as long as the razor is dry when you store it, but that damn faucet will. I dinged two of my razors on it when I started, and what a pain in the butt. It's usually not the end of the world, but when you first start, you just want to shave, not worry about getting your blade touched up.

Good luck

Just don't make the mistake of shaking or banging it like you mighty a cartridge. If you find yourself prone to do that, just wipe it clean on a towel.

I just strop the lather on the palm of my free hand until moving on to the next pass... Then I rinse one time between each pass when I rinse my face

Welcome to SRP. When I get the blade loaded up with lather where I think it might drip off or when I am going to use the side that isn't covered with lather for another pass I rinse it under the tap. I've not dinged my blade against the faucet (knocking on wood as I say that) yet either drunk or sober.

Yup, the razor will fill up with lather quicker if it's a smaller width. I hold the razor under the faucet with the toe pointed down slightly and quickly turn it on full blast then shut it off. You should already know to always look at the razor, so if you do that I don't see why you'd ding the blade on the sink. When I do my touch ups I like to do a quick wipe on my towel instead. It's very satisfying to see the "whisker dust."

Yep, when it gets to a point I just run it under the hot water faucet. I've never had an issue with contacting the faucet with the blade.

I just started and I would say it's just when i feel like rinsing with hot water. If I'm changing sides of the razor or just feel like it. I do wipe off with my hand towel with the spine facing down, never touching the edge.