Thread: Scrambled Eggs

Originally Posted by LarryP

I had that very same revelation with yesterday's shave! The light bulb clicked on, and I had a BBS shave and no razor burn. Heck, my alum block & AS didn't even give me any 'feedback'!

I can't remember who gave me this advice, but several months ago, it was suggested that I use the alum block as a gauge for my shave. But you are right on the money.

since reading this post when it first came out, i have cut back on my strokes and not trying to get that full hollow ground razor to be silent on my face!! i do a north to south then an up pass then an east to west without repeating or going over the same spot. then follow with the alum block/cold water rinse / aftershave,then let my face rest and it feels BBS after everything calms down, GREAT THREAD AND GIVE IT A TRY!!!

Originally Posted by Alembic

I learned something very valuable this morning during my experimentation with returning to the basics of straight razor shaving.

When I was learning to cook and trying to perfect my scrambled egg recipe, I did not get it right until a chef told me "If the eggs are cooked in the pan, they will be over-cooked on the plate". I'm sure you have seen tough scrambled eggs sitting in a pool of water. These were done in the pan, and then carry over cooking ruined them on the plate. So you need to know when to stop cooking, because the eggs were going to change following the cooking process.

So applying this to straight razor shaving, I have been trying to get an absolute BBS while shaving. No whisker or stubble on my face was safe from my gleaning. But in today's experiment, I did not do what I refer to as my polishing pass. And to my surprise, I have a BBS shave with none of the discomfort, no razor burn, and, I'm pretty sure I can do this again tomorrow. So the point here for me is "BBS during the shave means I've over shaved". When the skin and whiskers shrink back down, the real shave is reavealed. So stopping sooner than I had been gives a great BBS shave and none of the side effects. This is the key for me. I only have a sample of 1, but I think it will be repeatable.

I am sure the seniors have learned this, but it was an awakening for me.

Cheers,

David

David,

How true...Perhaps anybody new to straight razor shaving will probably "over shave" in an attempt to achieve a perfect BBS shave. Logically, it would seem that more is better. That is, more passes of the razor will result in a closer, smoother shave. Yet, as it turns out, less is actually better in terms of achieving a close shave.

Like many of those who have already posted, I decided about two months into straight razor shaving that WTG and XTG with the razor, followed by a splash of cold water and an alum block gave me the best shave.

Originally Posted by jhenry

David,

How true...Perhaps anybody new to straight razor shaving will probably "over shave" in an attempt to achieve a perfect BBS shave. Logically, it would seem that more is better. That is, more passes of the razor will result in a closer, smoother shave. Yet, as it turns out, less is actually better in terms of achieving a close shave.

Like many of those who have already posted, I decided about two months into straight razor shaving that WTG and XTG with the razor, followed by a splash of cold water and an alum block gave me the best shave.

Amazing isn't it? But this is art. And an artist knowing when the art is done is the hardest part. Especially since in this case, the art continues to change even after the artist declares it complete.

Great tip David. Bits of info like this are great for rookies like me that are hellbent on achieving the BBS. My face feels better already!