Thread: First and second shaves - sweet

Thanks again to the donor of the Puma that I won in the drawing and thanks to Tony for the really quick turn-around on the 4-sided paddle.

Today was my second shave with the razor. I’ve been using a Shavette for a while.
Things went really well both days, no more than the occasional nick. I'm getting a smooth shave that I'm really happy with. I can honestly say that things would have to go terribly wrong for me to ever go back to shaving with anything else.

I am getting some razor burn that I wasn’t getting with the Shavette. I think my stropping technique is still a little sketchy.
The blade is pretty noisy and drags a bit. I tried the HHT with no luck. My plan is just to keep working on the daily strop and see if things improve. I think I'll hold off of the pasted strops for a bit.

Could be that I'm being sloppy on my prep work and/or technique. Could be that the Puma is cutting up irregularities in my face that the Shavette just slid over. I don’t know.

Any thoughts?

Thanks fellas,
Mike

The razor burn could be due to the blade angle being too large. Try to keep it around two spine-widths from your face and maybe even less so on your neck and see if that improves things some. Another source of razor burn could be from putting too much pressure on the blade. Don't worry, it will get better the more you shave, it just takes time.

I'd consider getting a pasted strop soon though. You're not gonna get more than about 10-15 shaves (on average) before the edge will need to be touched up.

I'm sorry Ed, but I have to stand up for my fellow-honers:

Instead of a pasted strop, you may want to consider a fine finishing hone for edge touchups. Tony's waiting for some coticules.

Thanks fellas. Yeah Ed, your spot on. I think I'm guilty of both those things. I do have a 4 sided strop with 1, .5, and .25 on three of the sides. Seeing as how its the same motion as the daily stroping, which I'm only starting to get right, I'm hoping to put the paste off for a week's worth of practice.

Firestart, As for the hone, I'm heading that direction. When you're talking about a finishing hone are you talking about a Norton 4k/8k or are you talking about something finer like a 12k? Is that what a coticule is?

Things went better today. Took my time shaving and got a better stropping in beforehand. I'm basing the stropping comment on that suction feeling you get when the blade is correctly on the strop. The burn is much less today.

Gracias,

Mike

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

I'm sorry Ed, but I have to stand up for my fellow-honers:

Instead of a pasted strop, you may want to consider a fine finishing hone for edge touchups. Tony's waiting for some coticules.

I have to disagree I think for touchups you can't beat a 4 sided paddle with paste. I recently got two razos on ebay that were not used didn't pass HHT 20 passes on the .5 and 20 on the .25 and the hairs just jumped off the blade. Very easy to use too.

Originally Posted by RichZ

20 passes on the .5 and 20 on the .25 and the hairs just jumped off the blade. Very easy to use too.

I think I'll give the pastes a try this weekend.

I figure that long-run I'll put some cash into a Norton, then a 3" strop, THEN I can start buying razors like you junkies.

No, no, I'm sure that won't happen. I'm a very strong person.

I figure that if I can keep the number of hopeless addictions under 15 I'm doing alright. Or was that 20? Can't remember.

Damn it . You've got to understand . . . I couldn't help myself.

I went to an antique store just down the block to look around for my wife's birthday present.



And got a razor.

It happened so fast. It's like I was in a fog.

The white celluloid handles are a bit rough, but theres no pitting on the blade. No nicks. And only $15. Pah-The-Tick. What have you guys done to me?

Joking aside. Help me out with this one.

Its a 6/8 spike. Stamp on the talon is hard to make out: "*****NOLM & SON'S". Theres a pipe stamped on the other side. The box (may or may not be related to the razor) says "Anton Wingen Jun. SOLINGEN" and "Othello" on the top of the box.

I like it, I'm happy I bought it. It looks good to me, but what the hell do I know, I'm new to this.

We've established that I'm hooked. Was I too impetuous? Was I ripped off? What do you all think? Can you guys tell me anything about it?

Thanks,
Mike

Provided it's in good working order that Wolstenholm Pipe razor came at a STEAL!
Well done, young padawan.

Now it's time to clean it, Rubbing alcohol should do, but you can make an equal mix of bleach, alcohol and water if you want perfection. Then take it to the hone. The rest should be intuitive.

X

Ilija,
TMike already has one of my paddles and both they and the Coticles work well. There is no one tol that does the job every time.

I no longer carry the newer Coticule currently quarried. I do have a growing selection of vintage Belgians and eschers from a large collection I will be offering soon, but I am no longer a dealer for the quarry at Ardennes, Belgium.

Tony

Originally Posted by TMike

Firestart, As for the hone, I'm heading that direction. When you're talking about a finishing hone are you talking about a Norton 4k/8k or are you talking about something finer like a 12k? Is that what a coticule is?

Norton is a start and it gives you a shaving edge. I'm waiting for a coticule to come in as soon as X ships it out as it was a great finisher/refresher by general concensus. It should be in the 10-12k range. There are other alternatives like Shapton/Swaty but I'm not 100% sure about them. I'll keep you posted as soon as I get some experience with the coticule.