Now my Iwasaki razor was meant to be a Christmas gift from my mother however as I hadn’t seen her to give it to her to wrap I felt it had been lying around too long to remain unused!
I’ve just completed my second shave with it and am completely delighted. Sure the shaves leave a fair amount to be desired however as far as my expectations go for my third ever attempt at a straight shave thus far my expectations have been exceeded.
The razor had arrived honed and shave ready. Prior to my first shave I looked and played with the razor a lot; my girlfriend has already commented on the fact my left arm appears to have developed alopecia as I kept checking how smoothly it could take off hair. I also badly practiced stropping the razor which dulled it greatly. Not to worry, I have a Coticule stone so decided to attempt to polish the blade. This last step worked surprisingly well and returned my razor to a fairly decent shape where it could once again pass the hanging hair test at around a 2 to 3.
My stropping is really weak, and definitely an area I need to work on. Currently I am using the 19” by 2.25” Dovo Prima Rindleder strop. Would a wider strop, and one made out of a slightly better leather, make the learning curve any easier? I suspect I am being that workman that blames his tools here and basically need to practice more.
As for the shaves, both times I used a hot towel spritzed with Rive Gauche Intense as prep, D.R. Harris Rose cream and a New Forrest Brushes prototype I was lucky enough to receive which is my favorite brush. I was also sporting several days growth partially due to laziness and partially to make the shave slightly easier.
The first pass was WTG. The second XTG on my face and WTG on my chin. The third pass was ATG on face only. For the second and third passes I use cold water instead of hot though the lather is still usually quite warm.
My face is a little tender but that’s it. Alum and a little Aloe gel have basically soothed my face; it’s nothing like the two days of razor burn I went through after my first DE shave! It’s a perfectly passable shave and at a push I’d suggest DFS on my cheeks. And I’m please to say no nicks or weepers!
I think I’ve managed to complete my shaves entirely due to the razor being slightly duller that it should ideally be. I’m certainly not having to put pressure and drag the blade to cut though I guess from my experiences, using a DE comparison, it’s closer to a Derby than a Feather feel. There were a couple of occasions where my skin tensioning wasn’t quite there / angle was slightly off and I saw my skin bunch up a little. I’m sure were the blade as sharp as when it came I’d be nursing a few cuts now.
I’m sure for these first two shave this slight dullness has helped. I’m planning on polishing my razor again on the Coticule to get it slightly sharper again.
I obviously have a lot to learn, and much practice ahead, but I am already delighted with my switch to straight shaving.
Thanks to everyone on here who’s post have educated and encouraged me, and most importantly given me the confidence that straight shaving was possible. After my first disastrous experience two years ago I never though it possible!