My great 2nd Shave!

So, I got the rest of my stuff from SRD, including my strop. This next shave was really to see if the razor was going to pull less than my first shave.

This time, I prepped my beard with some of Stephan Stay Smooth Cream after a hot shower. That stuff is awesome! So slick and lubricating, and smells wonderful. Kind of like coconut, or a nice sun block lotion. While this was on my face, I did my stropping. I watched a couple videos on our Stroptober thread, just to get my mind refreshed. And after doing it for a bit, I think I realized that I was going to get hooked on stropping :cool:. When I stropped after my shave for about 10 laps, I didn't want to stop LOL. But I did of course.

Then it came time to make my lather. This time, I made sure to use less water than my first shave... and I was definitely successful at that. The lather (C.O. Bigelow) was much creamier and thicker, and did not dry out as fast this time.

My strokes in the beginning around my cheek area were more confident this time, which helped a lot. I could tell that there was a much better glide this time too, with the better lather and beard prep. The Stay Smooth cream was definitely helping too, under the lather.

To make a possible long story short, I shaved my entire face with the razor this time, one pass WTG! :y It was a great feeling. Even though it still took me like an hour.... sigh. Again, I have a full and coarse beard. I only had one tiny cut, from the point of my razor. As soon as I did it, I knew it was going to be a cut. So I learned from my mistake. Also, I had some rawness around my chin. My chin is quite angular and big, for those who saw my picture from my nice big cut on my first shave post. ( http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...st8-shave.html ) I'm going to have to experiment more, and figure out where to stretch my skin and the areas to layout to shave in a stroke. I also need to keep in mind, to keep the angle very low when shaving there until I get used to it.

Finally, came time to try out my alum block. I knew it would sting a little, but MAN, it was a lot hahaha! But it felt good too, knowing what it was doing. Using my nice AOS sandalwood after-shave balm helped sooth that though.

For my next shave, 'rodb' was nice enough send me a loaner razor to try out. And I didn't even ask him! It's a Sheffield near wedge, and it's to compare the sharpness and overall feel. We were both unsure if the razor that I have possibly needed to be rehoned, no doubting that rodb's honing skills are wonderful. Or it was just my awful technique. It's been a pleasure speaking and doing business with him, and receiving his great advice. :) Maybe I'll like the feel and extra weight of the near wedge, for my coarser beard. Less flex on the blade. But then again, I do appreciate the lightness of my current blade. And if it gives a little, since I don't need much pressure on the blade, I'm less likely to cut myself.

Overall, I was very proud of myself, for actually doing my whole face on just my 2nd shave. Look forward to next one, and all after :)