Thread: Straight razor shaving and ingrown hairs

Hi group,

First time post for me here - I've just joined and must say I've been looking for a site like this for some time now. I think congrats are due to the site's founders, creators and to all of you for keeping a community on something like this alive and kicking!

I got my first straight razor some 18 months ago and have been using it as my main shaving hardware for just over a year or so. It's the type that takes replacement blades, although I will at some point be making the jump to the traditional type (I have a particular model in mind and know where to buy it from). I also have a DE which I use occasionally if I'm in a hurry.

I changed to a straight razor, because I got fed up of the expensive rubbish like Mach 3 et al that gave me about 15 major ingrown hair/razor bumps on my face, neck and jaw line every day and yet still couldn't shave me close!! Generally, my hair is very curly with a very thick beard of Mediterranean origin - a combination that makes shaving a nightmare. Even with the straight razor and DE I still get the odd ingrown hair/large razor bump appearing (a lot less though than before!) which I tackle with a variety of creams and shaving methods.

My most recent wonder-cream is the night cream by The Art of Shaving. Costs a bomb, but so far it's done wonders for the mountains I've had on my face (sic). I also try and keep my face moisturised during the day and shave every other day, rather than daily. I use Trumper's shaving cream (wish I'd discovered the rose stuff sooner!), with AOS pre-shave oil and balm. I also have coral skin food by Trumper's which I use when it's not very cold outside; I have also used it as a pre-shave when I haven't shaved in a few days. I also use face washes and stuff in the evenings. My skin is both dry and sensitive.

I suppose my question is whether a traditional straight razor will make a difference for me or if it is my technique. The DE is great, but not as close as the straight and I long for a face like Anthonio Bandaras (anyone remember that scene from Desperado? - I think he used a 6 or 7/8 blade and shaved in the upwards direction; it's huge!). Also, is a hand-held strop and honing stone going to be any better than a hanging type - I can think of nowhere to hang it and as I travel a lot, I may have to resort to taking my DE or blade straight razor with me.

Anyway, thanks for reading and apologies for the slightly long ramble.

Welcome. It looks like you've got your technique down pat there. I would suggest that a good paddle strop should work as well as a hanging strop. Stones are always held on the hand or left flat on a table if larger, and are only used for touch ups, so you shouldn't need to take one on short trips.

Again, welcome to the site. I just might try that AOS cream, since I've got about 3 hairs that consistently ingrow.

As for hanging strops, I hang my strop from a cord on the bathroom doorknob. It's not the optimal location, but it works. When travelling I just take the cord with me and loop it around the towel rack or the clothes rack in the mini-closet.

Hand-held strops work well, but they take longer to strop because they're shorter than a hanging strop so it takes more passes to get the same result. There are three basic flavors of hand-held strop: the loom strop (which is the nearest hand-held equivalent to the hanging strop), the 2-sided paddle strop, and the 4-sided paddle strop. All of these can be pasted with abrasive pastes for refreshing the blade, and you can leave one side unpasted to use for your daily stropping. Obviously the 4-sided paddle allows you to have 3 sides with different abrasive pastes, the downside is they're usually narrower than the blade so you have to use an X pattern when stropping.

A lot of guys have both a hanging strop for daily stropping and a paddle strop with one or both sides pasted with abrasives for blade refreshes.

Thanks for the warm welcome.
I'm not sure how good my technique is. Having lurked here for about a day or so of solid reading, it looks like I have some difficulties like most 'newbies' have reported here: for example, shaving below ear, using left hand on left side of face (although depending how early I'm shaving, I've sort of got past that!), etc.

I did a quick search and found some pics of paddle strops. I think the store I want to buy my kit from has these in stock. Thanks for that! Basically, Trumper's is my store of choice in central London. I want to go for a straight razor from Dovo, it's the one with the Stainless Steel handle as it's not a very large blade (a la Bandaras that used an axe!!).

Definitely go for that cream. It made a persistent bump of two months plus disappear in two or three days flat. I advise you buy the ingrown hair kit (which has th cream in it), plus you also get a great pair of tweezers for freeing ingrown hairs when they surface. Use up/sell/give away all the other bits, esp. the tiny brush they throw in. Good luck and look forward to hearing how you get on.

Originally Posted by mparker762

As for hanging strops, I hang my strop from a cord on the bathroom doorknob. It's not the optimal location, but it works. When travelling I just take the cord with me and loop it around the towel rack or the clothes rack in the mini-closet.

Sounds like a good idea. Didn't think of that, probably because I don't think!

Hand-held strops work well, but they take longer to strop because they're shorter than a hanging strop so it takes more passes to get the same result. There are three basic flavors of hand-held strop: the loom strop (which is the nearest hand-held equivalent to the hanging strop), the 2-sided paddle strop, and the 4-sided paddle strop. All of these can be pasted with abrasive pastes for refreshing the blade, and you can leave one side unpasted to use for your daily stropping. Obviously the 4-sided paddle allows you to have 3 sides with different abrasive pastes, the downside is they're usually narrower than the blade so you have to use an X pattern when stropping.

A lot of guys have both a hanging strop for daily stropping and a paddle strop with one or both sides pasted with abrasives for blade refreshes.

I suppose I could ask at Trumper's for advice. I'm sure the hanging type would be easier for travel. I saw loads of good ones, fairly cheap as well, on eBay. I'm also thinking - would I need a honing stone as well or is that something I can forget about or use an alternative to?

Well, stropping doesn't actually sharpen the blade, it just straightens out the edge so it cuts better (sort of like steeling a knife). So eventually you will need something to sharpen the blade. There are a lot of different ways to do this, the easiest is probably the pasted paddle strop. A lot of paddles come with one side already pasted, so if you get a paddle you get this capability for free. You can also get vintage barber's hones off of ebay for $10-$15. And you'll also hear talk around here of Nortons and Shaptons and Coticules, these are bigger bench-sized hones that are faster or finer than the barber hones and make it easier to restore old vintage ebay razors.

I have a paddle for travelling, but if I traveled more and it was going to be my primary strop, I would get Tony to make something for me. I think Josh had a travel hanging strop from him(sorry to mention it, Josh ) and many guys here have his strops and sing their praises liberally. Tony's da bomb.

X

Originally Posted by rum

Sounds like a good idea. Didn't think of that, probably because I don't think!



I suppose I could ask at Trumper's for advice. I'm sure the hanging type would be easier for travel. I saw loads of good ones, fairly cheap as well, on eBay. I'm also thinking - would I need a honing stone as well or is that something I can forget about or use an alternative to?

I hang my strop from the towel rack or towel holder depending on where I am, and it works great. Tony Miller can tell you more about strops than you ever wanted to know, and can also sell you one which will work for you needs.

I dont get in grown hairs, but I do get very dry skin after a shave and a rub with an alum block another quick rince with cold water and trumpers coral skin food. I started with AOS stuff as well (their lavender line). I have branched out and found many great creams, soaps, oils, and balms that work better and most of the time cost less.

Greetings from another UK member.

Originally Posted by rum

I did a quick search and found some pics of paddle strops. I think the store I want to buy my kit from has these in stock. Thanks for that! Basically, Trumper's is my store of choice in central London. I want to go for a straight razor from Dovo, it's the one with the Stainless Steel handle as it's not a very large blade (a la Bandaras that used an axe!!).

It's up to you but I personally wouldn't buy either razors or strops from Trumpers in London. They inflate their prices considerably because they have their long standing 'name' and because most of their customers are loaded and can afford it.

The best/cheapest place in the UK to buy razors/strops from is The Gentlemans Shop in Hungerford http://www.gentlemans-shop.com/ . But You'll find that it's often cheaper to buy from Europe or the USA, particularly with the £/$ exchange rate. Plus if you buy from the USA you can get your razor honed by an expert so it's ready to shave, none of the UK dealers can offer this service.

Incidentally i was in Trumpers a while back and showed the manager my 'Tony Miller' hanging strop thich I had in my bag. He was very impressed with the high quality and workmanship, and actually looked quite embarassed when he heard how cheap it cost compared to the inflated prices Trumpers charge for their rebranded Dovo strops.

My advice would be not to buy from Trumpers unless you absolutely have to. If you're after a strop look at Tony's site.

http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.com/

For Razors, look at these sites for new razors.

http://www.classicshaving.com/Home.html
http://www.shaving-and-razor-shop.com/NL/index-e.htm
http://www.styleandgrooming.com/
http://www.shavingshop.com/index.php?maincat=8
http://www.coltellerielivi.it/# (if you're in Europe, otherwise contact Lynn)

And for restored old razors.

http://www.billysblades.com/Straights.htm
http://shop.writerferret.com/
http://www.vintagebladesllc.com/vsho...ome.php?cat=80

Also check the 'For Sale' forum here for members who sell restored razors there. Restored old razors can be superb, my 2 best shavers are old razors and shave nicer than some of my megabucks new razors.

Regarding the ingrown hairs, I used to get loads of these every day when I used cartridge razors. I stopped getting them immediately when I started using DE razors and then straight razors, I believe the 'lift and cut' action of cartridge razors caused a lot of these ingrown hairs for me.

Cheers,

Iwan

Hi Rum from another UK member.
All good advise to you so far and quite a lot of it My contribution is;
Buy the best razor you can afford, get a cheap ebay razor for a practice razor and get them pro sharpened for the first time. You be cheaky and ask that they strop it for you for the first time so you have a comparitive benchmark to work from
Any DOVO strop is goos starting point for your best hanging strop but make sure you get the Dovo strop paste to go with it, it really improves the strops draw.
Try:http://www.diamondedgeltd.com/acatal...rushes_52.html for cheap but not rubbish UK shaving supplies and buy thier cheap No1 strop for your starter/practice strop. Ebay strops are a minefield that you dont want to walk into at this time. Hones are freely available on the net to order and the Norton 4k/8k seems to be prefered on this forum as a good all-rounder to start with. As for paddle type strops, I would recomend the Loom style for its flexability.

I could go on but I think it's all been said by others, so Good luck.

PuFF