BassPlayerBoz's Straight Razor Shaving Journal

[Guestabc]

Never shaved w/ cold water (i.e. ice water.) But numerous times throughout the years I have shaved when the water was not hot for various reasons (lots of people taking showers at same time ==> no hot water when I shave, deployed in the military in some locations, etc.) In those occasions the water has been anywhere from cool tap water to luke warm. My experience was that the colder the water, the worse the shave, & the worse the irritation. So I'm inclidned to believe shaving in truly cold water would be worse.

Now, I'll concede that these "cool water shaves" were with the Sensor XL/ Edge Aloe Gel combo that was my staple for decades and not with a safety razor, brush, & quality soap like I got converted to a year ago. Would that make a difference in my outcome? I wouldn't think so. but I haven't tried it.

Jeff, OK, just trying to help eliminate items, I used to shave with hot, and got terrible irritation, hot spots, etc, once I switch to cold.... well cool here is AZ in the summers, I have never had better shaves. I should have realized this from the days , like you, out in the sticks in the military, always shave with cold.

Also I gave up alum for the same reasons. Keep at it it may come down to pressure, blade angle. I may had said this to you, but with a straight don't shave your face, shave the lather. It will help with touch

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

Jeff, OK, just trying to help eliminate items, ....

Also I gave up alum for the same reasons. Keep at it it may come down to pressure, blade angle. I may had said this to you, but with a straight don't shave your face, shave the lather. It will help with touch

No problem. I might have to try not using the alum for a few shaves & see what that does for my irritation - especially around my neck area where it's always the worst. But then again, I do like the fact that it acts like an astringent and highlights the areas where I need improvement. I might also try an all cold water shave sometime just to see how it goes - but that'll definitely be w/ only the safety razor; not the SR. (However, I'm really not confident about the results as I don't even like it when the lather cools down between passes. But I'm willing to give it a try. Maybe the intentional all cold water experience will be very different than the luke warm/ "not hot" water shaves I remember. )

"Shaving the lather w/ the SR" is a mind-set I haven't tried. Just hope I can learn to maintain enough pressure/ skin contact to actually sever the stubble. (Hmmm.... same issue as w/ safety razors, I guess.) I think that'll be easier as my technique improves such that the lather isn't dissipating as I get to the end of a pass. (I did have to re-lather several places last night during my SR pass to keep the soap from getting too sticky.)

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

....Concentrated on getting the correct angle. It looks a little different than in the SR videos I've watched in an attempt to learn. Most of the time, those guys (GeoFatboy, Anthony Esposito, DrMatt, Shavebusta, et al.) are using SRs that are 5/8 or bigger. I haven't actually measured it, but I don't think the flawed S.U.S. SR I got from Larry @ WD is any bigger than 4/8 or so (it just looks like it's much narrower; I'll measure it later tonight when I get home from work.)....

Measured it just now. It's 4/8.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

9th outing.... 1st full SR Shave... Not too bad (Overall, S.A.S.)

Still using the same SR I got from WD. Switched to Haslinger Schafmilk. 3 passes - WTG, XTG (as much as I could), and ATG/clean-up (like my routine w/ the safety razor.) Still having trouble going WTG on my neck (esp. on the right side) due the seeming awkwardness of the grip/ razor angle & trying to shave "up". My results in that direction have been consistently mediocre at best. But with the full SR shave, I was able to go ATG on my neck (down) - which was much easier & I got acceptable results. Granted - it wasn't really close, but it was a much better result than the WTG pass. XTG on my neck is very awkward so that pass in more like at a 45 degree angle than a true XTG. It still took a long time & I had to re-lather several areas on each pass due to lather drying out, but I made it through.

Irritation was no better/ worse than with the Maggard Slant head & Sharp Durablade Hi-Chromium I've been using as well. I thought there would be more based on my technique needing practice/ refinement in certain trouble areas and the instant feedback I was getting. I also thought I'd inadvertently gotten too aggressive & applied too much pressure/ too steep an angle on my cheek areas. But the alum block didn't highlight any more than usual and there was no more redness than I've had at other times. Most of the mild stinging/ light redness was on the lower left side of my neck where I consistently have issues. My right neck - my highlighted SR trouble spot - was fine for the most part.

Some areas were better than others (cheeks), and some areas better than expected (chin), but overall results were a socially acceptable shave (S.A.S.) It was decent last night right after shaving, but I think I want to be getting a little better results before I use the SR exclusively when shaving the night before going to work. (As I type this, I have a bit more stubble than I would normally find acceptable while at work in the middle of the day.)

Haslinger soap was very good. Easy to lather.

(I did a test lather with it yesterday a few hours before shaving to try it out. Thick, rich lather was easy to generate after loading the WD 24mm Silvertip for a minute. I kept adding water until the lather started breaking down [~ 3 extra tsp full]. But even then, it seemed to be fairly slick.)​

And there was plenty for my 3 passes and the re-lathering during each pass I knew I would need. It seemed pretty good. I had to re-lather because I was slow & it dried out/ got sticky. In general, it seemed slicker than the Mike's soap, but that might just be my perception. I'd really need to A-B test them after I figure out what I'm doing with the SR (or A-B them with the safety razor.) One thing I think was not just perception was the post-shave feel. I think the Haslinger was better on that, but still not as good as I remember the WSP Formula T being. But again, it's been a while since I used the Formula T. I'd have to A-B test those to be sure as well.

Will prob use the Maggard slant for the next couple of shaves & maybe re-visit the SR Tues/Wed.

So... the adventure continues...

 

[Guestabc]

nice read Jeff

 

[sskim3]

Great job with the shave. It is definitely a learning curve and takes many tries to get right. Hell a lot of still nick/cut ourselves from time to time (that damn Murphy).

Keep at it!

 

[WildWest74]

Sounds like you are doing it right and taking it slow. It is far better to take the shave you get and regroup for next time, rather than to try and chase every hair and end up with severe irritation or worse.

I would second the suggestion Dave made regarding cold water. I used hot/warm water at first, and once I tried cold water I have never looked back.

 

[McVeyMac]

Jeff, necks are always problems for most straight shavers to get right. Much of it is that the whiskers like to form crop circles in that region, and the only good way to shave with a straight is N to S, or S to N. I have almost 650 straight shaves under my belt, and if I am going to have a problem with a shave, that is where I am going to have it. Over time you are going to gain a feel for an optimal cutting angle of the blade, and you will be shaving more by feel than by sight. Many have found that performing a sort of scything motion can get those parts where a true ATG is just not possible. Keep with it, and you will get there.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

10th outing... 2nd Full SR Shave (yeah... not so good this time.)

Got brave & attempted to perform a full SR shave during the week gambling I could get a decent enough shave to get through the next day at work. Results were... well... a bit less than hoped for...

Still using the WD SR &Haslinger. Did my usual 3 passes - WTG, XTG (as much as possible), & ATG/clean-up. Still having trouble w/ my left neck, but it was worse last night. In fact, both sides of my neck had a lot of irritation this time. I even drew blood on my left neck. Not bad, though. I didn't even notice I had a cut until an hour or so later. I noticed the dried blood when I happened to walk past a mirror in the other bathroom. That's also when I noticed the marked increase in visible irritation on both sides of my neck in comparison to my previous effort. I even felt a bit of irritation on my cheeks this time, though it wasn't really all that noticable. And I didn't even get that good a shave. Just after finishing up, I could still feel light stubble in most places. Above my jaw line was somewhat OK, but below my jaw line I had - at best - mediocre results. While some areas were better than others, overall I'd classify it as a barely passable shave. (I really should have given myself the quick once-over with the electric razor before soming to work this AM, but woke up late & didn't have the time.)

Possible reasons....
- Made the soap too thick? (Maybe not enough water ==> drying out ==> got sticky as I progressed?)
- Poor technique/ angle? (I'm still learning ==> during the week & a lot of distractions that time of night?)
- Razor needs a few careful laps on the CrOx/FeOx? (Perhaps the razor's edge is getting a bit worn & my stropping technique is not restoring it? Or even contributing to the issue? Maybe my poor technique is contributing to acceleration of edge wear? If the edge is not cutting, my angle is bad, or both... am I using more pressure/more "buffing" to compensate? And that is leading to more irritation?)
- Perhaps all 3? (If so, I guess I still stink at all aspects of SR shaving.... great... that's a little discouraging...)

One thing is for certain - I need a lot more practice before trying this again during the week. Until I gain a bit more skill, if I do try another SR shave during the week, it'll be 1-2 passes w/ a DE razor in the sink to finish up. So I think that's my plan - full SR shaves on the weekends only and 1-2 shaves during the week will incorporate 1-2 SR passes w/ the DE for the final pass(es). After another month or two... and when I'm getting decent results & facial feedback on SR passes 1 & 2... I might try the full SR shave during the week again. Hopefully, it'll be with better results than I'm living with today.

 

[WildWest74]

Keep sticking with it. Everything you are experiencing and/or questioning are things we have all experienced.

With regards to lather, my surefire test is this: when I rinse the blade, good lather rinses right off with no problem. Lather that is too thick for straight shaving tends to stick to my blade, requiring more determined rinsing.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

...With regards to lather, my surefire test is this: when I rinse the blade, good lather rinses right off with no problem. Lather that is too thick for straight shaving tends to stick to my blade, requiring more determined rinsing.

This might have been my situation. (Though it's a little tough to quantify what is "rinses right off", "too thick", and "more determined rinsing" are in written form.) I'm finding that when I try to make the lather a little more watery so that it doesn't dry out, it seems to be thin & either not cover or run off my face/neck. There seems to be a fine line between too much/ too little water. I'll keep working on it, though.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

11th attempt (3rd full SR shave).... better results than the last time...

Using the Haslinger, WD 24mm silvertip, & WD S.U.S. flawed SR. Before shaving, I stropped on the balsa w/ CrOx (20 laps), the balsa w/ FeOx (20 laps), & then the WD Poor man's strop (40 laps). I made the lather a little thinner than last time, but it would still dry out towards the ends of my passes causing me to need to re-lather... which I did to avoid the resulting irritation.

But I didn't avoid the hazards of dry/sticky lather completely, however. There was one time, when attempting to go XTG on my right cheek, that the lather was drying out & my angle got too steep that I gave myself a nice little cut - not a nick/ weeper, but a nice cut about 1/4" long. It wasn't bad, but it was noticeable & didn't stop bleeding even after pass post-shave alum block treatment. It's the first time since I started traditional wet-shaving a little over a year ago that I've needed to use the styptic pencil.

Other than that cut, my irritation in other places was much better than my previous outing. Neck is still a trouble area, but re-lathering as needed & taking my time yielded a S.A.S. Still wasn't as close as I'd prefer, but I opted not to chase a closer shave to avoid irritation. And I ended up with less irritation than before, but also a better shave than before in virtually every area. ==> my lathering/ technique must have been an improvement over my last mid-week outing. So.... that's encouraging, at least.

Overall, this shave was consistent with my 1st effort at a full SR shave last weekend. Obviously still not at the level of my DE shaves & I would prefer it to be a bit closer - esp. in the neck area - before routinely using the SR for full shaves during the week. But this was much better than the result I got last Wed.

The journey continues....

 

[Guestabc]

Keep it up Jeff, you will get there it takes time and there is blood along the way, just keep working on the angle, and the touch.

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

12th attempt (4th full SR shave).... about the same results than the last time...

I decided to do a full SR shave tonight instead of just a single pass because I'm staying home from work tomorrow (a bit under the weather) ==> took the opportunity to practice.

Still the same SR, Haslinger, & WD Poor man's strop (40 laps). Made it a little more watery & re-lathered each area during each pass. Lather still seemed to get thin/ sticky towards the end of various sections (neck/chin) where I was taking much more time than others (like cheeks/ side burn areas). Neck irritation was maybe a little better (IOTW... less), but I still have the same mediocre results there ==> barely passable - even with 3 passes including one ATG. Chin area is the same. Cheeks & upper/lower lip areas are better, but still only CCS ... maybe. I can still feel whiskers there ATG & a little WTG. So overall, still a S.A.S. at best. If I needed a nice shave tomorrow, I definitely would have had to follow up with the DE (EJ DE89 & Treet Platinum Super Stainless combo at this time.)

Successes?! Hey - I'll take 'em where I can get 'em...
- One included not opening up the nice little cut I gave my right cheek last time. (Though I might have countered that by losing concentration on my chin & let the blade move parallel to the edge for just an instant ==> little cut/ nice weeper; not as bad as last time, though; needed alum/styptic pencil, but no triple anti-B/ band-aid to cover the cut for a few days.)
- Another was that I think I figured a less awkward way to hold the razor when doing those trouble spots on my neck & even ATG on my cheeks. Instead of holding the scales at a right angle to the blade, I started holding them straight out when shaving certain areas - like a Japanese-style razor/shavette. Not that it solved my problems, but that type of grip/ arrangement did seem to make shaving some of those areas feel less awkward.

At least I didn't regress this time.... the journey continues....

 

[WildWest74]

Your grip for the neck and ATG is exactly how I have always held the razor... almost like I am wielding a knife. It gives me much better control in those directions.

Keep up the good work!

 

[dangerousdon]

Sounds like you are getting there...I'm not too much further along than you. Keep up the good work!

 

[cmh737]

Keep at it - you'll get it! And I'll add my FWIW recommendation that was passed to me when I first started. As a way to improve technique, try a shave one time where you do the first pass with your DE, then the second pass with the SR. It may sound counter-intuitive, but this way you are completely focused on technique.

 

[McVeyMac]

Sounds like you are progressing right on target Jeff. I shave ambidextrous WTG, but all ATG passes are done right (dominant) handed. Hi also straighten out the handle on the left side ATG neck and cheek passes, but go back to 90 degrees when shaving the right side of the neck and cheek. I do a left ear to chin pass along the jaw line on my third with the skin stretched northward as much as I can make it on my left side. I stretch with the left hand, and make the handle angle closer to 45 degrees so the handle does not stick out so far and clears my stretching arm. Keep with it, and it will get better.

 

[Guestabc]

Doing Well Jeff, keep it up you will get there

 

[BassPlayerBoz]

13th outing (5th full SR shave).... better results than last Wed... overall - not too bad... not great- but not bad....

Same set up - WD SR, WD 24mm silvertip, Haslinger Schafmilch, & 40 laps on the WD Poor Man's strop. Kept the lessons from Wed & held the SR like a knife/ Japanese-style SR in some places (i.e. WTG on left side of neck, ATG on left side of face, et al.)

In this outing, results were better in some trouble spots, but less so in places where I'd typically not had too much trouble. Cheek areas were OK, but upper lip was just passable (usually I've done decently there.) Surprisingly enough, my chin area turned out actually pretty good. (Can't really go ATG there, but I was able to effectively go XTG a few times. I use the same pattern/method with the DE.) I didn't think the chin would be decent at all as the lather was sticking a lot & I felt like I was having trouble with the angle - even after re-lathering several times to try to get the area slick & angle right. Apparently, something worked at least part of the time. The lower sides of my neck were fine. Not super close, but close enough for a CCS in that area & no more irritation than an aggressive session with the DE.

Places I had less than stellar results were along the jaw line & just below and where my lower chin stops/ center neck begins. I thought I stretched the skin enough to allow me to shave my jaw line while it was pulled up over the jaw when shaving cheeks WTG. ATG in that area is from ear-chin ==> think I may need to work on getting those sections of skin stretched/ straightened properly for a decent ATG pass.

I made LOTS of lather so that I could re-lather as necessary if I needed it. But I actually needed it less on this outing. I still needed to do so on each pass, but I could shave both cheeks without re-lathering anything. Then both sides & the center of my neck. (Instead of needing to re-lather the next area after completing just one.) Uncertain if I was actually faster or if the lather was "better". Regardless, I'm hoping I can keep that consistency of lather in my next outing. I had enough lather to spread a layer on my face like I was going to make a 4th pass & let it sit there while I cleaned up the razor, mug, & brush. (I think it adds to the good post-shave feel... at least, with the Haslinger.)

Even with some of the issues, there was enough of an improvement that I'm satisfied with the results this time. 4 hours later & I still have a CCS w/ still a S.A.S in some areas. Irritation highlighted w/ the alum block was no more than with a DE for the most part.

So .... decent/ good results this time out...