Okay, so I thought I might start one of these to keep track of my experiences to date. I see there is a journal page, but I'm not sure how these things end up in there, so I thought I'd just start writing here and if a mod wants to move it then please do.
I need to backtrack a few days, as I am currently three shaves in and nearly ready to have a crack at a fourth.
Shave #1: New Year's Eve
Straight razor shaving was something I had been considering for about the last year or so. I've used Gilette Sensor cartridge razors (the old style with twin blades) since I was a teenager (20+ years ago now), and have NEVER been an everyday shaver. This isn't so much out of hating the act of shaving or looking clean shaven; it's more that it makes my skin feel abused and sensitive for a day or so after. I would usually let it grow out for anything from a few days to a few weeks, before clippering everything (head included) and shaving my face with my razor while I was at it. I'd heard that shaving with a straight was easier on the skin, and what's more the idea of it had the appeal of being an uber-manly habit to have. I felt like I could do with a new hobby, and figured I'd give straight razor shaving a serious go in the week of New Year's eve. It kind of felt like a New Year's resolution of sorts.
I ordered a Thiers Issard 6/8 full hollow that I liked the look of from Simon at Gentleman's Blade, not really sure how long it would take to turn up - most of New Zealand had forgotten about work in the week following Christmas. It turned up the following day (NY's eve), honed and ready to go, along with a basic leather strop. I had finished work early and had some time on my hands, so figured I'd get right into it.
That first shave was pretty awkward from start to finish.
I'd watched some Youtube vids and felt like I had the general idea, but since I didn't have proper shave soap and a brush I figured I should be able to make do with the Doctor Bronner's soap that I'd been using recently for shaving (first. BIG. mistake). I would usually wash my face, then rub this stuff around on my stubble, then rub it around some more to foam it up a bit. The problem with this approach here was that the soap dried too quickly on my skin, especially considering the amount of extra time everything was taking, which didn't give it any desirable cushioning or lubricating properties. I had to keep wetting my hand and rubbing it over the area I was shaving to try and get some sort of slipperiness going on. My first attempt was to shave WTG on my cheeks - I figured if I could pull that much off, I'd be doing okay on this first shave and would just do the rest with my usual razor. I realise now that I wasn't holding the blade at a shallow enough angle to cut without tugging at the hair, which was frustrating me at the time. What with this, and the fact that I had to keep drying off my hands after wetting my face to try to lube up the soap before picking up the razor again, plus the fact I started to be unsure if I was holding the razor quite like the video showed me (I wasn't; no wonder it felt so awkward), I basically managed to just make the stubble slightly less stubbly on my cheeks (and give myself a pretty good slice on the right cheek as a bonus). I had a halfhearted go at a couple of other spots but the tugging feeling, plus the fear, was getting the better of me.
I finished off the shave with my old razor, with a higher level of respect for fellas who shave daily with these than before I started.
For the record, on this first shave I didn't strop the razor before using it. I figured it was good to go, since Simon hones and strops these prior to sending, and the TI instructions that came with the razor said not to strop it until after the first few shaves anyway.
Shave #2: 2nd January 2015
This shave was a definite improvement on the first, but that in itself isn't really saying much.
I'd told my girlfriend about my plans to finally take up straight shaving just after ordering my razor, and she was thoughtful and generous enough to buy me some TI shave soap and a Vulfix Super Badger brush from the same outfit I bought the razor from as an early birthday present - so these items pretty much turned up straight away, too. While researching what to get, she figured out that this weird porcelain contraption she bought ages ago from a thrift store was in fact a shaving scuttle, so I ended up with the whole set-up:
I watched a Youtube video of how to lather using the scuttle, and duly warmed it up and filled it with warm water. The guy in the video put his DE razor in the scuttle with his brush to warm it up, and without questioning whether this was applicable to my straight razor or not I dunked the straight in there too and left it for a few minutes while I washed my face in warm water. The result: some not-so-nice water staining near the heel of the blade.
This would bother me and creep into my thoughts often for the next couple of days. I felt like I had just committed a major faux-pas, and to be honest I don't feel completely comfortable sharing it with you now.
Anyway, back to the shave. The guy in the scuttle video squeezed heaps of the water out of his brush before getting to work on the puck. I found this got me nowhere, and I experimented with letting more water stay on the brush. In the end I decided that just giving it a quick shake before hitting the soap did the trick; not too sloppy but still effective at getting some foam. I whipped up the lather some more in a warmed mug. I have to say, I felt like I was way ahead on shave #1 just after lathering up my face with the brush: this was feeling like progress.
I tackled my cheeks WTG as before with slightly better results. The lather was definitely helping. I used shorter, quicker strokes, but retrospectively think my blade angle was still not shallow enough. I also wondered if I should have gone to work for longer on the lather - but that part of things was going infinitely better than the first attempt. I had a go at my neck and chin too, but found getting into the coarse, dense chin hair to be challenging (now I believe this was largely due to my technique, especially blade angle and confidence) and only really managed to get it reduced rather than shaved. I was having trouble figuring out how to grip the razor for my neck too. My hair grows in weird directions there, and I don't think I'd mustered enough conviction to use the sort of deliberate strokes I needed. Anyway, I finished the shave as per last time with my old razor and left it at that.
Shave #3: 4th January
This time I figured I'd have a go at stropping the razor. The leather strop is all I have at this stage, so I did some slow strops on that in the X pattern using the method described elsewhere on this site. I did about 50 passes.
I made lather as per last time, although for this shave it took me less time to get the water ratio about right. I'd been reading about cold water shaving, which I remembered doing years ago because it irritated my skin less with the cartridge razor. This time around I figured I would cold water wash my face, then apply warm lather.
As per shave #2, I shaved WTG, but felt more comfortable doing more of my face and definitely did a better job with the closeness on my cheeks. This time around I made more of an effort to switch hands when working the other side of my face, and paid more careful attention to the grip I was using. This helped. I still have trouble on the neck area, but have since read up on some hand positions I hadn't considered that might make it easier on the next attempt. I didn't cut myself at all this time, which I also considered progress (I feel I have to give myself credit for whatever I can here, considering how slow and steep my learning curve seems to be heading). Considering how patchy my results are still so far, I again finished off with the old razor - this has actually become a hated part of the ritual, as I've noticed how much more that sucker SCRAPES my face that the straight, even though the straight still kind of psychologically scares me. I'm not sure if the temperature of the water I used made much difference, to be honest.
Interlude: time alone with razor on 4th January in the afternoon.
The water spots on my blade were still nagging at me. I'd had a go at polishing them out with toothpaste (I read about that somewhere), but it didn't really shift anything. I went and bought some Autosol, which I'd read good things about, and got to work polishing the blade. That stuff did a pretty good job, and now it's barely noticeable. It lightened up the etching a little, but not in a way that I mind. I wondered afterwards whether my polishing (circular along the blade length) might have gotten close enough to the edge to mess with it. I've become slightly paranoid about dulling that edge due to my lack of expertise. I spent the rest of this chunk of spare time practicing my stropping. I think I'm getting better at it. So far I only have a couple of tiny nicks in the leather at the end where I hold it, owing to some clumsy moments.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and sorry that I jammed three entries into one long post like this. I'll add more as I continue. In spite of some of these mishaps, I am enjoying myself and looking forward to my next shave! Any feedback, comments or criticism would be warmly welcomed.
Josh
I need to backtrack a few days, as I am currently three shaves in and nearly ready to have a crack at a fourth.
Shave #1: New Year's Eve
Straight razor shaving was something I had been considering for about the last year or so. I've used Gilette Sensor cartridge razors (the old style with twin blades) since I was a teenager (20+ years ago now), and have NEVER been an everyday shaver. This isn't so much out of hating the act of shaving or looking clean shaven; it's more that it makes my skin feel abused and sensitive for a day or so after. I would usually let it grow out for anything from a few days to a few weeks, before clippering everything (head included) and shaving my face with my razor while I was at it. I'd heard that shaving with a straight was easier on the skin, and what's more the idea of it had the appeal of being an uber-manly habit to have. I felt like I could do with a new hobby, and figured I'd give straight razor shaving a serious go in the week of New Year's eve. It kind of felt like a New Year's resolution of sorts.
I ordered a Thiers Issard 6/8 full hollow that I liked the look of from Simon at Gentleman's Blade, not really sure how long it would take to turn up - most of New Zealand had forgotten about work in the week following Christmas. It turned up the following day (NY's eve), honed and ready to go, along with a basic leather strop. I had finished work early and had some time on my hands, so figured I'd get right into it.
That first shave was pretty awkward from start to finish.
I'd watched some Youtube vids and felt like I had the general idea, but since I didn't have proper shave soap and a brush I figured I should be able to make do with the Doctor Bronner's soap that I'd been using recently for shaving (first. BIG. mistake). I would usually wash my face, then rub this stuff around on my stubble, then rub it around some more to foam it up a bit. The problem with this approach here was that the soap dried too quickly on my skin, especially considering the amount of extra time everything was taking, which didn't give it any desirable cushioning or lubricating properties. I had to keep wetting my hand and rubbing it over the area I was shaving to try and get some sort of slipperiness going on. My first attempt was to shave WTG on my cheeks - I figured if I could pull that much off, I'd be doing okay on this first shave and would just do the rest with my usual razor. I realise now that I wasn't holding the blade at a shallow enough angle to cut without tugging at the hair, which was frustrating me at the time. What with this, and the fact that I had to keep drying off my hands after wetting my face to try to lube up the soap before picking up the razor again, plus the fact I started to be unsure if I was holding the razor quite like the video showed me (I wasn't; no wonder it felt so awkward), I basically managed to just make the stubble slightly less stubbly on my cheeks (and give myself a pretty good slice on the right cheek as a bonus). I had a halfhearted go at a couple of other spots but the tugging feeling, plus the fear, was getting the better of me.
I finished off the shave with my old razor, with a higher level of respect for fellas who shave daily with these than before I started.
For the record, on this first shave I didn't strop the razor before using it. I figured it was good to go, since Simon hones and strops these prior to sending, and the TI instructions that came with the razor said not to strop it until after the first few shaves anyway.
Shave #2: 2nd January 2015
This shave was a definite improvement on the first, but that in itself isn't really saying much.
I'd told my girlfriend about my plans to finally take up straight shaving just after ordering my razor, and she was thoughtful and generous enough to buy me some TI shave soap and a Vulfix Super Badger brush from the same outfit I bought the razor from as an early birthday present - so these items pretty much turned up straight away, too. While researching what to get, she figured out that this weird porcelain contraption she bought ages ago from a thrift store was in fact a shaving scuttle, so I ended up with the whole set-up:
I watched a Youtube video of how to lather using the scuttle, and duly warmed it up and filled it with warm water. The guy in the video put his DE razor in the scuttle with his brush to warm it up, and without questioning whether this was applicable to my straight razor or not I dunked the straight in there too and left it for a few minutes while I washed my face in warm water. The result: some not-so-nice water staining near the heel of the blade.
This would bother me and creep into my thoughts often for the next couple of days. I felt like I had just committed a major faux-pas, and to be honest I don't feel completely comfortable sharing it with you now.
Anyway, back to the shave. The guy in the scuttle video squeezed heaps of the water out of his brush before getting to work on the puck. I found this got me nowhere, and I experimented with letting more water stay on the brush. In the end I decided that just giving it a quick shake before hitting the soap did the trick; not too sloppy but still effective at getting some foam. I whipped up the lather some more in a warmed mug. I have to say, I felt like I was way ahead on shave #1 just after lathering up my face with the brush: this was feeling like progress.
I tackled my cheeks WTG as before with slightly better results. The lather was definitely helping. I used shorter, quicker strokes, but retrospectively think my blade angle was still not shallow enough. I also wondered if I should have gone to work for longer on the lather - but that part of things was going infinitely better than the first attempt. I had a go at my neck and chin too, but found getting into the coarse, dense chin hair to be challenging (now I believe this was largely due to my technique, especially blade angle and confidence) and only really managed to get it reduced rather than shaved. I was having trouble figuring out how to grip the razor for my neck too. My hair grows in weird directions there, and I don't think I'd mustered enough conviction to use the sort of deliberate strokes I needed. Anyway, I finished the shave as per last time with my old razor and left it at that.
Shave #3: 4th January
This time I figured I'd have a go at stropping the razor. The leather strop is all I have at this stage, so I did some slow strops on that in the X pattern using the method described elsewhere on this site. I did about 50 passes.
I made lather as per last time, although for this shave it took me less time to get the water ratio about right. I'd been reading about cold water shaving, which I remembered doing years ago because it irritated my skin less with the cartridge razor. This time around I figured I would cold water wash my face, then apply warm lather.
As per shave #2, I shaved WTG, but felt more comfortable doing more of my face and definitely did a better job with the closeness on my cheeks. This time around I made more of an effort to switch hands when working the other side of my face, and paid more careful attention to the grip I was using. This helped. I still have trouble on the neck area, but have since read up on some hand positions I hadn't considered that might make it easier on the next attempt. I didn't cut myself at all this time, which I also considered progress (I feel I have to give myself credit for whatever I can here, considering how slow and steep my learning curve seems to be heading). Considering how patchy my results are still so far, I again finished off with the old razor - this has actually become a hated part of the ritual, as I've noticed how much more that sucker SCRAPES my face that the straight, even though the straight still kind of psychologically scares me. I'm not sure if the temperature of the water I used made much difference, to be honest.
Interlude: time alone with razor on 4th January in the afternoon.
The water spots on my blade were still nagging at me. I'd had a go at polishing them out with toothpaste (I read about that somewhere), but it didn't really shift anything. I went and bought some Autosol, which I'd read good things about, and got to work polishing the blade. That stuff did a pretty good job, and now it's barely noticeable. It lightened up the etching a little, but not in a way that I mind. I wondered afterwards whether my polishing (circular along the blade length) might have gotten close enough to the edge to mess with it. I've become slightly paranoid about dulling that edge due to my lack of expertise. I spent the rest of this chunk of spare time practicing my stropping. I think I'm getting better at it. So far I only have a couple of tiny nicks in the leather at the end where I hold it, owing to some clumsy moments.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far, and sorry that I jammed three entries into one long post like this. I'll add more as I continue. In spite of some of these mishaps, I am enjoying myself and looking forward to my next shave! Any feedback, comments or criticism would be warmly welcomed.
Josh
