DoubleB's straight razor adventures

[Krodor]

Awesome! Some folks like to do the touch up thing every couple shaves. It's really only removing hyper tiny amounts of metal (I think green is ~30,000 grit or something ridiculous), and the comfort improvement and consistency is very worth it. Just don't go overboard on the passes on the balsa. In the past, I figured if a little is good, more is better, so went 50-60 laps on each side...yeah, it works, but it made the shaves following that treatment really harsh. Since then I've limited myself to 10 laps, and been happy with the result. If it needs more than that, I hit the barber hone for 5 laps or appropriate finisher, then 10 on green/red again, and usually im good to go. Done right, that should keep you going for a very long time.

[DoubleB]

Awesome! Some folks like to do the touch up thing every couple shaves. It's really only removing hyper tiny amounts of metal (I think green is ~30,000 grit or something ridiculous), and the comfort improvement and consistency is very worth it. Just don't go overboard on the passes on the balsa. In the past, I figured if a little is good, more is better, so went 50-60 laps on each side...yeah, it works, but it made the shaves following that treatment really harsh. Since then I've limited myself to 10 laps, and been happy with the result. If it needs more than that, I hit the barber hone for 5 laps or appropriate finisher, then 10 on green/red again, and usually im good to go. Done right, that should keep you going for a very long time.

I might have to get a barbers hone eventually. But I also want the Norton set..and a coti..I just don't know which one to choose! Can someone point me out here??!

Shave #12
Shave 13 was both good and bad..I stropped 40 passes on leather. Lathered up with my TGN Silvertip grade A and Speick cream and decided to, again, start off my first pass WTG with the Clauss half hollow. I noticed it went better than last saturday. It was a smooth feeling. Seconde pass was an ATG all the way! Yes I was a little overestimating myself and pulled the trigger on the ATG, but it went smooth! The bad part is..I did get some irritation (chin and neck area) but I did manage to complete the shave smooth. Called it a day after two passes.

Im not there yet with the ATG pass. I found out lowering my angle during the ATG pass really helped in providing some smoothness and less irritation. But WTG feels comfortabler. I did get a good DFS shave and the irritation cleaned up pretty nice with both Proraso AS & ASB.

Stropped 30 times on the leather and cleaned everything up.

I do have this question that keeps ringeling through my head..I shave with one hand. Thus use one side of the blade only. When I do my ATG pass I flip the razor and use the other side of the edge..That felt much smoother!
Is it possible that the side of the edge that has been used less times is sharper then the side that's used very often. (I hope I make myself clear). Or is it just a technique thing?

I can't wait to shave again tomorrow! I do feel some SRAD, SAD & HAD coming on though..Which one to give in to?

[DoubleB]

Shave #13
Today was a quick two pass shave since I had to be at work earlier this morning. I did one WTG pass with my DE and lathered up again (TOBS Sandalwood) and did another WTG with my straight. Called it a day after that and splashed on some St. Johns Bay Rum (Virgin Islands). Went smooth! No problems at this shave. Jawline (specially under the chin) seems to remain as trouble area for me. I can't get the blade to cut the whiskers there and I will need to figure out my blade angle on that part.

I'm thinking more and more on honing. What's the best way? Buy a Norton set and hone periodically, or get a barbers hone and hone continual?

[gnoils]

Get a coticule and do either one.

[global_dev]

I do have this question that keeps ringeling through my head..I shave with one hand. Thus use one side of the blade only. When I do my ATG pass I flip the razor and use the other side of the edge..That felt much smoother!
Is it possible that the side of the edge that has been used less times is sharper then the side that's used very often. (I hope I make myself clear). Or is it just a technique thing?

I can't wait to shave again tomorrow! I do feel some SRAD, SAD & HAD coming on though..Which one to give in to?

it is very possible to have 2 different polishes on the bevel, how that effects the V edge is beyond my comprehension as the edge would be the intersection and should for, all intents and purposes, be a point, not a range.. and therefore it shouldn't be an issue, but maybe I am simplifying the situation..

of those AD's listed, whats "SAD"?

[DoubleB]

Get a coticule and do either one.

That could also be an idea, thanks!

it is very possible to have 2 different polishes on the bevel, how that effects the V edge is beyond my comprehension as the edge would be the intersection and should for, all intents and purposes, be a point, not a range.. and therefore it shouldn't be an issue, but maybe I am simplifying the situation..

of those AD's listed, whats "SAD"?

SAD, to my knowledge, is Strop Acquisition Disorder

[global_dev]

ah... strops...
base on my very quick up and down of the page, it appears you may only have 1 razor, if that's the case then I suggest get another straight.

[DoubleB]

ah... strops...
base on my very quick up and down of the page, it appears you may only have 1 razor, if that's the case then I suggest get another straight.

Absolutely agree with that. I'm looking on the web right now and trust me..I see more beauties then I can afford!

[DoubleB]

Shave #14
Used my TGN Silvertip with Palmolive sensitive SC this morning. Did a two pass shave. WTG/XTG. Went OK, but I did notice some tugging and pulling. Maybe it's time to hit the balsa strop again? My angle is improving. I efficiently cut the whiskers on my face. The hard part remains just under the jawline. Can't seem to cut the whiskers there. I'll have to play around with adjusting my angle and grip on that area. I'll hit the balsa this afternoon and will see how it goes tomorrow.

I've made up my mind regarding to hones. I'll first go with a C12K to maintain my edge and will buy another Sight unseen deal from Larry. That way I have two razors. Do one of you fellahs have experience with the C12K? I heard its a slow cutter, but a great finisher.

I will get a full set of hones eventually. Then there is a though choice to make..go with the Norton set, or the Naniwa set? Choices, choices, choices..

[DoubleB]

Shave #15
Todays shave was a quicky. One pass WTG only. Still have alot of stubble, but I looked decent.
I did manage to slam my razor on the sink, which resulted in a chip..its barely noticable, but it's there. On the upper part of the toe. I'm not sure if I can still shave with it :( I'll have to see and wait. I noticed that the chip left scratches on my strop, which isn't a good thing I figured.

I do have a coticule on it's way. Should be arriving saturday. Maybe I can the chip out?

[Krodor]

Shave #15
Todays shave was a quicky. One pass WTG only. Still have alot of stubble, but I looked decent.
I did manage to slam my razor on the sink, which resulted in a chip..its barely noticable, but it's there. On the upper part of the toe. I'm not sure if I can still shave with it :( I'll have to see and wait. I noticed that the chip left scratches on my strop, which isn't a good thing I figured.

I do have a coticule on it's way. Should be arriving saturday. Maybe I can the chip out?

Eesh. if you can see it, you'll feel it. In fact, your skin can feel even chips you can't see with unaided eye. When setting your bevel, you may have a nice "V" that can cut arm hair, but if you get yourself a little microscope (I use one from Radio Shack for 11 bucks), you'll possibly see a whole world of micro-nicks along the edge that *must* come out during the bevel set in order to optimize your shave. keep honing until the entire cutting edge is smooth. Only then move to next grit, which will start polishing the sides of the bevel and removing the nano-nicks left behind due to the bevel-maker's scratches.

I'd argue that if you tapped it on the sink, I wouldn't shave with it without a re-hone, especially if it scratches your strop (skin is just leather that hasn't happened yet).

A coti might do the trick, but it will take a long time, even on slurry. I think you'll need something more heavy-duty to remake your bevel and retain your sanity. Give it a whirl, just don't be disappointed if it takes a long time (hours).

[DoubleB]

Eesh. if you can see it, you'll feel it. In fact, your skin can feel even chips you can't see with unaided eye. When setting your bevel, you may have a nice "V" that can cut arm hair, but if you get yourself a little microscope (I use one from Radio Shack for 11 bucks), you'll possibly see a whole world of micro-nicks along the edge that *must* come out during the bevel set in order to optimize your shave. keep honing until the entire cutting edge is smooth. Only then move to next grit, which will start polishing the sides of the bevel and removing the nano-nicks left behind due to the bevel-maker's scratches.

I'd argue that if you tapped it on the sink, I wouldn't shave with it without a re-hone, especially if it scratches your strop (skin is just leather that hasn't happened yet).

A coti might do the trick, but it will take a long time, even on slurry. I think you'll need something more heavy-duty to remake your bevel and retain your sanity. Give it a whirl, just don't be disappointed if it takes a long time (hours).

Thanks for your reply. I only tapped the toe to the sink, not the rest of the blade. I will eventually hone the chip out, but I don't have another razor yet, nor do I have the right hones to do so (coti will take me hours indeed). I can shave with the straight, aslong as I don't use the toe.

Shave #16
I had no shave yesterday, since I had to leave the house at 6AM.

I lathered up TOBS Jermyn St soap with my TGN finest and did my first pass with the grain with a DE/Astra SP. I didn't have the couragement to mow down 2 days of growth with the straight. Especially with the chip at the toe.

I decided to give the straight a spin, even though I had a chip in the edge. I didn't strop, since I put the blade on Balsa yesterday and stropped 80 passes afterwards.
Shave went smooth! I did a WTG and an ATG. Clearly DFS overall with zero irritation. I guess the CrOx put my edge back in shape. I had no pulling or tugging or whatsoever. I made sure I wasn't shave with the toe (which I usually do around my sideburns) and had no problems with the chip.

Splashed on some Thayers WH and proraso ASB and cleaned up my stuff. What a great feeling it was! Did 30 on the leather to finish off.

My Coti should be arriving today. Maybe I'll try to give my straight a touch up. Should I do a touch up only with water, or should I create some slurry?

[Krodor]

Don't it feel good? ;)

Touch up on the coti? Now you're really getting into preferences and experience. Clearly your razor is shave ready as is without the toe issue. If you take that edge to a coti, even on water, especially if you've not honed before, I'd argue it will get duller. That being said, most fully stropped coti-edges I've gotten are duller than what I can get from a Croxified(tm) edge. However, the coti edge can clearly still be shave-ready and can be smoother and more comfortable than the sharper CrOx edge. So duller (shall we say, "less keen") isn't necessarily worse. However, if you are new to it, you might accidentally reduce keenness to the point it isn't shave ready anymore, even on water. If so, you might bring it back with CrOx. Or if you lose keenness too much on water due to lack of practice, go ahead and crank up the slurry and just go whole hog with a dilucot, essentially starting from scratch (this link is our friend). Or maybe just a little slurry and half of a dilucot. Or... Or...

Note that coti edges LOVE the strop. For the exact same hair, I've experienced an edge that goes from a violin HHT pre-strop to a easy-popping HHT post felt and leather. Don't get to discouraged until after you've stropped it.

It sounds like this is still your only straight at this point, so be aware that every time you try something new, you might make things worse. Not that it can't be worked back (happens often enuff), just that if you get frustrated with it, you may not be able to straight-shave until you fix it, have someone else fix it, or buy another shave-ready straight. Making things worse is a Good Thing, as that forces you to learn your way out of it. Now, trust me, some razors can give you fits. If so, pay attention to your attitude and stop the honing session. Better to wait for another day than make things even worse ;) (yes, experience talking).

This is NOT to say don't do it. It is highly encouraged. You're at the point where everyone gets: far enough in to know kinda the basics, ready to learn more, and want to dive in. Great! But remember that you need a constant in your journey at this stage, thus having an extra shave ready razor you can fall back on is very important in the whole learning scheme. I'd say go for it with your new coti, and do whatever you want, but only if you have a backup edge you can trust to get you through it and be able to compare your edge to.

Good luck!

[DoubleB]

Don't it feel good? ;)

Touch up on the coti? Now you're really getting into preferences and experience. Clearly your razor is shave ready as is without the toe issue. If you take that edge to a coti, even on water, especially if you've not honed before, I'd argue it will get duller. That being said, most fully stropped coti-edges I've gotten are duller than what I can get from a Croxified(tm) edge. However, the coti edge can clearly still be shave-ready and can be smoother and more comfortable than the sharper CrOx edge. So duller (shall we say, "less keen") isn't necessarily worse. However, if you are new to it, you might accidentally reduce keenness to the point it isn't shave ready anymore, even on water. If so, you might bring it back with CrOx. Or if you lose keenness too much on water due to lack of practice, go ahead and crank up the slurry and just go whole hog with a dilucot, essentially starting from scratch (this link is our friend). Or maybe just a little slurry and half of a dilucot. Or... Or...

Note that coti edges LOVE the strop. For the exact same hair, I've experienced an edge that goes from a violin HHT pre-strop to a easy-popping HHT post felt and leather. Don't get to discouraged until after you've stropped it.

It sounds like this is still your only straight at this point, so be aware that every time you try something new, you might make things worse. Not that it can't be worked back (happens often enuff), just that if you get frustrated with it, you may not be able to straight-shave until you fix it, have someone else fix it, or buy another shave-ready straight. Making things worse is a Good Thing, as that forces you to learn your way out of it. Now, trust me, some razors can give you fits. If so, pay attention to your attitude and stop the honing session. Better to wait for another day than make things even worse ;) (yes, experience talking).

This is NOT to say don't do it. It is highly encouraged. You're at the point where everyone gets: far enough in to know kinda the basics, ready to learn more, and want to dive in. Great! But remember that you need a constant in your journey at this stage, thus having an extra shave ready razor you can fall back on is very important in the whole learning scheme. I'd say go for it with your new coti, and do whatever you want, but only if you have a backup edge you can trust to get you through it and be able to compare your edge to.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply and encouragment. I think you are right. I just like the whole honing idea and got a bit overenthusiastic. Though, its a better idea to wait for a second razor. I have one on the way from Larry, so I can start to experiment in some time.
Thanks for the heads up and your clear story!

[DoubleB]

Shave #17
Since I had alot of time this morning, I decided to really enjoy the moment and take it slow. Took a shower, made some Uberlather with Palmolive stick, Palmolive sensitive cream and glycerine. Lathered up and decided to do a 3 pass shave. I stroppped 40 times on leather and went off.
First WTG pass was hard. I still can't seem to figure it out. When I do my first pass with a DE, the 2nd and 3rd pass go without problems. But when I start my WTG with my straight I just can't seem to get it to work. Lots of pulling and tugging and some razorburn. Decided to move on and did 2 XTG passes. Those went good. No problems with pulling or tugging or whatsoever.
I got a CCS, splashed on some Proraso AS and finished off with GFT skinfood Limes.

I'm a bit frustrated about the first pass though, I don't know what the problem is. Im really adjusting angle, watching my pressure..I guess I'll have to keep practicing.

[DoubleB]

Shave #18
A beautiful morning today. Enjoyed the sun through the bathroom window and lathered up Arko with my TGN Finest. Did 1 pass WTG with my DE and did a XTG with touch ups with the straight. I really had some 'flow' going on today. Went smooth, no nicks and a great feeling afterwards. I had no problems today.
Splashed on St Johns West Indian Limes and GFT skinfood. Finishes off with 20 passes on the leather (did 40 before the shave).
I'm feeling more comfortable with my grip and seem to find my angle much easier then when I started out. Tomorrow I'll try to start my WTG right off with a straight to see if I made some improvements. I'll also try to use a pre-shave (proraso) for the first pass to see if that makes any difference.

I did pull the trigger (again) and ordered a Rich Man strop, another straight and a C12K (to service as a barbers hone/finishing stone) from Larry. Unfortunately he is out of Rich Man strops, they will be back in stock next week. Waiting, waiting, waiting...

[DoubleB]

Shave #19
I'm almost reaching the 20 shaves! I've heard alot of breakthroughs happen at shave 20-30, so I'm anxiously waiting what the next two weeks will bring me.
Lathered up this morning with my EJ Superbadger and TOBS Lemon&Lime. I also applied Proraso Pre-Shave for my first pass. I was giving the straight another try at the first pass.
To make a long story short, it went better. I don't know if it's due to the preshave, but I surely noticed improvements. I cut through the hairs more easier and got a fair amount of beard reduction. I lathered up again and did a XTG. Overall it wasn't a very close shave, but close enough to look decent.

Some advice on the first WTG pass will be highly appreciated. It really is the hardest part of the shave for me.
What I do know more and more is that I will be sticking to straights! I'll probably sell or trade a few DE's for..straights! AD is turning!

I just got a phonecall from a very respected vendor here in the Netherlands. He is adding more products and brands to his stock and asked me if I wanted to try out some products before he pulls the trigger on ordering from the supplier. I'm flattered and really look forward to test them out!

[DoubleB]

Shave #20
This mornings shave was a bad one. I decided to do another shave with the straight only, but I think I pushed it a bit. I stropped 40 times and lathered up Plisson shaving soap with my Plisson pure badger brush.
Did two WTG and one ATG. The stubble was reducing at the first pass. But it was rather unpleasant. Lots of pulling and tugging. 2nd pass WTG went smooth, as usual.
But the third pass, ATG, pushed it. I was off on my blade angle and found myself using too much pressure at some points. Results: few nicks and some huge razorburn on my neck.
Though the razor burn cleaned up pretty good after my post-shave routine, it did gave me a lesson. Don't push it! If things don't turn out the way you like step back and rethink what you did.

On to the next shave!

[Krodor]

Doing enough skin-stretching? a nice tight skin will help keep tugging issues down, esp. on first pass. Really stretch it good, not just a half-attempt (experience talking again).

Another possibility, if you're feeling up to it, is to hold the razor at your typical angle to the face, but pivot it around the center of the blade such that the line of the edge will not be perpendicular to the path of travel, but instead will go heel-first or toe-first a little bit. That would be a "slicing" motion. That way the edge drags along the hairs just the slightest bit as it cuts, instead of trying to power through it (think of a saw cutting into a tree instead of an ax pounding into it). Maybe that would help...it's better for your edge as well. Just be really careful and use light pressure, as doing this wrong will cut flesh easier than usual as well! :)

As for ATG, I can't help. I go XTG twice on most of the face and call it done. Every now and then I go for the ATG-gusto, but its just not my thing.

[DoubleB]

Doing enough skin-stretching? a nice tight skin will help keep tugging issues down, esp. on first pass. Really stretch it good, not just a half-attempt (experience talking again).

Another possibility, if you're feeling up to it, is to hold the razor at your typical angle to the face, but pivot it around the center of the blade such that the line of the edge will not be perpendicular to the path of travel, but instead will go heel-first or toe-first a little bit. That would be a "slicing" motion. That way the edge drags along the hairs just the slightest bit as it cuts, instead of trying to power through it (think of a saw cutting into a tree instead of an ax pounding into it). Maybe that would help...it's better for your edge as well. Just be really careful and use light pressure, as doing this wrong will cut flesh easier than usual as well! :)

As for ATG, I can't help. I go XTG twice on most of the face and call it done. Every now and then I go for the ATG-gusto, but its just not my thing.

Thanks for your pointers, Krodor! I watch my skin-stretching, but I think it wouldn't hurt to stretch some more. I will give that slicing motion a try tomorrow, but don't know if I'm up for it yet. I will atleast give it a try and see how it goes!