About that left hand.

Shave #50

A dissapointing milestone shave:
i used the first razor I honed that actually passed HHT3 expecting a great smooth shave....
whilst the edge was clearly very sharp, it wasn't as smooth as I was hoping for. I had used DMT then Coti then Slate then CrOx. Think the CrOx gave me the added sharpness, but took away the smoothness.

On top of that I managed to draw blood.... Took the top of a spot, and also nicked ny ear lobe - blade is a Spanish point & I forgot to mute it.

Shave #55

Went back to the JR&S mentioned above (and pictured below). A much better shave with it.... I did about 100 strops each on linen & leather & it feels a lot smoother. Wasn't expecting the stropping to have such an effect.... or maybe I was just more competent this morning. Whatever - felt a lot smoother



The only downside to this mornings shave was the soap..... moved away from Proraso green for the first time in about 20 shaves & used a puck of Mitchells Wool Fat. Nice lather, but seems to dry out really quickly compared to the Proraso.... A problem when one shaves slowly. Had to go back to the puck a couple of times & make more lather.

Been using a Vulfix Grosvenor brush for the last month - really like it, despite it only costing about 10% of what my pure badger cost. With a mix of badger & bristle it is a lot stiffer than my pure badger & much better for working into the soap. Just bought an extra one for Number two son to walk away with also. For £9.70 it is phenomenal value for money

Interesting... for me MWF is my longest lasting lather (I take about 30-45 minutes to shave). That said, I still refresh it periodically. I can't remember, have you tried adding glycerin? I've found it helps lathers last a bit longer.

Two months of shaving EVERY day - Unheard of for me - Usually I am a slob at weekends

What have I learned?

1. Shaving is actually enjoyable ! Not sure whether this is just the joy of learning - Maybe once I can SR shave whilst on automatic pilot it will become a chore again. Hope not & suspect not - every shave is different from the next at the moment - and there is always that adrenaline rush of potentially spilling blood
2. I can now do a fairly accomplished (but slow) 3 pass shave - WTG then XTG then ATG - mostly getting DFS- or DFS.... Never had the fabled BBS but that time will come.
3. The left hand was really tough to train.... But it CAN be trained
4. I am still rubbish at lathering.... my lathers tend to dry out & fade away to the extent that I have to re-apply half way through each pass - not a big deal. This morning (shave#62) was better.. used MWF soap & applied the soap with a much wetter brush before lathering in a separate bowl as usual - adding even more water through out. Lots better - maybe this is the secret
5. Blood is inevitable - at least for the time being. Gone from blood every 2-3 days to blood every 10-12 days. Never very much, but still irritating. This morning it was a tiny nick on my earlobe
6. Stropping makes a big difference to comfort of the shave.... and can as easily trash an edge. No edges trashed after the first couple of weeks, but still wary of this & taking care while stropping
7. I can't count.... At least I usually lose count while stropping - I aim for 60/60 before & 20/20 after. My 60s are somewhere +/- 5 'cos I am concentrating more on the sound & movement than counting & I end up guessing where I was. Afterwards its probably 25 +/- 5 - I often hit 25 before I remember I was only aiming for 20
8. I got a big kick out of teaching #2 son to shave with a straight - Reminded me that I NEVER actually taught either of them to shave before..... Just gave them cartridge razors & let them go at it
9. A man can never have enough razors !!!!! Up to 24 at the moment
   • All from eBay....eBay is ADDICTIVE !
   • Only shaved with about 12 so far... the rest waiting for restoration
   • At least they were fairly cheap - probably £10-£12 on average - Biggest purchase £32
   • Cheap razors on eBay usually NEED restoration
   • Here's the collection (apart from the 2 that #2 son took away)
   • 
   • Most of them are 100+ years old - with the notable exception of a Gold dollar that is waiting for me to butcher into something else
   • The last photo is a 7 day set that I bought by "accident".... I could see a lot of rust on the blades & bid only enough to justify some spare ivory scales for me to use in restoration - to my surprise I won - guess the rust just looked too ugly for most bidders. The blades look as if they will clean up well - almost zero hone wear but some heavy rust. I'll probably try & sell these after restoration to pay for all the other blades I bought (Yeah right!!!). I'll start a restoration thread when I attack these.
10. Honing is a "black art".... I have a Coticule & can now just about make edges "Shave Ready" - at least to my own standards
11. Restoration is fun & satisfying (luckily)
    • I have had to remove scales to clean about 8 blades so far
    • I have made 5 new sets of horn scales (horn much easier to work with than I expected)
    • The Gold dollar will become a bastardised kamisori of some description
12. Other DIY skills are useful
    • Made the leather & chamois 7 day razor roll in picture 1
    • Made a DIY linen strop
    • Adapted the cigar box for storing other razors waiting to be restored or honed
13. Although suffering heavily from RAD... I have managed to avoid HAD and SAD.... although I have just ordered a Neil Miller strop - so maybe SAD is just hitting me now
14. I have a strong preference for Hollow blades... 6/8 or 7/8. Just don't seem to get on with wedges - possibly I am not honing them right or possibly I just like the sound of a hollow
15. I have enough shaving soap now to last me at least & year & I still occasionally think "there's one I ought to try"

This sounds to me like two months well-spent. Continued good times!

I'm jealous of the JR&Sons. I have a soft spot for those Cutlers to their Majesties...
View attachment 442923

Shave_Rat said:

I'm jealous of the JR&Sons. I have a soft spot for those Cutlers to their Majesties...

Click to expand...

Yes JR&Sons are my favourites.... One of them was my first SR & I have collected them since - up to four now.

Dustin - Been meaning to ask what the "JB count" is in your signature. I presume W&B is Wade & Butcher, but couldn't figure out JB

...Jim

UKJim said:

Yes JR&Sons are my favourites.... One of them was my first SR & I have collected them since - up to four now.

Dustin - Been meaning to ask what the "JB count" is in your signature. I presume W&B is Wade & Butcher, but couldn't figure out JB

...Jim

Click to expand...

Ah, John Barber razor, W&B is the Wade and Butcher (which was my great great grandfathers blade, that I am so fortunate to have and get to use).

John Barber:


W&B Heirloom:

Some tough shaves this weekend..... Went away for a long cycle weekend in the Lake District. We stayed in a Barn....
- no hot water other than a kettle
- no mirror other than a very curved tractor wing-mirror propped on the sink worktop

Of the eight of us I was the only one that even attempted shaving. I managed it, but it was a bit traumatic - using a distorted mirror while bending over the worktop at an odd angle was hard work. Only got CCS shaves, but at least I kept my unbroken run of shaving every day since starting with a straight.

Nice seeing folks reactions on using a straight razor though.

Cycling was tough too.... I am way too old to do long 1-in-4 gradient climbs without nearly dying.

Probably similar to the looks I get straight shaving in the public bath house when I go camping... lol

One thing to note, if using a public bathhouse, be way more wary of your environment, and any possible 4 year olds that may come tearing through with no notice and bump into your legs... don't worry, it didn't bleed... much.. *sigh*

Been a while since I posted an update. Here's the key points:

105 consecutive days of shaving - 100% with SR

• Feeling comfortable shaving now.... rarely feel that I might lose an earlobe or something equally valuable
• Left hand and right hand both working well - no discernible difference in comfort level of usage
• Consistently at least a DFS, mostly DFS+.... never had a shave I would count as a pure BBS, but I think that my standards are just way higher now..... the merest hint of stubble anywhere within a couple of hours voids a BBS to my mind. SWMBO thinks they are all awesome which is all that really matters anyway
• Occasional (no more than once every couple of weeks) very tiny nick / weeper usually on the chin, but nothing that needs more than a quick rub with the alum block to disappear within 10sec or so
• Still taking a longish time for a 3 pass shave (about 20-25 min) including stropping before & after, but an enjoyable "zen" time in the morning. Did once do a 3 pass shave in about 15 min when we were going out one evening & we were against the clock, but don't feel inclined to rush in general
• Still having trouble with lather - not wet enough & doesn't last long enough

AD mostly under control

• I have my "final" strop - a Neil Miller linen & cordovan (see here). Still looking for a more budget strop for #2 son but being patient - he will continue with my original strop for a month or two yet
• Not bought a new razor in over a month now - avoiding the "shave of the day" thread to curb jealousy and eBay to curb temptation is the key to protecting the credit card
• I have 7 or 8 razors waiting to be restored if I feel I "need" a new razor in the rotation
• Restricted myself to 3 soaps & 3 AS
  • Soap - MWF / Proraso Green / Arko
  • AS - Proraso / Tabac / Nivea
• Hones - 1 medium & 1 small Belgian Coticule

The collection - as stated above, mostly stable and all honed by me on Coticule (except my reference set below)

• My rotation currently
  • Sprock 6/8 Hollow Round-Point
  • Joseph Rodgers & Sons 6/8 Wedge Barbers-Point
  • Joseph Rodgers & Sons 5/8 Hollow Spanish-Point
  • Joseph Rodgers & Sons 6/8 Hollow Round-Point
  • Bengall TR Cadman - 6/8 Hollow Round-Point
  • Hamburg Ring - 8/8 Hollow Round-Point
  • Wade & Butcher - 6/8 Hollow Round Point
• My "reference" razors - Honed by Gary Haywood (on Coticule) so I know what "good' feels like - Only use 1 every couple of weeks or so
  • Joseph Rodgers & Sons - 5/8 Hollow French-Point
  • Hamburg Ring Dove - 6/8 Hollow Round-Point
  • John Clarke & Son - 13/16 Hollow Round-Point
• Rotation set for #2 Son (He only shaves 2x a week so only needs 3)
  • Crown & Sword 1935 - 6/8 Hollow Round-Point
  • Crown & Sword 1166 - 6/8 Hollow Round-Point
  • C-Mon Wedgeway (Carl Monkhouse) - 5/8 Wedge Straight-Point

B&B black hole

• Still sucked in every couple of days

Level of smugness & satisfaction

• High - how many other folk can shave with a SR or get such a close shave with anything

Enjoy your shaves

....Jim

I'm still highly envious of the number of JR&Sons you have in the collection. lol

Realised I had just passed a milestone number of shaves yesterday (250) so thought I'd publish an update...

• Shaved every day since 1st March - Eight months of straight shaves
• Really enjoy shaving every morning.... definitely a "Zen" time to myself
• Getting slightly quicker - 3 passes plus stropping before & after in 20 mins. Not looking to get faster any more - 20 mins is fine.
• Lathering really improved
  • Went to Marco's method..... Should have done this long ago. Using a much wetter brush has made all the difference to the lather, and a consistent method has made me more efficient overall
  • Also stopped swapping soaps every day. Now use a soap for a week before moving on - really allows me time to dial it in & understand what that soap needs.
  • Converged to just 3 soaps - MWF / Proraso Green / Tabac.
  • Dropped Arko & Vulfix out the soap rotation.... I was always looking forward to the end of "their" week - Both only 50% used but *** - it's only a few quid "wasted". Arko will stay on the shelf as a travel soap stick.
• AD's under control
  • No new razors for months
  • No new soap for months.... But I do have a hankering for the I Coloniali - May treat myself to a 4th soap in the rotation soon

....Jim

lol Sounds like you've hit the easy cruising mode now. Dialed in soaps, reduced the rotations, cut the AD's (they come in waves though, so watch out).

Excellent! It's fun seeing somebody do so well with it.

If I were you, I'd get I Coloniali ASAP. Check this out: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/305026-I-Coloniali

Loved reading your progress, very entertaining and instructional.

I think I had a very similar path as your's: Directly from Carts-to Straights, honing since the beginning, bought restoration tools, mostly cheap eBay buys, except for may steal the local Antique Store (which I think cure my SRAD).

I din't have a problem with my lathering skills tho, and I do envy your relationship with Son#2, I only have a daughter and she is 6 moths old.

I hope that by my first eight months I have at least half of the knowledge you gained.

Keep on shaving