Razor Pass Around--George86's Straight Razor Blood Drive

[MENTION=110007]doc47[/MENTION], I hadn't thought of looking at it, but I just pulled it back out, and although I can't see anything wrong with it (I don't own a loupe or a microscope), it won't tree-top anything, and I would be very hesitant to shave with it if I was just pulling it out for use. Do you ever strop the razor between passes?

Shave #20

Pre-shave: Light lather, hot towel
Strop: Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop

Straight Razor: Keen Kutter 5/8 full hollow
Brush: Parker Pure Badger
Soap: Fine Platinum

A/S: Fine Platinum
Balm: Nivea Sensitive post-shave balm

So, I changed a bunch of things today. Actually, the scientist in me shudders at how many variables I changed at once. To start, I shaved in the evening. After I put the half-pint to bed, I have more time, I'm less stressed, and any mistakes I make will hopefully be healed up by morning. Also, I showered before my pre-shave routine, but mostly because this morning went extremely poorly and I hadn't gotten a chance to shower yet. So, for shave #20, I lathered up and stropped away. 50 fast strokes on my new lightning strop, and I lay a hot towel across my face for a few minutes, then wiped up and re-lathered.

WTG pass went well. I spent a lot of time stretching skin and making shaving faces in an attempt to stop any irritation before it got started. I managed to get over the angle of my jaw without causing and problems, and the rest of the pass went well. On the ATG pass, my cheeks were fine, but I tried something different on my neck and jawline. Instead of going N-S or close to it, I tried to go from the jawline down and towards the midline, in more of a true XTG. I nicked myself once doing this, but it closed up quickly. I think that going this direction was effective, but didn't give me as close a shave as going NS or true ATG would. I finished up the pass going NS on my chin and upper lip, and managed to nick my upper lip twice. Neither were bad, and both closed quickly.

I've been really impressed by the Fine soap, and today was no exception. It lathers extremely well and is slick enough that my razor had no problems, something I'm suspecting may be an issue with the Stirling soaps. I wish I had some of the American Blend, but will have to wait until it is back in stock. For now, Platinum has earned a definite spot in the rotation. Also, my wife loves the scent, to the extent that I am earning brownie points just for using it. I need to pick up some more Creed Aventus, I think.

Result: A DFS on cheeks, chin, and jawline. A CCS+ on the neck, with a lot less irritation than before. This may be the way to go for me, eventually I may come back for a clean up pass on the rougher spots on the neck, but for now, I'm pretty happy. My face is a bit dry and tight, though. The downside of the Fine A/S is it's extremely short list of ingredients does not include any skin conditioners. Maybe I'll pick up some glycerin and add a drop or two.

Have a good evening!

Shave #21

Pre-shave: Light lather, hot towel
Strop: Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop

Straight Razor: Lafayette 9/16 full hollow
Brush: Rudy Vey Custom w/ TGN 2-band
Soap: Stirling Sharp-Dressed Man

A/S: Stirling Sharp-Dressed Man
Balm: Nivea Sensitive post-shave balm

So today was trial #2 for the evening shave, and it has its pros and cons. On the one hand, I can take my time and relax. On the other, it does eat up a significant chunk of my evening. Meh.

Today's shave was a bit frustrating. Followed the same routine as yesterday, with my second pass being ATG on cheeks and chin, XTG/WTG on neck. Had a few minor weepers, but nothing that practice wont cure. The shave still isn't particularly close though. DFS on cheeks and chin, CCS on neck. Still have a bit of burn on neck, though much improved.

However, the Lafayette and I have not been getting along. On the second pass, it again started to tug, pull, and stick, especially on my chin and upper lip, where the hair is thickest. I finished the pass on my chin, but gave up on my upper lip and went WTG. Afterwards, I tested the blade and found that I have to apply significant pressure to cut hair on my arm. When I started the shave, the blade would tree-top hair at at least 1/8 inch. So what happened? Is it possible that the edge on this blade is dulling that fast? I'm not sure, but I know I can't wait until I have some other razors to compare it to, besides just the Keen Kutter.

No shave this evening. I was at work today, and one of my Soldiers looked at me and said "Sir, when you're sick, it looks like you're unshaven." (I've had a head cold for a couple days). Oops. That's a big issue if my Soldiers are noticing. I told him that I had been shaving in the evening, and it got us started talking about wetshaving, and straight razors. I showed him some pictures and explained the basics, and he was really excited to try wetshaving. Do I get my recruiter badge now?

Also, after reading Eric and Chris and everyone else talk about SV soaps, I went and bought a puck of the Tundra Artica, and some Musgo Glyc pre-shave in the Oak Moss scent. Can't wait till they get here! That's it for now, will shave in the AM.

Hey there! I am wondering about the Lafayette razor. It seems very strange that it would work well on the first pass and then be tugging so badly on the second.

How are you cleaning off the lather off the blade? Rinsing with water or wiping the lather off of it? If wiping - is it on a towel or sponge. But if this was the problem it would happen on other razor.

So you strop it and it treetops arm hair, but the ATG pass tugs. Can you start ATG on cheeks instead of neck? It may be easier to monitor the angle on cheeks first and if cheeks are fine - then move to neck and see what happens.

Maybe the bevel is not right and the edge does not hold up???? Hopefully some of the other guys can weigh in. Do you have and diamond pasted balsa strops or CrOx or FeOx strops or a linen or fabric strop loaded with diamond spray or fine abrasive media. I find my day to day linen firehose strop with the leather can keep me going with a shave ready edge for a bit. When things start to go south with the edge, but before it gets too bad, I use the balsa strops then go to linen firehose and then leather strop. When all else fails it is back to lapping film and for a wonderful couple months - a borrowed coticule.

Sent via Tapatalk from phone

labrax said:

Hey there! I am wondering about the Lafayette razor. It seems very strange that it would work well on the first pass and then be tugging so badly on the second.

How are you cleaning off the lather off the blade? Rinsing with water or wiping the lather off of it? If wiping - is it on a towel or sponge. But if this was the problem it would happen on other razor.

So you strop it and it treetops arm hair, but the ATG pass tugs. Can you start ATG on cheeks instead of neck? It may be easier to monitor the angle on cheeks first and if cheeks are fine - then move to neck and see what happens.

Maybe the bevel is not right and the edge does not hold up????

Click to expand...

Pete - I'm not really sure what is going on with the Lafayette. I'm cleaning the blade by wiping on an auto sponge, but you are right, if this was the problem then it should be happening with the Keen Kutter, too. I have been starting my ATG on the cheeks, and it does alright, but still not great. When I get to my chin and neck, it really has problems. I suppose it could be the bevel, and I think I might send the razor to Chris for him to look at, but "It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools." I suspect it's me. We will see how the AM shave goes with the Keen Kutter.

doc47 said:

it is one of my 6 favorites.

Click to expand...

Thanks Dan, I'm hoping to be back in fighting form by the weekend. Cheers!

I'm thinking pasted balsa and/or linen strops will be very helpful in the long run. I'll put together some supplies and send them back with the razors.

That would be awesome Chris. You have been more than generous, good sir.

Shave #22

Pre-shave: Light lather, hot towel
Strop: Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop

Straight Razor: Keen Kutter 5/8 full hollow
Brush: Frank's Shaving 2-band
Soap: Tabac

A/S: Tabac
Balm: Nivea Sensitive post-shave balm

So this morning's shave was...different. I took Nyquil last night to deal with my cold, and woke up rather discombobulated. Not to be deterred, I still took my shower, started my prep, and stropped the Keen Kutter 30x on the WD strop. After 30 passes, it was sharp enough to tree-top some of my arm hair at about 1/8 inch, and apparently I decided that was good enough. I probably could have stropped it a bit more, in hindsight.

Hot towel, re-lather, and the WTG pass went very smoothly, even though I felt like I was trying to see through a fog,m or maybe down a tunnel, the whole time. I nearly got bit once, but besides some mild irritation on my cheek, I didn't spill any blood on the first pass. On the ATG pass, I made sure to mind my pressure and my angles, and came away with only a few minor weepers that closed on their own. After two passes made much more interesting by my brain fog, I decided to quit while I was ahead.

The end result was a DFS on 85% of my face, maybe a CCS on my jawline and chin. I did not feel the razor stick, jump, or tug at all, although when I tested the blade afterward, it failed to tree-top much. It still would cut hair off my arm much easier than the Lafayette did, but it needed a little skin contact to do it.

All in all, I'm really happy with the shave. Maybe I should take Nyquil every night?

Mail Call! Just received the pass-around box from [MENTION=94244]sskim3[/MENTION] today, and in addition to the four razors left in that box, [MENTION=110007]doc47[/MENTION] sent two more, a Blue Diamond and one of the (in)famous Gold Dollars. Can't wait to try them out, I'll have the first one on deck tonight.

Jacob, WOW! you are making remarkable progress! I had to subscribe after reading your log so far! Welcome to the rabbit hole lobby. From here there are a number of other rabbit holes to choose from. But all that in good time. You are drinking from the proverbial firehose and getting a lot of it down! That would be High speed and Low drag learnin!

Hey Jacob!

Good shave - even in you Nyquill altered state...lol!

That Gold Dollar does not look like the run of the mill GD66 to me, it looks like it may be wearing the GD66 sneakers, but the tip of the blade looks to have been modded a bit.

Excited to see what you do with the razors from the passaround box. There is a group of you new journal guys that are very impressive - taking to this very easily, which is very cool. I like the analytical approach you guys are taking to it to - breaking down what goes right and what needs a tweek - and then analyzing the tweak to see if it was an improvement.

Your photo is top notch as well - nice Tabac photo witht he razor! And a B's fan too - spectacular!

Great progress on the shaves, and a very nice mail call!

Gentlemen,

Thank you again for all your words of encouragement. I think the reason the newest group of us "Straight Noobs" are doing so well is because of all the excellent feedback we get here. I know that it's helped me.

On to the shave!

Shave #23 (Passaround Day#1)

Pre-shave: Light lather, hot towel
Strop: Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop

Straight Razor: Geo Wostenholm 4/8
Brush: Rudy Vey Custom w/ TGN 2-band
Soap: Tabac

A/S: Tabac
Balm: Nivea Sensitive post-shave balm

So, starting the passaround box today, and boy do I have a lot to choose from. The main reason I joined this passaround was to try different blade widths and grinds, different steels, etc without having to buy them all,. This box is going to help me check off a lot of those things at once, and I was excited to get started. I picked the Geo Wostenholm tonight for a few reasons. First, the bolsters and the etching of the blade caught my eye. If I was going to keep a razor on pure aesthetics, this might be it. But they aren't bathroom ornaments, so after testing the edge on some arm hair, I lathered up and got to stropping while the lather soaked in. I wanted to make sure that this razor was in tip top shape tonight, so a full 125 laps on the leather later, I tested it again. Nothing. No noise, no cut hairs. What the heck? Tested on my leg, and I thought I felt it cutting, but no hair on the blade, and no noise. I was so concerned I sent a message to [MENTION=110007]doc47[/MENTION] before I figured out that it was my own dumb self screwing it up. The grind on this one is much thicker than the two full hollows I have been using, maybe a half hollow? I'm not sure, but pic below. Maybe you guys can weigh in. Anyway, that's why the blade wasn't singing. It was definitely cutting, though. I have a couple patches of that "shaver's mange" on my shin to prove it.

Slightly annoyed at myself for being "that noob", I relathered and started my shave. Right away I noticed a difference in how the blade handled. Not as light and agile as the full hollows, but it seemed like there was a bigger safety margin, or maybe that the blade wasn't quite as eager to bite me. Either way, I found myself enjoying the shave immensely, and finished a WTG and a ATG/XTG pass with minimal blood loss and very little irritation. I did keep having to relather halfway through the passes, but I think that was a function of me taking my time, and that my lather wasn't as slick as it could have been today. I decided to go for The Best Straight Razor Shave I've Ever Had, and lathered up my chin and upper neck for a touch-up pass. I knew I was getting greedy, but I went for it. I earned a couple weepers and a mild bit of irritation on my neck, but I finished with a DFS+ today, rivaling some of my DE shaves for smoothness, even if it wasn't quite irritation free. My biggest regret is that I'm not sure what was more responsible for the awesome shave; the different grind of the razor, or the 125 passes on the strop? Guess we will find out tomorrow.








Good night, gents!

Excellent shave and read! I recently picked up a wedge, the first non-full-hollow razor in my growing collection, and can't wait to get it restored and shave ready. I've heard them called "the silent whisker assassins" lol.

I am not good at this, but to me that is not a full-hollow by a longshot. I would say a 1/2 or 1/4 hollow. This is a blade grind that I liked very much when I started and still do - I have a Frederick Reynolds and another Napoleon from Joseph Ragg that have a grind similar to this and the blade seems to shave very very comfortably. It is what has led me to get a couple of wedge grinds - as I want to see if I am even more drawn toward that type of grind.

Nice shave! Nice write up!

I really like the format of your journal. Great shaves! The passaround box is a wonderful thing. I'm looking forward to keeping up with your progress through it.

I am glad you liked the Wostenholm. I had the same reservations you had when I was doing the hair test. Unfortunately, for me, the blade and my hairs were not a match made in heaven. I do agree with you aesthetically it is a beautiful razor and I wanted to love it.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the others. My biased favorite was the Torrey since it has the most audible feedback which I liked as a noob.

I've really been enjoying the journal entries here and in the new threads our Newbs have started. Looking forward to seeing the feedback on the blades I honed coming up. Should be pretty soon! They are all pre-stropped and ready to roll.

Shave #24 (Passaround Day#2)

Pre-shave: Light lather, hot towel
Strop: Whipped Dog Poor Man's Strop 50 before, 20 after

Straight Razor: Geo Wostenholm 4/8 1/4 hollow
Brush: Frank's Shaving 2-band
Soap: Fine Platinum

A/S: Fine Platinum
Balm: Nivea Sensitive post-shave balm

So today was round two with the Wostenholm, and I did about all I could to change the shave from yesterday. I changed software and hardware, stropped it less, and on top of that, last time I shaved I had about 36 hours of beard growth, and today it was more like 18 (I shaved around noon today, but just now getting a chance to sit down and write it up). My beard grows pretty slow anyway (a BBS with a DE lasts me 48 hours, if I stretch it a little), but I didn't want to wait to shave till tonight and have to try a new razor in the morning.

2 passes and a cleanup today would have gone very nicely, if I had perhaps skipped the cleanup. I felt a bit of irritation on my neck after the second pass, but really wanted to get that BBS since yesterday's shave went so well, and ended up with some fantastic razor burn instead. The alum block stun a bit, but expletives flowed like the waters of the Nile when I slapped on that Fine A/S. Also, I managed to nick myself once on the first pass, so there was that to contend with too.

Although this shave did not go as well as the last, I'm still very pleased with the Wostenholm. If I have time, I might run it on the pasted balsa strop and give it another shot before I send this box on it's merry way. Tomorrow, though, I think I might give the GD a try.

End Result: DFS with +++ irritation.

Lessons learned (maybe): Don't chase the shave; watch the toe of the blade; listen to your skin

Now I'm going to go watch Stranger Things with the wife and hope she doesn't have nightmares. Good night folks!