Story of a Survivor

-There I stood, peering at myself in the mirror with a grim expression. A storm was rolling in and the sky was darkening, the wind howled and thunder flashed outside the window. The lights began to flicker in the bathroom and the creaks of the house in the raging storm sounded like a tortured creature of the night howling out.

The reflection that looked back at me was not mine own, but rather a shaggy beast with whiskers that covered his whole face. I knew what must be done so I slowly pulled the draw out and reached for my weapon. Never taking my eyes off of the demented being watching me just as closely. Then I felt it... glorious steel, the tool that would perform the grisly work of this night.


Confidence began to flow through me as I gripped the tang of my razor, and I lulled the beast into a stupor with a thick blanket of cushioned lather. I seized my opportunity as I felt his complacency and hacked at his face like a man possessed! The hair, blood and gore flew splattered across every surface until you could no longer differentiate between wall, ceiling and mirror. It was a heinous sight and it fought back tooth and nail, but after hours of butchery I began to recognize the face in the mirror. I had survived my first straight razor shave. Only after coming to my senses and realizing this thing had been controlling me and growing stronger on my face over the course of 18 days. 18 days of unrepentant evil have finally been tamed... for now.

Just having some fun, I didn't have time to take pics of my first straight shave so I wrote this for some entertainment instead.
I used the razor in the pic, and did not strop to start. I had over 2 weeks of growth on my face so there was plenty to take off.
It wasn't a great idea to try this because I was in a hurry trying to get ready for dinner so I didn't have much time to focus on technique so I got a pretty rough shave.

I didn't have time to concentrate on angles much but I took off a WTG pass on cheeks and neck but not very close and some pulling on the long whiskers. Had to finish trimming chin and upper lip with electric clippers for busting out my new... um NEW LC ball end from a generous PIF [MENTION=107874]Gallen1119[/MENTION] held. Also received a NEW SC to keep it company, may post a thread about them when I've gotten the hang of them.

I'm not going to attempt the straight again until I get a strop... why I don't have one yet you may be asking. A friend of mine is making a double strop for me but he's been busy and I was getting anxious to try the straight and get the irritating beard off my face.

Oh ya, despite what I wrote in the story I didn't cut myself. I'll call that a small success since I was hurriedly hacking at my face with a extremely sharp instrument I had no experience with.

Is that a GD mod?

You can make a temporary improvised strop out of a whole sheet of newspaper. Fold it in half longwise, over and over, until it is around 2-1/2" to 3" wide. Pass one end over a towel rack, pinch both ends together, and pull nice and tight. Instant strop. Not as good as good leather, but better than nothing.

Slash McCoy said:

Is that a GD mod?

You can make a temporary improvised strop out of a whole sheet of newspaper. Fold it in half longwise, over and over, until it is around 2-1/2" to 3" wide. Pass one end over a towel rack, pinch both ends together, and pull nice and tight. Instant strop. Not as good as good leather, but better than nothing.

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If anybody could recognize a GD mod instantly it'd be you. One of my first times here was admiring some of your work as a lurker over in the mod competition. But yes that's one of [MENTION=6128]Seraphim[/MENTION] razors I picked up from the classifieds.

I'd heard of the newspaper trick, but I think I'll just stick with the familiar DE for a short while longer whIle the strop is being made.

My first straight is actually from a PIF Dan held a 7/16" H. Geo henry cutlerix but my wife actually used it before I could believe it or not. Anyways the bigger razor and jimped tang feel a little better in my hands, little easier to wield which makes me feel a bit more confident about it.

Glad you made it out alive....!

doc47 said:

Ok, nice start! But I must know, what did your wife think of the SR after she used it? Does she continue to use it?

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She's only used it the one time and has so little hair to take off she did just fine with it! It doesn't grow back quickly so she hasn't needed to use it since.

Some women aren't so lucky...

I assume she was taking off the barely visible peach fuzz on her face since there's almost no hair on her arms or legs.¯\_(&#12484_/¯

Hey this was quite the entertaining read. Bravo sir, bravo. Who wrote this?....
Maybe this belongs in the clown house.

Paper strop it...works great and way more forgiving than leather if you make a mistake....you can also fold the newspaper as suggested but lay it flat on a desk edge etc and strop...works fantastic...good practice as well...just do it and continue to shave instead of waiting,.

6Cuda6 said:

Paper strop it...works great and way more forgiving than leather if you make a mistake....you can also fold the newspaper as suggested but lay it flat on a desk edge etc and strop...works fantastic...good practice as well...just do it and continue to shave instead of waiting,.

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I've had another much better shave with it since I wrote this. Was more for entertainment value than anything.
I'm going to get a proper strop and use my DEs in the meantime.
Technique and practice are my greatest weaknesses.

Not only well written, but a damn fine looking razor too!

Beautiful razor, and congrats from a fellow noob!

Seraphim said:

Not only well written, but a damn fine looking razor too!

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Who could've crafted such a masterpiece? Truly an artisan of all time.

Glad you survived, and welcome to the straight world.

Cheers, steve

I've got a steady hand and great hand eye coordination. Been stropping on my nicest belt with an X pattern and no damage to the leather yet.
Taking my time with long smooth strokes and flipping on spine.

Seraphim said:

Not only well written, but a damn fine looking razor too!

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+1!

Catalinbread said:

I've got a steady hand and great hand eye coordination. Been stropping on my nicest belt with an X pattern and no damage to the leather yet.
Taking my time with long smooth strokes and flipping on spine.

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Great job!! One brain fart is all it takes......