Third time's a charm! Back to the learners table!

I took a break from using a straight razor about two years ago after a job change had me waking up at about 3:30am daily... I've always been a morning shaver up until recently, shaving in the evening afords me the opportunity to try out different setups and I can take my time while learning. Thanks to several amazing B&B members for poking and prodding me into Straight shaving. Some in the past gave me amazing advice, provided me PIF razors and supplies, a special shout out to [MENTION=34037]rockviper[/MENTION] who has been just awesome.

I recently was given a Straight Razor Designs ROO Strop as birthday gift by my sweet mother. I had mentioned it about two years ago as a Christmas preset idea, but had completely forgotten about it. This gift has spurred me on to give the straight another try(third). I can't promise to write a journal every day, but I'm excited to get deeper in the craft than before.

I sent off a Jos. Alders Eerles 6/8 razor to SR Designs for a fresh boning and picked up a CrOx crayon to paste the back side of my webbing strop. I have several straights that are not quite shave worthy at the moment, but I do have one from a previous PIF and a restored Wade & Butcher FBU from my grandfather which is good to go. My first two shaves were with a 4/8? Plücó, Ernst Plümacher & CO. Solingen-Wald & a 5/8? Juste Judicato J & R Dodge Sheffield. Both shaves were rough presumably from sitting for about two years between shaves. I used a 5/8 Wester Bros. New-York No.31 last night and recieved an excellent shave after I did 10 laps on the CrOx pasted side of webbing and 50 laps on leather. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

I really need help with technique around the corners of my mouth, under my chin, and jaw line.... any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks guys have a great Sunday!

Great to have back on the dark side.

Welcome back to the fold.....hmmm...these areas are tricky and if im gonna clear some skin its there....the trick for me is to look way up with my head so to stretch the skin and/or turn head at same time. Some will have to stretch the skin and shave from the neck up to the jaw instead. Honestly i just try different things till i find what seems to work....if not i know real fast....hahaha

doc47 said:

Welcome back! Boy do I have a deal for you! Want to try 5 different razors?

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Anything to figure out what I like and what will work best for me!

Tonight I shaved with the Wester Bros. 5/8, MWF, SOC, Proraso Aftershave, and Nivea Sensitive ASB. There's no beating around the bush, tonight I had a terrible shave.... I struggled to build a good lather, even though MWF has been a great performer for me, I think this was my undoing. I stopped my razor 45 laps on my Roo strop, showered before, etc(my standard prep for a safety razor shave). I had several small cuts and weepers, i think a lot of this is my technique. My major problem area is my chin and to the sides of my chin. I had some roughness and tugging while shaving, this may be in part that my lather kept drying out. We'll all I can do is try again harder next time.

Have you ever tried adding pre-shave oil to the mix?

I think your just having a muscle memory and brain to hand angle issue....it takes quite a bit of practice to get the razor to run the profile of your face...unlike a DE or SE which just glides along. Try tilting your head up and back...I try to make it one line from cheek to chest/shoulder straightening it out as much as possible.

6Cuda6 said:

Have you ever tried adding pre-shave oil to the mix?

I think your just having a muscle memory and brain to hand angle issue....it takes quite a bit of practice to get the razor to run the profile of your face...unlike a DE or SE which just glides along. Try tilting your head up and back...I try to make it one line from cheek to chest/shoulder straightening it out as much as possible.

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No, I haven't tried preshave oil yet, but I just picked picked some up last week. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll keep working on angle and stretching skin.

Luecke2326 said:

No, I haven't tried preshave oil yet, but I just picked picked some up last week. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll keep working on angle and stretching skin.

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So hows the shaving going?

6Cuda6 said:

So hows the shaving going?

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Actually fairly well! I've been struggling through these last three weeks with my Wester Bros 5/8 with a failing edge... Thankfully today I received my Jos. Alders 6/8 with a fresh edge from SRD. I shaved last night and don't have much stubble, so I'll try out the Alders for the first time tomorrow evening.

My shaves have been improving even with a more and more noticeable dull edge on the blade I was using. My technique is getting better, though I still get nicks on my upper lip and on the sides of my mouth. I started lathering my entire face, then shaving half of my face and re-lathering the opposite side to keep it more slick. Alum is becoming my friend, I use it constantly to gain traction so I can stretch my skin. I have much more confidence in stropping, I was worried about cutting the strop, but now I'm stropping just fine.

I started a few restoration projects, a Manhattan Cutlery Co. Sheffield full Hollow and an A.J. Jordan Sheffield 1/4 Hollow. I sanded them down to a near mirror polish, I'll be sending them off soon to be rescaled and honed in the next month. I also am working on a bone handled Rubberset 210, all I need is to set the brush.

All in all, everything's going great, just need more shave ready straights!

Wester Bros.? Which model? My first straight was an Anchor and I quite love it.

Desertlifter said:

Wester Bros.? Which model? My first straight was an Anchor and I quite love it.

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It's an Anchor too!

Luecke2326 said:

It's an Anchor too!

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My man!

Luecke2326 said:

Actually fairly well! I've been struggling through these last three weeks with my Wester Bros 5/8 with a failing edge... Thankfully today I received my Jos. Alders 6/8 with a fresh edge from SRD. I shaved last night and don't have much stubble, so I'll try out the Alders for the first time tomorrow evening.

My shaves have been improving even with a more and more noticeable dull edge on the blade I was using. My technique is getting better, though I still get nicks on my upper lip and on the sides of my mouth. I started lathering my entire face, then shaving half of my face and re-lathering the opposite side to keep it more slick. Alum is becoming my friend, I use it constantly to gain traction so I can stretch my skin. I have much more confidence in stropping, I was worried about cutting the strop, but now I'm stropping just fine.

I started a few restoration projects, a Manhattan Cutlery Co. Sheffield full Hollow and an A.J. Jordan Sheffield 1/4 Hollow. I sanded them down to a near mirror polish, I'll be sending them off soon to be rescaled and honed in the next month. I also am working on a bone handled Rubberset 210, all I need is to set the brush.

All in all, everything's going great, just need more shave ready straights! View attachment 694852

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Fantastic!!!! It just keeps getting better and better to the point its natural and you'll crap the shave it offers.

6Cuda6 said:

Fantastic!!!! It just keeps getting better and better to the point its natural and you'll crap the shave it offers.

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I hope not lol

Updates, lately I've been shaving with my Great-Grandfather's Wade & Butcher FBU. I really like the hefty weight and the stiff blade. I believe it's a 1/4 hollow, it's much more forgiving of small mistakes than the full hollows I've shaved with so far.

I used some Tet-a-Tet shaving cream and balm from the Russian Federation. The balm is excellent and has a great scent and a nice menthol kick. The cream was great in action, but maybe a bit less protective than I'm used to, it also has a great scent and menthol kick. I'm not too sure I'll have my sister in law ship me any more for Christmas. I'll be trying Belarusian Modum shaving cream tomorrow cotton blossom scented.

Luecke2326 said:

Updates, lately I've been shaving with my Great-Grandfather's Wade & Butcher FBU. I really like the hefty weight and the stiff blade. I believe it's a 1/4 hollow, it's much more forgiving of small mistakes than the full hollows I've shaved with so far.

I used some Tet-a-Tet shaving cream and balm from the Russian Federation. The balm is excellent and has a great scent and a nice menthol kick. The cream was great in action, but maybe a bit less protective than I'm used to, it also has a great scent and menthol kick. I'm not too sure I'll have my sister in law ship me any more for Christmas. I'll be trying Belarusian Modum shaving cream tomorrow cotton blossom scented.

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Sounds like your having fun....lol. Might have to research that shaving software as it sounds interesting...

One trick I used to use (for facial preservation) was to use the straight for everything except the lips/chin area and I'd do that with a DE. Later I'd make a pass with the straight in those areas but wouldn't worry if I didn't take much off on the first pass. I'd just go back for 2 or 3 passes in those areas.

The key is a sharp blade and improved technique of course but it's nice to slowly get to that point without major damage to the face.

Shave # 1
Jowika Solingen

Ok, so after the Snafu of the damaged passaround box with missing razors and a long weekend of deer hunting I finally got to feel like a human again. I had approximately 4 1/2 days worth of growth which is quite a bit more than typical. From Dan's box I picked the Jowika Solingen (5/8 ?). I picked my old standbys Proraso Green soap & Semogue 620 to Lather up with. I stropped the Jowika on the pasted side of my strop for 8 laps, 20 laps on fabric, and 50 laps on leather. I used the Marco method and face lathered the Proraso into a slick concoction. The first pass WTG was a little rough, but I managed. I think the 4 1/2 days growth wanted to grab the edge a bit. My cheeks gave mea significant amount of trouble and I had to rinse the blade frequently. I took it slow and managed to clean off most of the growth in the first pass. My second pass which is ATG on my neck and XTG from chin to ear went was very smooth! After feeling around a little bit I only needed a few touch ups on either sides of my chin and under my jaw line with a XTG pass. I finished up with the Schick Injector and a vintage Krona Edge blade to trim under my nose and finish up a little around my Adam's apple. Overall I would call my first shave with the box a successful DFS before the Injector made it a BBS. I finished up with Razorock Alum which gave me some feedback around my lips and on the sides of my chin. I slapped on some Proraso Green Aftershave and some 444 ASB. I've been shaving exclusively with a straight with the exception of cleanups for the better part of the last two months.. I've come a long way! I'm very appreciative to Dan for this box, I'm sure I'll learn a lot from it. Dan assured me that an infusion of new razors will be shipped out to me shortly, so the box will have new life! I'll try to shave daily this week so I can get my impressions out there for the new guys.

Have a a great day guys!

Matt

Post Script: I find that I must use an aftershave balm after every shave with a straight razor for some reason. I rarely ever used an ASB with a DE does anyone else have this issue or is this just a passing issue that will go away with experience?

Sounds like a success to me!

Shave #2

Quaker City Razor Co.
Philadelphia

Let me start off by saying this razor is definitely the sharpest of any razor I've had the pleasure of shaving with. I lathered up with Fine American Blend and my SOC after a hot shower. I did 50 laps on SRD Roo Strop pre-shave and 20 on fabric and 40 on leather post-shave. This shave was much more audible than any shave I've had with a straight. It appears to be a 1/2 Hollow, the first I've used. The first pass WTG was very smooth but left me with several weepers , more than usual(below lower lip,upper lip X2, neck X2) and I nicked my right ear.... I'm not going to say this was a bad shave, but it taught me that if I'm using a super sharp razor I need to take my time and use caution. The second pass ATG on the neck was really smooth and more efficient than usual and my XTG pass on the cheeks and chin were comfortable and without incident. I did one small clean up pass and was done. There was no need to bust out the Injector, I was satisfied with the DFS i received. Finished the shave off with Razorock Alum, Fine American Blend AS ,and Nivea Sensitive Cooling balm. The Alum made my skin really sting!!!!!!! Moral of the story, every razor is different and I still have a long way to go with my technique. I'm super impressed by this razor, may need to shave with it again tomorrow! View attachment 702964