The Straight Razor Apocalypse

So, after 3 yrs of DE Wet Shaving, inflicted with DE AD. I have started the Straight Razor experience.

A year ago, I got a Dovo Shavette and cut myself to ribbons. Those knowledable here told me to get a real razor. Was gun shy and waited.

I have my Grandfather’s Crown & Sword circa 1900 straight. Sent that off to RE for reconditioning and new scales. Meanwhile, have a GD 200 from the same.

Today was my 3rd shave.

Watched Busta (3). Watched Nick (15). Watched Geo (“you’’ll get the hang of it after 100 Shaves…). Watched Gonzales. Watched Charky. Watched Matt. Watched the Stallion.

Why is it that so many renowned Straight shavers have goatees? Seems easier not to shave the lip and chin. Just sayin.

Anyway. 2 nicks over 3 shaves.

No where near a DFS let alone a BBS. Still with the grain, 1 to 2 passes….

The angle thingy is pretty tough anywhere accept the cheeks.

Grrrrrr.

Keep shaving.

Straight razor shaving is something that takes time and effort to master. It will not be a half dozen or a dozen shaves before you get the hang of it -- it could take much longer. Even after you manage to get through a shave without nicking yourself, your shaves will be nowhere near as close as what you get with a safety razor. If you stick with it, it may be years before you get to that point.

If that sounds depressing, I don't mean it to be. If you've read anything about straight shaving, you'll already know all of that.

I maintain a clean-shaven face. I can get a lovely, comfortable and exceedingly close shave with a straight. If I want to get a super-close shave with a straight, I have to do a true ATG pass -- even on the upper lip and chin. The chin has never been a problem for me, it just took a while to work out the technique to constantly move the blade to keep an ideal shaving angle on the chin.

The upper-lip was another matter. It was years before I was confident enough to even try it, and it still took a while to figure out how not to hurt myself when shaving ATG on the upper-lip.

Here's what I found:

1) Your blade needs to have a superb edge. Chances are that your blade is already dulled, as most people destroy the edges on their first few razors....often without even realizing it.
2) You have to learn how to hold the blade (securely, while still allowing play - if you're holding it firmly, you're going to get hurt).
3) You have to have the spine on your skin for the ATG pass - basically trying to have the blade as close to flat on the face as possible. This is easy on the cheeks and other flat portions of your face, but not easy to do elsewhere.

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Since you've just started, you should NOT try to do an ATG pass. Focus on the WTG (or north-south) pass. What you're striving for is not BBS (which is pointless anyway), but a honing of your skills with a straight so that the pass is close, but super-comfortable - no nicks, weepers or cuts. Once you can consistently get through this pass comfortably, experiment a little with angle and see how close you can get it to be. It still won't be very close, but it should improve with improved technique.

When you get to that point, get yourself a freshly-honed razor (don't strop it) and try it with that. It should be even closer at this point. That's your real starting-point. You can then try and work in XTG and some ATG. Don't be surprised if you have to do a clean-up pass with a safety razor after all this.

Some people are lucky to have hair patterns and types that allow them to get a close, comfortable shave without an ATG pass. I'm not so lucky, and perhaps you're the same. If you're like me, you may have to wait a long time before your straight razor shaves match your safety razor shaves.

Still, in my case straight razor shaving was fun from day 1 -- even though the shaves weren't close. Have fun, don't focus on BBS, and your skill will improve.

I am an old man, DE user for more than 40years. I just had my 3rd SR shave a few days ago. First 2 were ok, although I did finish with the DE, with a bit of burn on the second.
3rd was enough that the 4th will be a sometime after the slices are gone.
My preferred way to shave has been in the tub, with lather I got from the home made soap I lathered up on my head while doing my hair. Even with the learning curve mastered I wonder if this mode of self mutilation is really the best path for me.

Advice for Newbie Straight Razor Users
Razor care
1. Be careful they are sharp
2. Protect the edge when not in use - don't drop it, bang it against the faucet etc.
3. Don't ever put a wet razor away (dry the blade, dry the inside of the scales) and store it in a dry environment.
4. Don't handle a razor with wet hands.
5. If the razor is dropped or falls off of something, do not try to catch it. The replacement of a broken razor is cheaper than an ER visit or an ambulance ride.
6. Dry the razor, rinse under hot water and wipe dry with TP, also make sure the inside of the scales are dry. Fold TP and run it through the scales several times. Keep the razor open for an hour resting on a dry towel. Then, close the razor slowly so the edge never contacts the scales. ALWAYS do this to prevent rust.

When you shave
1. Use less pressure than you think is needed.
2. Use a shallower angle than you think is needed.
3. Do not be concerned with speed. If you are taking so long your lather dries out, just re-lather.
4. Be concerned with being comfortable while putting an insanely sharp blade you your face, not speed. Needless to say, don't try straight shaving for the first time when you are late for work.
5. Stretch the skin taught. Tight skin resists cuts. Loose floppy skin invites cuts. Dry your fingertips or use the tip of a dry washcloth to get a better grip on wet skin.
6. Tricky areas can often be shaven more easily by actually pulling the skin onto a flatter area of the face, particularly on the chin, which is the venue for probably 3/4 of the shaving cuts you will give yourself.
7. Make shaving faces. Use your facial muscles to tighten or flatten skin, or to pull against the pull of your fingertips. Pull your nose up or to the side to get upper lip.
8. Don't keep telling yourself it's sharp enough if it's not, put it down and use a different razor. Contact Dan to have the razor sharpened.
9. Start with your sideburns, don't be afraid to finish with a DE or whatever your previous method is.
10. Lather up, and use a butter knife to practice "shaving" the lather off your face. This trick works in helping you coordinate those tricky spots, off hand shaving, etc. without fear of injury.
11. A good initial shave angle is where you have a gap between spine and skin equal to the thickness of the spine. This is typically 21 to 25 degrees, significantly tighter than the 30 degrees suggested by many sources.
12. If you need a higher angle or more pressure to make a razor shave, it is probably not as sharp as it should be.
13. Don't worry about getting a perfect shave. Just concentrate on surviving the shave with minimal blood loss, minimal irritation. Closeness will come with experience.
14. Don't worry how close your shave is and, unless you are real brave, don't try your entire face at first. Do cheeks to jaw bone first, then the neck, the mustache and chin. If you only accomplish a couple of parts of a full shave while you have the box, that's a success. It takes a couple of weeks/months before it will become second nature. Be patient, don't go too fast and invest in a Styptic Pen from your local drug store. Most of all be patient with yourself!

Sharpness
When you receive the razors and before you send it to the next member or back to me for honing please do a sharpness test.
A good sharpness test to perform on receiving a razor is the treetopping test. Pass the razor 1/4" above the skin of your forearm. You should see at least one or two hair tips severed and laying on the blade. This indicates a reasonably sharp edge. If several hairs are treetopped, and this occurs silently with no perceptible snapback, you have a razor that is almost impossibly magically science fiction sharp. If you have to reduce the pass height to 1/8" to get treetopping, then it is marginally sharp,

Stroping
Follow these guidelines please.
1. When you strop your razor, you should have a firm enough hold on the shank to control it, but there shouldn't be any grip on the scales, unless you intend to break the scales.
2. Any time you strop a razor; the spine of the razor MUST be lying against the strop every time the edge touches the strop. If the spine isn’t touching while you are stropping, you are ruining the bevel angle and could damage your fine edge.
3. Strop 30 passes on leather after your shave
4. Strop 30 passes on the cloth side followed by 60 passes on leather before your shave.
5. Stropping should look like this:
http://straightrazorplace.com/srpwiki/in..._stropping

Doc47 gave some excellent advice.  I would like to add a couple of things to his list.

Razor care
8. Don't shave naked!  Accidentally dropping a  straight razor onto bare skin has the potential to be very unpleasant.

When you shave
5. b. Wet your fingertips and rub them on an alum block before stretching your skin to give your fingers a good grip even if your skin is wet and soapy.

Don''t shave naked?

Your oversharing dude.