New Guys SR Thread

Discussion in 'Straight Razors' started by Redfisher, Jan 2, 2017.

  1. DBart.

    DBart. Active Member

    I'm forcing the start of the week with the SR. Sides and neck WTG. Then when the hands stop shaking I re-lather and finish with the iKon Slant DE!
     
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  2. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

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    sod170130.JPG

    This is shave 9 with straights. I'm doing pretty good. Today, I did one and a half passes with the straight, and I felt I needed to finish with the safety.
     
    Last edited: Jan 30, 2017
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  3. George X

    George X Well-Known Member

    For the last 2 weeks I have been on the road for either work or tending to my dad in FL. I have missed using a SR so yesterday I broke out the SR that started my venture and Proved my muscle memory and technique forgot some things. I got a little bite on the chin but it was still satisfying. Today I focused on the little things and and made some extra slick MWF and had a very satisfying 2 pass Shave
    [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
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  4. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    I received this H. Boker & Co. 5/8 Extra Hollow Ground razor from a friend earlier this week. It is off at Col. Kevin's AKA @HolyRollah for cleaning and honing. I am looking forward to putting it to work as soon as it returns.
    IMG_2718s.jpg
     
  5. mrchick

    mrchick Odd, Terrible Avatar

    I look forward to seeing this one after Kevin is finished. He does nice work and this is a beautiful razor.
     
  6. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Some scattered water stains, pitting on both sides of the blade (closer to spine vs the edge) as well as the typical hone wear at the nose. BUT the scales, bolsters and hardware are in solid shape so it should clean-up nicely and we'll see how it hones.
    Bökers are typically nice shavers... :happy088:
     
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  7. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    Well, it is 80+ years old, Colonel.
     
  8. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    True...hoping I can be as redeemable at that advanced age! :angelic007:
     
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  9. 45auto

    45auto Well-Known Member

    I have around 256 shaves in, and just within the last 4 shaves I have has a breakthrough...keen edge...light pressure and proper skin stretching. Very smooth comfortable shaves, and growing some facial hair above and below my jaw lines have eliminated a lot of skin irritation and a shorter healing process.

    This year's goal is to improve my honing.
     
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  10. Spyder

    Spyder Well-Known Member

    Okay guys: I'm dragging this back up from a couple months ago to see where we've progressed.

    Just today (I started on my str8's journey last Nov). I realized that the time it takes has went fro around 40 minutes to 20. I can't remember the larr time I drew blood. Pretty much all my shaves are BBS.
    I no longer have to plan my next stroke or grip on the razor. My routine is solid and can be executed without thought. This has allowed my shaves to become more relaxed, enjoyable and just plain better quality of shave. Any of you guys have similar expiieriences or any other "aha" moments you'd like to share?
     
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  11. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    Wow! That's good news, Keith. You are doing very well. I am just using my straight on Saturdays. I had my sixth shave with it yesterday. I am very pleased with my progress. I am getting good at not bleeding. That was my goal.
     
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  12. leitmotiv

    leitmotiv Well-Known Member

    That sounds great! It sounds like you're an old pro at it now with an almost uneventful shave. Where's the excitement now that you don't fear for you life during the first hours of the morning? I hope to make it there at some point, but I still need to think about it and hold on for dear life. :)

    I had to take a break as I had a bit of a breakout of some sort that had to heal. Your update got me thinking about my SRs again this morning so I gave it a go again. I can't stop touching myself now...

    This was the first shave with my Henckles Friodur and the thing shaved like a dream. I started out slow since its been nearly two months since I last used a SR, but picked up speed an confidence quickly as I remembered the things I learned before. I didn't time it, but the shave wen't fairly quickly with no nicks and no razor burn at the end. I did two passes and came out with a nice BBS shave.
     
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  13. twhite

    twhite Peeping Tom

    6 month update.
    I started in October and have not looked back. Things that I have have noticed and learned.
    The first few weeks were the most difficult. Not in the fact that it was hard. just getting over the fear factor. If you pay attention, there is really nothing to fear.
    YOU MUST ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION.
    Getting the correct angle is actually easier than I expected. Listen to your blade. It will tell you a lot. Also when the angle is wrong. It is not comfortable on your face. Lots of tugging.

    I realize that I will not get the all wonderful BBS. By neck hairs grow all Willy Nilly. I am fine with this. There has yet to be a shave where I had any sort of irritation. This alone is worth the price of admission. If I ever need a BBS, My injectors will step up and do the job.

    My honing in progressing nicely. I am getting very consistent results. Slowly I am learning how to fix different issues, all in the fun.

    Tom
     
  14. Spyder

    Spyder Well-Known Member

    It's great hearing about all the gains! Forgot to even mention the stones. They weren't even on the radar several months ago. Now it's just part of the fun :bounce015:
     
  15. JohnDB

    JohnDB Well-Known Member

    I'm jumping in...

    • What do you enjoy most about the whole SR process? There are a lot of personal reasons but I guess the most enjoyable part is the challenge of it all.
    • What's your biggest challenge so far in your learning process? Its a two partner...The hair on my neck and honing.
    • What do you hope to accomplish in the coming year? (BBS shaves? Learn to hone? Learn to strop? Buy a zillion razors?) Hopefully I will get my razors sharper than any available for purchase and get those hairs on my neck BBS.
    • Are you a single-handed or double handed SR shaver? Single handed but have been exploring the two handed approach.
     
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  16. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    I'm hoping to revive this thread, as it's a great idea and I just started with straights too. I'm only 4 or 5 shaves in, but today was a bit of a breakthrough shave that has me coming back for more:
    [​IMG]
    Today's revelations:
    1. I tried face lathering for my first pass. Unfortunately this produced lather that was a bit too thick and not slick enough for my liking. Going forward it will be bowl lathering only with straights (at least for the time being).
    2. I made the transition from shaving with the goal to "not cut myself" over to the goal of shaving "to remove facial hair". This seems like a subtle mental change. It is not. The results bore that out.
    3. This change required me to realize it is OK if I nick or cut myself and recognize that it's just part of the learning process. Shaving to avoid nicks and cuts is an obstacle to learning.
    4. Deciding to back down and go for only one WTG pass was also necessary in order to learn. Slowing down and taking it step-by-step is very difficult for me. Although I'm extremely analytical, I'm still kind of a "man the torpedoes", "charge the hill" kind of guy when I take on something new. Deciding to do only a WTG pass and focus on hair removal, allowed me to focus on technique with a very limited group of problems to solve (without adding the problems incurred by shaving in multiple directions at multiple additional angles).
    5. Limiting myself to the WTG pass also allowed me to realize that I could do a second WTG pass to double up the learning on this limited group of problems. So, today's shave was two WTG passes with the straight, and an ATG and clean up pass with the red tip. I'm pretty sure I made more progress this way, learning from the first pass and improving a bit on the second pass. The DE on the third pass covered up any errors in hair removal.
    6. At the end of three passes I applied lucky tiger AS, and realized I still had some cleanup to do. Remembering @wchnu's tip about using AS instead of soap for his cleanup paid off here with great results.

    Was there irritation from the first two passes? You betcha! Do I have a lot to learn to properly shave my chin area? Yeah buddy! Were there nicks involved? Affirmative! Was all this worth it it for the advanced education of today's shave? Yes Sir!
     
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  17. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    What a great tip! My chin is my biggest challenge right now and that may be helpful.
     
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  18. Karl G

    Karl G Well-Known Member

    My first full shave with a straight was in mid-August last year. I'm finding I still experiment with stretching, angles, grips, pressure and what not. One of the things I learned later in the process was using the just heel of the blade for the difficult ATG areas by my chin and a few other spots. Also, each razor has it's own preferred pressure and being sensitive to that was also a later "aha." :happy088:
     
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  19. Spyder

    Spyder Well-Known Member

    Nice job! Both on refining your technique as well as your plan moving forward:). Nice of you to keep this thread alive:). How far some have come in a few months.
    Just today I realized that I have been continually adjusting my blade angle without even thinking about it. Kind of like subconsciously making steering adjustments while driving a car.
    Keep with it, within a short time it will become second nature.
     
    Last edited: Jul 16, 2017
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  20. BaylorGator

    BaylorGator MISTER Fancypants

    Thanks for the encouragement and tips, guys. Hoping some others like @Fly2High and others currently working on mastering the SR may jump in here as well. Taking the journey with others was instrumental for my DE technique. I'd love to see this thread help others like me dabbling in or journeying to the dark side.
     
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