Crossed over to the Dark Side!

Went for broke last night on shave 10. WTG, 2 x XTG on the cheeks and chin. WTG and ATG on my neck. Cheeks were BBS like never before. Caught the cleft of my chin, just a weeper. Neck would have been great if not for some razor burn on the right side. I have never been able to tolerate ATG on my neck with a cart or DE due to razor bumps and ingrowns. With a SR, it turned out much better.

Tonight, shave 11. Thought I would give my skin a break. Time to use a DE. Hadn't used one in over 2 weeks. After a WTG pass, I realized while rinsing, a DE just isn't as close as a SR. Got the Ralf Aust out and did a WTG pass. Now that was smooth and effortless. A little clean up with a DE on my chin and done.

Here is a few things that I took away from the last 2 shaves.
1, Not ready for a 3 or 4 pass SR shave.

2, Instead of using a SR for the first pass, use a DE. Doing this allowed me to concentrate on technique more than getting a decent shave. ( I did get one tonight! )
Also, shavin once cut stubble with a SR is smooth. No tugging to speak of verses the first pass on two or three day growth.

3, Corn Husker's as a preshave is just a lather booster. A preshave oil does give some cushion.

4, Leave the chin to the DE for now. When I try to get a DFS on my chin, I usually get nicked.

I hope I haven't rambled too much tonight, and some of this will help someone else. Till next time, thanks!

 

On my chin, my first pass is N/S, second is XTG left to right, then XTG right to left, and finally S/N. Using a very light touch and careful skin stretching I can avoid cuts on my scars on the chin. Keep at it!

For stropping, try holding tang of the razor instead of the scales. It gives me more control, especially on the flip.

 

When I was 11 shaves in I could only do 1 pass, now I do 3 or 4 passes. With time you will be able to shave your chin and do more passes. They key for me was finding the best way to hold the razor to get the proper angle and how to stretch my skin.

 

I too, went for the longest time augmenting my sr shaves eith a de pass. And I'd still do it if needed. Learning a skill takes time. The more you do it ,the easier it gets.

 

I have had 14 shaves with a straight razor now. I have been alternating between the Dovo and the Aust each shave. Shave 13 was a little tuggy with the Aust. To prepare for shave 14, I stropped both 10 passes on CrOx. Finished the Aust with 50 linen, 100 leather.

The shave:
Soap: Dr Harris with a drop of Kiss my Face
Brush: Omega 10066
Razor: Ralf Aust 5/8
Post Shave: Lucky Tiger tonic, Sterling AS Balm.

Shave went really good. First pass was WTG. This pass was really smooth, even with 4 days growth. Second pass was XTG on my cheeks, outside to inside. Caught the point of my jaw on the right side. DANG! ATG on my neck. I could not perform this pass with a DE. I would get ingrowns every time. Not so with the SR. I did get some irritation above my adam's apple. Still need to work on this. The chin is getting easier now. I have nearly figured out how to stretch and which direction to get my chin. Did not have to use a DE or SE for clean up this time. Few more weeks, and I might have this figured out. Till next time, thanks.

 

I have been using this strategy lately as well. For a first pass I use a SE for my chin and then do the rest with a SR. Then I go back and do my chin with a SR on my second pass. Removing that first layer of tough stubble makes the second pass with a SR much easier...and I am developing muscle memory. Hopefully won't have to do this forever...but my chin has always been a bit of a problem for me.

 

Finally, 20 straight razor shaves. Things are starting to click pretty good now. Last time I posted, my chin was giving me great difficulty, in closeness and in nicks. That has gotten a whole lot better. I still have about an inch square spot which includes my cleft, and right below it I clean up with a DE. I still try to get it, but know when to back off and not get nicked again. I will figure it out.

This Past weekend I decided to address my strop. It is a good strop, but I had 3 nicks in it. Also, there were several spots that had a pronounced grain that had raised up a bit. Sanded the nicks down and smoothed the grain with some broken in 600 W/D. I wiped it down with a barely damp paper towel, then dried it off with another. Then, sanded it with some broken in 1K W/D. Cleaned it off again. Now it is smooth, and has a slight sheen to it. I believe it has also brought my edges up a bit too.

Tonight brought me a beautiful shave, with a even more gorgeous razor. I have to give credit where credit is due. Thanks, Kevin for allowing me to purchase the Wade & Butcher. You did a great job! This was a shave of firsts. First W&B, first square tip, my first wedge grind, and my first Escher edge. Needless to say. I jumped into this shave. Washed my face, and lathered up some Haslinger Schafmilch. The W&B wedge felt great in the hand, the edge was sharp, but smooth. Really smooth. One pass WTG, 2 x XTG jawline and cheeks. Second WTG on the neck. Chased a stray hair on my neck, and found that square tip. Very light nick, I might just call it a scratch instead. Rinsed off, and splashed on some WH. There was very, very little burn. Finished off with some Niva balm.

This razor was a new experience. I loved the weight. I see why a wedge grind is a silent wisker killer. Definitely had more draw on my Latingo strop than a hollow grind.

Again, Kevin, great job!

I have one question now though. Can I now buy a W&B tee shirt now?

 

You have made excellent progress, you are doing far better than I when I was 20 shaves in. Kevin does great work.

 

He also takes better pictures than me too!

 

Thank you and your welcome, i think that is a razor i traded to the rolla.
Nice to see its getting used. And i love the one he traded me for it.
He's the razor whisperer.

 

This is a well traveled razor!

 

I've only been SRing for a couple of months with a couple of blades I got on the cheap.
Wife just bought me a Ralf for my Bday and I'm loving it (she actually hacked my SRD account and ordered the stuff I had put in my cart as "wish list" items... but I've already got W&B envy.
Cheers
Jer

 

Good job! Buy that shirt. I did

 

That'she a great wife. Hold on to her. The Ralf is a great razor that takes a keen edge.

 

I would have felt like a poser if I had got it before the razor.

 

Yeah my wife is pretty special. Lynn threw one awesome edge on the razor.
I want to get a razor to Glen and use the two blades as "The Standards" once I start honing.

 

Now you can see firsthand, Derek, why there exists real die-hard fan clubs for those old wedge grinds! People love the heft, the silent passes and the feel of the edge.
They can be a real challenge (i.e. pain!) to hone, but once locked in, they take killer edges.
Glad you had a successful first-go! …Do mind the point!

 

Not necessarily the dark side but definitely blood red as you will find from time to time ! Enjoy !

 

I just made sure the blade was parallel to the skin on approach. I stayed aware of where the point was, but focused on shaving with the whole blade. The only nick was from trying to use the point, and I got out of parallel.