I tried using only a straight today with moderate success. The first pass was not enjoyable, there was a lot of tugging. I initially thought maybe the edge needed some work so I grabbed another straight that @HolyRollah honed so I knew it was good and had the same issues. I tried multiple blade angles but still the tugging. Maybe I need to try a hot towel first to soften up the hairs? The second and third passes, once the initial reduction was done, were smooth as butter.
That is a great looking razor. I have wasted many hours building razors on the Koraat page. I maybe need to revisit the British Leather. It was several years ago when I tried it, and my preferences tended to run more to citrus, fresh soap, and more citrus. It wasn't a light enough scent for me then, maybe I would think differently now. We recently moved my dad out of a five bedroom house where both my parents had home offices. There were eight desks in the house. As is is, he kept four of them; two are family antiques he is saving for me..... If you add those to my son's desk I need to get rid of because he took one of his grandpa's...... I guess what I am saying is that if you want to drive to Minnesota we have a couple of desks you could have. It would save you some coin.
I take an aggressive angle with my first pass and I always do preshave prep. I usually shave after a shower so I apply some Noxema cold cream before the shower and sometimes follow it up with Proraso pre after then shower.
Razor: Portland Razor Co Chimera Strop: Drygulch 45 Brush Handle: B-400 The Brush by Tom Knot: APShaveCo Tuxedo Soap: Saponificio Varesino 70th Anniversary Post Care: Thayers Witch Hazel Alum Osage Rub Aftershave: Catie's Bubbles Le Marche Du Rasage Mixed emotions this morning. I tried my first straight only shave. There were some positives; no blood, almost zero feedback from the alum and I ended up with a DFS. Plus this soap and AS combo are fantastic. The negatives were all in my first pass, it was very uncomfortable. The blade almost felt as if it was hesitating and I had to use an uncomfortable amount of pressure to stop it from jumping. To eliminate a sharpness concern I grabbed a fresh off the hones razor that I know was done correctly but I had the same issues with it. The 2nd and 3rd passes went great once the initial reduction was done. Could it be that my beard is just too coarse? I really don't like to use hot water because I get some irritation when I do but I need to use something you soften up the hairs. I'm open to suggestions.
I got it in early March, I think. It has made it into a couple/few pics. He does really great work, and I think I am going to be ordering another from him soon. He is a super cool guy to talk with, and answered all my newbie questions. His is another web page I waste a lot of time on.
Thanks Keith. I usually shower at night and shave in the morning. I might have to change up my routine. It's been a while since I've used a pre-shave but maybe is worth a shot.
Try the prep without the hot water since hot water gives you irritation. I find that making sure my whiskers are hydrated helps. Hair conditioner also works for me.
Then again I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport waiting for my connection after a 14 hour flight.... so I could writing gibberish for all I know.
Not at the moment. I was hedging my bet by setting it at some future time if/when I find a bent/broken toothed razor in the wild.
I have a super coarse beard also, and I think I know exactly what you are talking about. It doesn't matter if it is an edge I made or one GSSixgun did, that first pass is the same. I would say that I tend to use a med. shallow angle and zero pressure. I am not a guy who spends a lot of time preaching zero pressure. I honestly think of Zero Pressure as more of a mantra for new dudes, and prefer something like "Minimum Effective Pressure". Well, my first straight pass is completely zero pressure. That pass really doesn't seem to get much done, but I now almost think of it as prep for my three pass shave.
When I use zero pressure the blade either jumps or just gets hung up. Maybe, like David suggested, the extra time of the soap on your face softens up the hairs making it easier? Thank you for the suggestion, I'll use it next shave.
I have recently adopted the attitude of my wife. For every razor I could buy but don't, I add it to the "Money Saved" column in my head. In the last few months I have "saved" thousands of dollars. So when I order my next one from him, it will almost be like I had a coupon for it.
An old "Shaving made simple" type manual from pre WW1 had a different take on the lather routine: After washing the face, the lather was applied to the damp face with the brush by face lathering as usual. However, that first coating was then massaged into the whiskers with the fingers for a couple minutes. After that, a fresh coat of lather was applied as normal with the brush again and the straight razor shave proceeded. Just a thought.
Since we are trying to have fun with the whole deal it can't hurt. Well maybe a little, but not bad. Personally I am a believer in "Cold and Brittle" shear off better, but that is a 100% YMMV thing.
I have been dieing to get a tub of SV 70th ever since I tried Dolomiti. How do you like the scent? What's it smell like? Is is as good as Dolomiti?
Honestly, it is probably me that uses that logic more than my wife. She is actually a cheapskate, and I'm honestly not sure that she would own anything nice if I didn't buy it for her or talk her into it. I can honestly tell you that when it was my marryin time I had just been left little sum by a grandmas passing. I had been saving for a ring, (and a boat) and she opted to use more for boat than ring. What kind of a winner is that?
