Bought the straight & it's arrived

The new SR kit arrived! Well, it's at home, anyway. My wife called and told me that this big box arrived from Straight Razor Designs. I haven't seen anything yet because I'm at work, but my wife asked me why the box was so big if it was just a razor. Were those things that big?

I said, "That's probably because the strop is in there too."

"The strap?"

"No, the strop"

"Is that your New York accent making a comeback?"

I'll post later on what's inside the box. I'm going to catch an earlier train. I'm looking forward to trying this, but at the same time a little nervous about accidentally cutting my head off. Should be interesting...

 

HA! I got the same thing regarding the strop being called a strap by my wife. I can't to see what you got. Make sure you take pictures so we can see. It is a little nerve wracking when you first start, but as long as you take it slow and don't make any sudden movements, you should do ok. I would suggest that you don not worry about going across the grain and forget about going against the grain until you get comfortable with the razor. Just start on your cheeks, they are nice and flat and a great place to get a feel for it. You may even just do your cheeks with the straight and finish you chin, upper lip, and neck with a DE until you get the hang of it. Good luck and by sure to let us know how it goes.

 

Nice! Yup, gotta see some pics.
Of course you could take Tom's sage advice (no sarcasm, I am being serious) or you could do like I did with my first str8 shave - entire face, 3 passes. Yeah, I went for it all. Not bad. Only a nick or two. Nothing serious.

Just take your time, pay attention, and you'll do fine!

 

what they said!

 

I went full face multiple passes too. You decide dude, either way will work and will give you the info you are looking for.

P.S. Chances are you're head will stay attached. 90% sure about that.

 

Sounds awesome! Relax, go slow, and enjoy!

 

Got the package opened OK. I got the box-cutter out and thought: Now wouldn't that be ironic? Inside the box is something you're worried about cutting yourself on, but you wind up cutting yourself with the stupid utility knife trying to open the box. Not to worry, that didn't happen, all safe and in one piece.

So I got the Dovo razor with the faux tortoise scales, 5/8, very sharp; woodhandled SR Designs Silver tip brush; the Ichabod Conk mug; and a 3 inch English Bridle leather strop (or strap, depending on your point of view). Here are some pics:


I was thinking about trying it tonight but I'll wait until the morning. I also need to review Lynn's video on the strop and other technique.

Here's another irony. Some things to note first: I drove a stick shift car until I faced a popular uprising at home and did the automatic thing. I write with fountain pens. I use a stovetop percolator to make coffee in the mornings. So my kids see this and tell me (as they've said to me before): "Dad, you're so Amish." To which I responded: "Mais non! The Amish don't shave their beards, right?"

Chalk up 2 points for Dad.

 

Very nice, enjoy.

 

Very nice little set up there and a very nice looking strop, I am looking to up grade my strop if i'm honest, I use two paddle strops, i'm in the process of looking at strops, so many my head hurts, not cheap either, any idea's from the straight razor guys on the forum would be welcome, but I must add import duty and taxes from the US are always a problem for me, as i've been stung to many times in the past.

Regards Jamie..

 

How about Neil Miller strops, he's UK based I believe, and they love his work over at SRP and B&B.

 

Hey thirdman47 you've got some real nice equipment there and it looks like your set forever if you don't get anything else. I do recommend that you don't hang that strop and just use it for several months just laying it on the counters edge and stropping that way, paying close attention to the flip and going slowly. I've read so many posts from newbies about how their edge won't cut and it turns out they've rolled the edge by not having the strop taught enough, or that they've cut the strop by trying to go to fast.

 

Yes I know of Neil and he does make some very nice strops indeed, also looking at the invisible edge they also have some very fine looking custom strops, the problem being is there's not a great deal of choice elsewere, even though the two I just mentioned are top quality, i still would like more choice. but thanks for your response.

Regards Jamie.

 

I get alot of my straight supplies from star shaving and they have excellent prices. Take a look at the Big Daddy strop, it's less than $40.00 USD. It's not fancy but have quite a few fans. I got my table strop from them for less than $14.00 USD, and it works so well that I don't really plan to upgrade to a hanging strop.

 

Cheers I think i've seen them listing some strops on Ebay, their strops have a small star punched into them if i'm not mistaken.

Jamie.

 

www.starshaving.com

 

very nice setup...I am waiting for my dovo forestal from shavingstyle.com I can't wait to get it...Im sure you will have a great shave with this for many years to come

 

Awesome set up, Thirdman! That is the exact razor I am looking at; I love the tortoise shell. Keith has a good idea about laying the strop down and using it that way until you have the flip down pat and then go ahead and hang it. I'd hate to see your brand new strop cut while learning the proper technique. Although if you are really careful and go really slow you would probably be ok. Remember, when you strop, it makes no difference how fast or slow you go, but a proper flip and technique makes all the difference in the world.

 

Thanks for the strop advice. I did hang it, but when I used the razor this morning I only stropped the razor once or twice because it was shave ready. So I'll lay it flat on the counter next time. Great idea.

The tortoise shell is really a handsome razor.

Ran some sink-hot water into the Col. Conk cup and soaked the brush for a few minutes. Question about that: Do you kind of transfer soap from the soap container to the cup and then work it up inside the cup? That's what I did, but I wasn't sure how necessary the cup was for that. Maybe there's a step here that I'm missing.

So this morning was the first shave with the SE. I stuck to the easiest "planes", namely my right and left cheeks starting with the sideburns. I got my ear nicked a little bit because I was trying to get the sideburn area and I'm a little too used to the DE, which kind of lets you know where you are as soon as the razor touches your face. Here, I touched a little too far. But no big problem, because I was coming in so slowly that it was a very small nick and it stopped bleeding in less than a minute. More like a scratch. After that I could tell where the razor was.

It was a little tough to gauge the angle, making sure it was 30 degrees or less, and I used really small strokes, trying to barely touch the skin. I could really hear the thing "sing" a little bit as it went through my bristles. And man, was that close!

I tried to use the right hand on the left cheek, but couldn't get the hang of that, so switched the razor to my left hand. Then I was really careful and had no nicks on the left side, which I was glad of. Stuck to the cheeks. Also, my face (unlike my clown avatar) is rather angular, so I have to puff my cheeks out to get the surface exposed. I'll have to check Lynn's video again on the grip and the angle stuff.

I finished the rest of my face (upper lip & chin) and neck with my trusty DE, and figured I'd get the technique down on the sideburns/cheek areas first since they're easiest, then graduate to the neck.

This was definitely a different experience, and the shave is really close, closer than my DE. I feel a little bit of a scrape on my left cheek, so maybe I used more pressure there or too many strokes, but no bleeding.
Maybe I'll try it again this evening, because I felt I didn't have as much time this morning.

It's fun to learn new skills like this.

 

Congrats, Thirdman! It sounds like you are off to a great start. Just take it slow and it will come. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Nice!
As for lathering your soap, have you watched Mantic's videos about that?
I keep all of my soaps in their own little clear glass bowl (3 for a buck at the Dollar store), sealed up in a ziplock sandwich bag.
I get my brush wet, sweep, swirl, twist, and scrub the puck with the brush to load it, then take the brush over to my lather mug to whip it up to a consistency I'm happy with.