I got my Wapi today and immediately put blade to face as soon as I arrived home from the Post Office. This bad boy is classic with Violet scales and a mirrored finish. I'm in love already Ok I started off with a nice hot shower. Then I used quite a bit of pre shave oil. Then I lathered up some very relaxing West Indian Sandalwood from C&E with my trusty EJ Silvertip and off I went. I swear to God here, my upper lip quivered the first time I put metal to face, but I pushed on. It wasn't so scary after the first hairs were whisked away, it became very exciting, like I was traveling back in time. I took my time, I found that I really used the the point of the blade ( in this case its a square point) mostly for all the tight corners, like the corners of my mouth and the edges of chin and near my ears. I only went WTG this time tomorrow I will try a little ATG or XTG action. I want to thank Steve at Invisible Edge as the razor shaved impeccably close for a WTG pass. I'm hooked guys. I definitely want to buy another one now. Ok I have to have say anyone who's never shaved with a straight before the only difficult part is getting the blade angle and pressure right. If you have the right angle you don't need any pressure, if you have it wrong and you apply pressure you drag and cause razor burn. I got a minor amount of razor burn around my mouth, as its very coarse and heavy. Im pyched, what else can I say. I'm ready to keep shaving like this for good. Ok I'm off to have a pint of Smutty Nose Porter to celebrate. Cheers D
Congrats. I keep thinking I am going to try a straight but I always get scared for some reason. I keep reading posts like yours and thinking, maybe I will. I don't think I am scared about the shave but more of the fact I will want to buy several straights.
sparky5693, hey thanks, how did your first shave go? Was it recent? Any suggestions or advice? lamontqsanford, Ha, I'm your fear realized, that's exactly what I want to do now. :happy102 hoglahoo, Lee thanks, yea it was the first thing I noticed using the straight as opposed to the DE, blade angle and pressure are everything. Hard part about that though is the hand movements needed to get that perfect angle into those tight corners, esp chin and corners of one's mouth. Cheers, I'm going to post tomorrow my ATG and XTG results too. D
Stuggi, thanks, ahh that sucks, I only got razor burn as a result, my face around my chin is still pinkish a few hours later, but not too bad. Yea, I didn't cut myself this time, tomorrow will be a ATG and XTG pass so that may just do it. cheers D
Don't forget Hones, Strop and other straight paraphernalia. I already have 2 straights and one more on the way, and I have been being selective.
You can get by without a hone for a bit. What I would recommend is getting yourself a good strop. Additionally, I would get a practice strop to learn with before tearing up a nice one. YOu can pick up a quality strop at www.thewellshavedgentleman.com
When you go against the grain, flatten the angle of the blade a little bit. When you shave with the grain, the blade is cutting a hair that is bending away from it >/ so if the angle is too low it could ride up the hair and not cut as well. On the other hand, when shaving ATG, the hair is leaning towards the blade >\ and if the angle is too high, the blade could ride down the hair and irritate or cut.
Thanks Chimensch for the words of wisdom, I never looked at it quite that way, but I will try later today when I get the chance to shave, my face is still a little sensitive from the shave yesterday, but Im game for another round. IssacRN, hey many thanks for the shop in NYC, much appreciated. I actually bought a very good American mad strop from Classic Shaving before my blade arrived, Its 3 wide about 26 long, and has two pieces of leather, one is black the other tan. I stropped yesterday after my shave, I looked at the blade very closely, somewhere in the middle of the blade, it looks and I mean very very slightly a bit unevenly worn ( if that makes sens) Will stropping help this out? I didn't take time to notice if it was like that before the shave. Its super super minor, I mean you have to stare super hard to see it. I'm going to strop before my shave today, probably around 20-40 strokes. Is 20-40 a good amount of stropping before and after each shave on just cowhide? cheers D
I usually strop 40-60 on my leather personally. The uneven part of the blade wont b3 fixed by the stropping. Stropping ust kinda realigns the blade edge in preparation for the shave.
I say strop until the razor's edge is no longer improving. when you first start (as you are doing) you may have to shave a bit then strop, shave again then strop a bit more, until you get a feel for what the strop is doing and how much you need to strop It might take a lot more stropping than 20 or 30 especially if you are new to stropping to get the max benefit out of it
thanks guys words of wisdom indeed. I guess my next question is diamond paste on the other leather strop the next way to fix a slight uneven edge? Or do I have to buy a certain grit hone for this? cheers D
an uneven edge is caused by either improper honing or a warped blade. I would tend to think its actually a warped blade. You wont really be able to take that out..since its kinda a twist in the metal that Wapis are kinda known for.
Cutthroat yea me too great beer, my in-laws live right near the place so I get to have a fresh Growler of it whenever I visit. IssacRn, its weird now the little warp seems to have faded a bit from stropping, but maybe I didn't state how small the little uneven edge was, less then 1/24 of an inch I suspect or less. Ok well looks ok to me right now. I finally did my across the grain and my against the grain passes tonight on everything except my stache, top of chin, and my soul patch. It went well, although again some decent razor burn around the chin and mouth, cheeks are fine, but I'm not getting the right blade angle at my mouth and chin just yet. I got a very bbs shave on my neck and cheeks, very pleased indeed. I stropped for about 50+ times or until I felt tired of stropping. I'm wondering is having two blades in your corral better then one when your a new or is learning just one blade best? I'm assuming the later here, Wapi's do look a lot different then other blades like Dovo's I see more like a wedge then a hollow ground. Ok cheers guys D
Wapis often hone with a slightly uneven or 'wavy' edge - it's just that the blade thickness can differ very slightly along its length (a mass-produced blade after all!) or the spine/edge line is a shade out and, the hone being dead flat, the surface-to-surface contact flats the imperfection out - leaving a slight 'wave'. It's not like blade warp, where the steel is actually twisted, curving the spine and making it well-nigh impossible to hone, more that the spine and edge are very slightly out of true. It doesn't affect the edge or the sharpness in any way. You do of course get a lot of Wapis that are truly spine/edge parallel but they aren't any sharper!
Blade, I agree Danger is Sweet! I don't know much about Wapi's but the shave isn't too bad from it. I think it's a good beginner blade for one. I have been stropping it roughly 60 times per use. I had to sand my strop as I nicked the strop a few times with the blade, unintentionally of course. I sanded the strop up to 6000 grit paper, I figured that was close to its original texture. I did it because I didn't want any uneven wear to the blade's edge. Anyways today I shaved against the grain my upper lip and chin, it was difficult to say the least the blade was snagging and didn't feel too good to me. I mean it got the job done, but it wasn't an enjoyable experience. I thought the blade should slice through my whiskers no matter how tough the beard. God knows my Feathers do just that at a moments notice, sometimes just too close (1st layer of skin lol) So this all makes me wonder if buying a hone is my next best option here. If so, what would be a good grit to get? cheers D
