March '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion Thread

Bama Samurai · Apr 1, 2016

Drygulch said: ↑

For my focus this month, I was going for two pass and touch up. I got at least a DFS on every shave, but some were better than others. Limiting the number of passes forces you to focus on making sure you get the parts you want to shave on the first go. My normal N/S then S/N, then XTG pattern has shifted some to accommodate this. I do the N/S pass, then XTG on the chin, jaw, and neck, and S/N above the jaw. Touch ups on the jaw line will get almost everything after that. My other focus for this month was using a lot of the razors I have had out to have work done on them. I discovered I really, really, really, really like the edge from a Sharpton 30k ceramic on New York/ Pennsylvania steel. I then looked up the cost on a series of these hones, to go up to 30k. It would be over 1200 bucks. I really like them, but I don't see that going over well with SWMBO. I will stick with my three Waterstones, and the few naturals I do have. I am getting better with them. I have also found a few pastes that do really well to fine tune an edge and refine it further. I have enjoyed watching everyone's adventures this month. I even went out and bought some SE and injector blades, I just haven't put the straights down long enough to try them. This closes out 15 consecutive 30 day focuses for me. See everyone in April's!
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I liked that you did the two pass focus. It's a great exercise to increase precision and reinforce routine. Good month!

Keithmax · Apr 1, 2016

Bama Samurai said: ↑

Day 91 of 90

Intro to SR Completed

Three Month Wrap

Bonus smiley blade shave!

View attachment 98436

View attachment 98438

For three months, I've been about as quiet as I've ever been with regard to technique discussions, because on 1 January, I became a newbie all over again. The decision to try straights is not one I took lightly. The phrase "I cut myself shaving" meant something entirely different in 1865 than it does now! From observation, straight razor shaving comprised three new skill sets--stropping and maintenance, SR shaving, and honing. For the sake of simplicity and to hold costs down, I have elected to hire professionals (TSD guys) to handle the honing chores for the first year, so my intro was simply stropping and shaving.

The first week was surreal. On day one I actually had a decent shave, but it quickly went downhill for a couple of weeks after that. The grip, blade angles, motions, and sensations were all foreign and tedious. More than once in the first three to four weeks, I relied upon the Charlie Danger Edition™ Gillette 195 to finish what I couldn't do with a straight razor. There was a lot of scraping, weepers, nicks, and to top it all off, I trashed the edge on my Aust during a particularly frustrating session. Luckily, TSD member @gssixgun runs a fine razor service, and had it fixed and back in no time.

Around day 30ish, it started to feel like shaving. I was really unsure of pressure at that point, and though the shaves weren't cutting me anymore, but irritation was a bit of a concern. Deciding that wetter was better, I started to mix yogurt lather and go to the @Norcalnewb Baseball Shaving Pattern (NBSP), and the improvements came rapidly. By the end of February, I had it pretty well down. Two spine widths, consistent stroke pattern, wet Route 66 lather, gentle touch and stropping were all working out. The introduction of a Sheffield blade and a CJB provided a diversion, as well as a test of my technique, and both worked out really well! From day 70 on, I could get DFS automatically and near BBS on a good day, and also had acquired enough technique to chase a bit.

The decision to wait 18 months and do every other razor type first was a boon to learning SR. Having SAD and BAD licked long ago allowed me to focus on the steel and not on all the software. All things considered, I was more scared than I should have been, and learning SR isn't all that bad if one commits to simply doing it. I've been told it takes a hundred shaves to get really good, and after 91, I'd say I agree with that assessment. Lather quality is a key factor in a good Straight razor shave. The soaps I used were TSD and Route 66. I chose for simplicity and uniformity to use only Route 66 the first month, and I like to say once again, @Salty Belle --killer soap base! It never failed and I never tired of the Lumberjack scent, and once I figured out how to use a straight, I had a few of my best shaves ever with your product! Kudos, and thanks for your support of our community! Another product I used was "45" Series black strop from @Drygulch Leatherworks. Adam's strop took care of biz. If you need a starter strop, I fully endorse and reccomend his work! He's also a TSD vendor just like Kathleen at R66. Send him a PM, he can get you set up with what you need. The Ralf Aust (courtesy @Keithmax ) was a perfect starter razor, and are readily available online. Thanks for the opportunity to use such a pretty and well done tool!

And yeah, I am hooked. Will be taking a break and doing DE in April, but straight razors will always find their way into my shaves regularly! I'll be working on the April thread shortly! Hope to see all or most of you and some new faces over there!

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being a part of our little community!

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Excellent write up. I great intro for anyone interested in starting to shave with a straight razor. My path and experience was very similar. If it is possible this would make a great sticky for the Straight Razor sub forum.

TheManWithNoName · Apr 2, 2016

Well, my 30-day focus has come to an end and I can say this was a very beneficial experience for me. With that having been said, I'm happy I can get back to doing some experimenting with some of my other shave gear. I won't be doing a 30-day focus for April, because I'll stop shaving in two weeks. But for now, I'm very pleased with the results of March's 30-day focus. And as of now, I've enjoyed my first shave of the month with my Rolls Razor Imperial No. 2.

Thanks for doing this 30-day rule/focus, @Bama Samurai. This was a lot of fun for me and quite the learning experience!

Bama Samurai · Apr 3, 2016

wristwatchb said: ↑

Chris, this is a fantastic summary. You have made tremendous progress over the past three months with straight razor shaving!

I got busy this month with some other things, so the March focus took a backseat. I hope to be more active in April with my straight razor and my beautiful Red Tip gifted to me by Douglas Carey.
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Glad to hear it Charlie, and thank you!

Douglas Carey · Apr 4, 2016

Refrigerator passes away last night. Back tomorrow.

clint64 · Apr 4, 2016

Douglas Carey said: ↑

Refrigerator passes away last night. Back tomorrow.
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Good luck Doug.

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March '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion Thread

Do you chase the baby?

Yes

No

Sometimes

Almost never

Baby? I thought you said cookies

Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

Douglas Carey Wildman

clint64 Blind Squirrel

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March '16 - 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix and Discussion Thread

Do you chase the baby?

Yes

No

Sometimes

Almost never

Baby? I thought you said cookies

Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

TheManWithNoName Well-Known Member

Bama Samurai with Laser-like Focus

Douglas Carey Wildman

clint64 Blind Squirrel

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