Thread: Starter setup

So I finally sent my razor off to Straight Razor Design to be honed. I just got it back yesterday. I had included a note asking them to give me some indication as to the quality of the razor, but alas, nothing but the razor.

I gave it a try last night. I wanted to have the best possible first experience, so I spent some extra time on the prep. I let the brush soak in hot water, while I splashed hot water on my face until it was red. I lathered up some nice thick lather and put it on my face to let it soak in and (hopefully) soften the whiskers a bit. Keep in mind that I have very coarse whiskers. I then rinsed it off with some more hot water before applying the lather to the first cheek.

The cheek was relatively rewarding, with very little pull, although it was a bit louder than I expected (is this normal?). I was able to progress over the jawbone with relative ease (given that I was scared stupid that I would cut myself). However, I came to a bit of an issue when it came to the neck.

For some reason, even though the majority of my neck whiskers run in the same direction as my cheek, I experienced a lot more resistance and a lot of irritation. I was dumbfounded when I came to the adams apple. I could figure out how to do the actual adams apple, but the concave portions on the either side don't make things easy, especially given the fact that the whiskers there go in about 5 directions. I stumbled through with a very poor shave in that area, and continued back up to the opposite cheek before finishing above the lip (also very difficult, due to the presence of the nose). I have a goatee covering my chin so I was able to skip that.

Results: I am relatively pleased with the shave on the cheeks, although it is only just as close as a week old cartridge razor can get it. I think that with some practice I might find the secret to a closer shave. I cut myself only twice (not counting raised bumps that had it coming anyways), and that was because I accidentally introduced a sawing motion rather than perpendicular. The neck, however, remained very sore and not very close. I think that with some acrobatics, I may be able to get those valleys on either side of the adam's apple, but overall I think there may be something flawed with my neck strategy. It felt nothing like shaving the cheeks, and I feel I must be doing something wrong.

Back to the quality of the equipment, here's my "beginners" rating. 1 means that no beginner should consider buying one, and 10 meaning that it makes life so much easier for a beginner to start shaving.

Razor (solingen): OK, I don't actually have a rating on this one yet. It works, so maybe a 6?
Strop (unkown pakistani): 0 - It's brittle, bumpy, and seems like it would do more harm than good. First item to be replaced
Shaving cream (tub of truefit & hill): 9 - Excellent cream, no matter what style of shaving. However, I am docking a point as I feel that for a beginner, they may be able to find something cheaper
Shaving mug (oversized coffee mug from bed, bath, and beyond): 10 - awesome, great value, easy to use, and looks great in my bathroom
Brush (synthetic hair): 10 - There are (obviously) better brushes out there, but I think that synthetic is great for beginners due to cost vs quality
Stone (colonel conk): 4 - It may sharpen, but it isn't easy or intuitive, I think it would frustrate any beginner long before they were able to get to their first shave. Second item to be replaced

i had basically the same first shave that you did thoughi did buy my razor from Tony Miller so it is a Dovo (not to say it is better or worse) and i found that it was my angle that needed adjusting the most. i kept trying different soaps and hotter water, to no avail. those things are very important but my problem was that it didn't feel like it was doing anything at angles lower then 30 degrees, when infact it seems there is a sweet spot that drags less and cuts better. for me it is right between the "scraping" angle and the "not cutting". i know it seems like commun sense but it made a world of difference for me to reduce the angle and release my death grip on the razor. hope that helps.

as for the Col Conk stone all the sites i can find say it is a 1200 grit stone which is great for pocket knives but much to coarse to finish or touch up a razor. that is just what i have found though.

chee16, thanks for the advice! You are probably correct, and thinking back, it is possible that while I was trying to adjust for the various curves of the neck, I wasn't maintaining the blade angle at the same angle as when I was on the cheeks. I may have been "scraping" more than cutting, which would explain the soreness.

It's really hard to find any kind of useful information on the colonel conk. I appreciate the info!

The on big recommendation early on in this thread is still the best by far. Get Lynn's CD. It's a great investment! In it he recommends starting with the area between the sideburns and jawline, and in one direction only. Get used to the feeling of the razor in your hand, and against your face. When you are comfortable with that start some XG, then maybe ATG. Do this slowly and get comfortable. It won't take long, but it is a skill that must be learned. You will gradually learn your own techniques. But Lynn's CD is a great place to start.The same will be true for honing. You can build your tools of the trade up over time. Hey, I've been at it for nealry 2 months and I have yet to tackle the chin and lip areas. I am in no hurry. Whan I am ready to do those, I will do them. In the meantime, I do the areas I am comfortable using the straight, and finish using my Merkur twin.

Quick update:

I've taken some advice that I've seen and I've been modifying my technique and angle to err on the side of too flat rather than too aggressive. I think my angle was way too aggressive the first time.

For the trouble spots on either side of the adam's apple, the technique that I finally found to work was ATG, pointing slightly inward, working mostly with the toe half of the blade. Works great and is probably the least irritation I have gotten with that area of my neck with any blade! Watching a lot of videos helped.

I have also greatly improved my lather routine. I purchased shaving soap from a local vendor on a whim (I was at a local fair). I was having a hard time getting satisfactory lather out of that, but I found that if I loaded up the brush with soap first, then worked in a mug that had a minute amount of aforementioned shave cream, that I got the most amazing lather I have ever worked with! The technique is similar to the uber lather on the wiki, except that I do not add glycerin (the soap says that it contains natural glycerin, not sure if I should trust that though...). Also, to keep the lather warm, I filled the sink with hot water (my tap is super hot), and placed the mug in the water as I did the prep and shave, in addition to the preheating of the brush and mug.

The only issue I am having is I consistently cut (not nick, but cut) myself in the same place on the cheek, about a half inch from the side of my lip on my right side, when I am coming in to do the whiskers above my lip. I have grown very conscious of this, and try to be extra careful in that area, but I still cut myself. I currently have three separate inch long cuts, all going the same direction, and all sitting right next to each other! I'm sure I'll figure out what I'm doing to cause this, and it is not enough to make me give up, but I'm sure I look like a fool when I walk into the office in the morning with yet another fresh cut...

Other than that, my technique is definitely improving, thanks for all of the advice! I feel that my skin is adjusting to the str8, and is feeling healthier than back when I used cartridge razors and aerosol shaving cream. My absolutely wonderful wife is confused by why I am so enamored by this stuff, I guess she never thought that something as mundane as shaving could be considered a hobby

Originally Posted by dangerp

The only issue I am having is I consistently cut (not nick, but cut) myself in the same place on the cheek, about a half inch from the side of my lip on my right side, when I am coming in to do the whiskers above my lip. I have grown very conscious of this, and try to be extra careful in that area, but I still cut myself. I currently have three separate inch long cuts, all going the same direction, and all sitting right next to each other! I'm sure I'll figure out what I'm doing to cause this, and it is not enough to make me give up, but I'm sure I look like a fool when I walk into the office in the morning with yet another fresh cut...

Oh, so you're at the Mach-3 level, you know that it's all about the Fusion now, so I think two more cuts next to the aforementioned three are to follow shortly...

Once I tried to go for a too close of a shave with somewhat duller blade and had a small cut/nick at the corner of my moustache. After that I kept cutting myself in the same place again and again, I guess the skin wasn't smooth enough on that area. I think after 3 weeks I just resorted to a single wtg pass on that spot for several weeks after which I didn't have the problem anymore.

Originally Posted by dangerp

Thanks for all the help guys! So here's my newly decided plan of action:

1. Send out the blade to get honed (probably to straight razor designs)
2. Get a decent strop (seriously, this one looks horrible to even me)
3. Get a norton before it's time to hone again
4. Continue to spend money on this hobby for the next several months even though the original intent was to save cash (from cartridges)
5. Use the colonel for other misc (non-razor) sharpening needs.

Yup, that sounds about right to me.

first, welcome to SRP!!!
In case someone has not told you, Tony at The Well Shaved Gentleman, Heirloom Razor Strop Company, Straight Razor Shaving Supplier has the best strops going. Even the apprentice strop is very nice and even if you decide to go with a better strop, I would still suggest getting the apprentice to practice on. This will prevent you from putting some major nicks in your really nice strop.

For a hone, I would recommend getting a polishing hone to start you addiction with and retaining the services of a honemeister when you really need to fix your edge up. One of my favorite polishing hones is a yellow coticule. Howard at The Perfect Edge has good prices on some nice hones.

Enjoy the journey!

gah! I've been patiently waiting and researching, and today I got approval from the missus to get myself a new strop. I went to go get Tony Miller's apprentice strop, which seems like an awesome strop for the price. But according to his website, he's all sold out.

Now I have to go see if I can find something else that works good at a good price point. We are on a pretty tight budget right now. Anyone have any ideas?

Tony should have more sometime soon. Or may be he's turned it off for the weekend - check again next week.