Thread: First Straight Shave Today

Originally Posted by Lt.Arclight

Even a "pre-sharpened" razor isn't really "SHAVE READY". Although sharp,the edge will generally require some polishing. Depending on who honed the blade,some may need more than others. For those new to Str8's-there are many things on your mind. And sometimes adequate stropping isn't the first.

Many of us have our own pre-shave rituals that have been learned by trial and error. IMO,using a PROPER stropping technique, I'd give that blade about 10-15 strokes on linen and then around 50 on the leather.YMMV.

Remember, pre-shave prep is crucial to a good shave. Lynn's shaving DVD is a wealth of knowledge and has other useful info-I'd highly recommend it.

A shave ready blade will NOT pull-but only if proper technique is used. Too much or too little angle will create discomfort.Once the skin is stretched,short deliberate strokes should easily remove all stubble. Remember, if you do need to go back-don't forget to wet the area and add a small amount of lather.As your skill progresses you WILL find the correct angle.

That being said,re-stropping the blade is perfectly acceptable and may bring the edge back to where it needs to be.

In my experience, I found that I would dull perfectly sharp blades by repeatedly touching it to determine sharpness. Once stropped-don't touch the blade to anything other than your face.

You seem to be on the right track. CONGRAT'S on your first shave. Don't get discouraged. Respect-but don't FEAR the razor. Let IT do the work. Best of Luck.

PS: Rich 202: A shave ready blade will easily cut your whisker's in fact some exception razors literally feel like a "velvet" squeegy,wiping the stubble from your face. Unfortunately, NONE of our first shaves were that good and even with alot of experience,there are bad days. Just KEEP AT IT.

OOOHHH a squeegie shave. I can't wait to feel it go like that. I've been thinking this morning that I may need to change my stropping technique. I cover the whole blade both sides, but only use about a third of the length of the strop to do it. I'm wondering if I need to go whole length to get an even better edge...

Well...I shaved this morning, and it got a bit better. I really took the time to strop 50 stokes on each side of the strop which made the blade easily take the hairs off my forearm. I then worked at finding an angle that worked well with less irritation. I found that I was shaving my neck at too steep of an angle. I also resorted to shaving my chin and left half of my neck with the quattro, as they were still feeling irritated. All in all, a good shave. I just have to keep working at the technique in order to get better shaves.

Well, I have been using a straight for about a week and a half and I found that the angle and the stropping are two of the biggest things to make a difference. I started out stropping about 5 laps and holding the blade damn near perpendicular to my face, and found out REAL fast that was not correct.

While I'm not perfect (not even CLOSE) I am getting better. My two noob mistakes so far have to be letting the blade sit too long on my left cheek long enough to sink in (shave 2, after more proper stropping/sharper blade) and almost taking my right earlobe off (coughing while holding a razor to your face is bad, mmmkay?).

sorry...

But to wrap it all up, the angle and the stropping were big factors in my overall success in this endeavor.

cp

Well Gents I had my second straight shave yesterday. Shaved three passes and got fairly irritated and nicks here and there. BBS shave none the less. I know I jumped out there and got a bit aggressive.

I would not recommend learning the straight when sleep deprived. I did not sleep well the night before and attention to detail was wandering during the process!

I think I will focus on more stropping on the leather side of the strop today. I think 20 rounds on the linen and 40 on the leather.


Satch

Hi All, Just found this fantastic wealth of knowledge this morning and joined up right away. Been reading ever since.

So far this has been a great thread for a noob like myself, so thank you! However, I wonder if someone can point me in the right direction or explain it here... what is CORRECT stropping technique?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by rich_202

I have another question. On the strop that I bought (the Dovo XL Russian Leather), one side is a darker red leather, while the other is a lighter and softer tan leather. Which side do I use to strop first? Is the tan leather horsehide? I also wanted to know how you would prepare a new strop for shaving, Is there anything that I need to do with it?

Rich

The darker, red side of your strop is just from the treatment that Dovo uses on the strop -- "Russian" tanning was denoted by a red color from the tannins of the bark used in the process. Your strop is cowhide all the way through. I'd recommend not using the darker side, as it is likely not as well surfaced to use with the razor's delicate edge.

All you need to do with the strop is rub it with your hands every once in a while to start with. This will keep it supple and useful for quite a while. I'd only worry about reconditioning if it gets soaked, or nicked up. Then, you may need to try some resurfacing techniques, and some type of conditioner.

I'm not a leatherworker, though, so I suggest you do some research here at SRP and the internet to validate my statements above.

Good luck with future shaves, and enjoy the journey!

UPDATE: I had a good 3 pass shave yesterday WTG, XTG, and ATG for a BBS shave. Much irritation though. Witchhazel with Aloe was very good to sooth the burning.

I have contracted a case of RAD the first week of straight shaving. I purchased a 5/8 honed DOVO special and just ordered a DOVO 6/8 Bismarck (Black) . My beard is very tough and wiry. I found stropping between passes to help in the shave but have considered the second razor with a larger blade. Plan of attach is to use the 6/8 on the first passes then the 5/8 for second and third and touch ups - or some variation.



Satch