Grooming and Hygiene
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Shaved using a straight razor for the first time. I’ve been hesitant to do it myself, but finally pulled the trigger. Took it very slow and steady by letting the blade do the work.
Initial thoughts are that I love it. After using electric, Gillette multi blade type razors, safety razors, and now a straight razor, I can’t believe I waited this long.
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…and to add. I always loved getting a proper shave by a barber using a straight blade, but the thought of doing it and cutting myself was what held me back.
Got to a point where finding a barber who still uses straight razors is just about impossible and there’s no reason not to learn a new skill.
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what razor did you get @goosehd? you have all the goodies to keep it sharp too?
The thing I think most people forget is that guys were shaving with these things for many many years. It's really not that scary when you boil it all down. Mostly you can't be in a rush and need to take at least minimal time to prepare.Now maybe you'll be like me and complain about movies that have straight razor shaving scenes and complain how actors could have at least tried to use good technique or learn how they actually work.
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Costs more than I should have but I did it for two reasons: 1) I’m a knife guy and have carried a knife since I was 10. 2) I knew if I put money into it that I wouldn’t just let it sit around in a drawer somewhere.
Have the strop and Japanese stones to go with it.
I have quite a variety of stones for knives around the house but not anything to highly polish for shaving.
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@pechelman You’re right about not rushing it and for my first attempt went extremely well. Did all of my pre shave rituals and used the straight vs. Safety razor. Everything went smoothly. One thing I did do was to lock the bathroom door to avoid any sudden surprises.
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Not going to lie and say I didn’t have a close call with those spikes. I felt the edge catch and put pressure on the skin, immediately backed off and readjusted my tactic.
It does not leave room for errors and will only be used with clear mind and no distractions.
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If you ever get tired of the spikes you can always round them off a little but it is a one way door decision as I'm sure you can appreciate.
I'm ashamed to say I haven't looked at my razors in many years and was inspired/terrified to take a look. There was concern about corrosion but everything looks good to me. One had some mineral oil dried on that cleaned up ok. Lesson learned to not long term store with that on there.
Snapped a pic of the ones in my collection that are shaving sharp. I have a handful more somewhere in various stages of restoration and sharpening that I don't recall where they ended up. A few I think were lost causes with warped blades or botched heat treats.
Also a picture of my two Japanese natural stones from mines outside Kyoto. The thinner one is from Narutaki while the huge one is from Nakayama. They both put incredible finishes on edges in minimal passes and provide the most comfortable shave I've gotten. Unfortunately I just don't have the time or space to devote to the hobby like I once did, so now everything sits.
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That’s one helluva a collection @pechelman
I don’t like shaving myself. My farsightedness is too bad I can’t see anything up close out of my left eye. Shaving others is no problem.
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@pechelman A fantastic collection and many that I looked at prior to my purchase. Do you have a favourite or suggestions of blade and companies to look for?
I looked at quite a few Dovo blades as well as the Japanese blades. There were so many to choose from that I really had a hard time deciding and used aesthetics to make my final decision.
I don’t think I’m done looking though…
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@goosehd it all started with thinking I should have two razors so I could alternate and give time to hone an edge and still have one on deck so to speak. Then that grew as you can expect to having one of everyday of the week even though I personally don't shave everyday. Good logic to enable collecting
The dovos are solid choices and are great. Hard to go wrong, they take a great edge, and keep it for a few shaves without any problem. My favorite of the bunch though is that Solingen Wacker. It handles the best for me and takes the best edge. That 8/8 henckles friodur is a handful but also is great as is the Filarmonica.
Doing it over, if get a couple dovos, that Wacker, and probably a more narrow friodur.
That iwasaki kamisori at the top shaves unbelievably nice but it's cumbersome to use with the single bevel since you can really only use it with one bevel facing out. It's a professionals tool in that it's designed for use at a barber that can easily reach anywhere on someone else's face. I'd still get it though, so cool.
Overall, I think I preferred the more hollow ground blades. There are a couple near wedge blades that gave good results but it had a much different feel and sound. Iirc if they have a good set bevel and straight edges they can take incredible edges fast because of how much more rigid they are behind the edge completed to full hollow.
There's a bunch of famous makers to hunt for but I felt like most what's left is priced at a premium or affordable for good reason. Lots of damaged or poor shaving blades out there so don't buy unless you're willing to chuck it in the recycle bin if it doesn't work or you trust the seller.
Anyway, rambling now. Was fun to dig these out.
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@pechelman Thank you and once again, you have a beautiful collection.
May I ask which razor this one is? It look's quite old compared to the rest of the group, well used, and loved. Sheffield?
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It's definitely a Sheffield. Want to say it's a quarter hollow 6/8 from B.J. Eyre & Co, but I can dbl check when I get home and will update this if I'm wrong. The makers mark was always half missing for me. This is the razor I was thinking about when I mentioned thick blades sharpening keen and quick.
hilarious. I used to be a phlebotomist. Drawing blood from people. anytime I see a movie scene with needles i’m like…no way you’d go in at that angle!!!
