So, I mentioned in my report above, that today was a landmark for me... Well having used the Feather a couple of times over the last week and having seen how many Straight shaves get posted on the forum, I just couldn't resist giving it a go. I picked up my Le Grelot P.Hospital 5/8 today, stared lovingly at it and thought, bugger it, I'm going for it! I gave it 7/8 very light laps on canvas impregnated with 0.5 chromium oxide crayon. 30 laps on the SRD Modular Paddle rough leather and 30 on the smooth.
I then picked up my new MS brush (pictures of which have been posted in the MS/LS thread on ATG) and breaking my usual trend of lathering up with Wickhams 1912 Cashmere, I opted for the Le Bleu instead. A great brush and the full report is available in the aforementioned thread!
Anyway, back to the shave, first pass, starting on the cheeks, with some trepidation of course. Cheeks seem to be going fine, strong hand on the right side of my face, concentrating of course. Then, I feel the razor catch, nothing major but I know there will be some blood, low and behold a razor (ba-doom) thin line, around a third of the length of the blade starts to gently pool blood, feck it, I'm not ending the shave there. Weak hand, left side of the face, no issues. Strong hand, under the nose, no problem, under the lip and chin, still going fine! Right, screw this, I'm going for the neck, manage to do the whole thing without too much issue, aside from a couple of tiny weepers. During this time, I have a couple of beads of sweat rolling down the side of my head and have wiped the "cut" a couple of times. This has now stopped bleeding and just for fun, I've attached a pic of the cut at this stage of the shave. It's almost completely disappeared now an hour after the shave.
Well, after the relative success of the first pass, I have actually gained some confidence and for the first time in my life, go for a second pass. Without boring you all shitless, it went bloody well. I couldn't believe it, I finished a two pass shave with a straight and had absolutely no need to use the Schick E3 (Again from
@Acer89) that I thought would be required for the second pass and I'm yet to use yet. I managed my entire face and neck, with a finish that is actually completely respectable and in places almost the same level of finish as I'd get from my best razors. Of course, there are a couple of patches that are rougher, namely under my jawline, but unbelievably (to me) under the nose and then chin area are absolutely fine, the place that is meant to be hardest to shave! I'm very proud of myself, as you can probably tell, but I can honestly see SR shaving becoming a much more regular occurrence in the months to come. I have zero irritation and despite those couple of little weepers and the "cut", none of these are now visible. Really chuffed,
@Fergiebilly definitely can't say anything bad about your edge now
ha.