First straight shave out of the way

Yellow Jim

Yellow Jim

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I'm working from home today so I decided I had time to get my first shave with a straight razor out of the way. :shock: I hadn't shaved for two days so I had a fair bit of stubble to get through.

The razor was a 5/8 full hollow Gebruder Lutzenkirchen Seehund Solingen, which was honed by Neil. I didn't strop the razor before I used it as I didn't want to potentially ruin the edge that Neil had put on it.

I'm relatively pleased with the result in that I didn't suffer any major facial lacerations just two small nicks on my chin. I'm a bit red and tender in places and still have lots of stubble left though, particularly around my chin and jawline. The razor felt like it was dragging at times and struggling to cut, but I guess that is me not quite having the angle right.

I also struggled with the grip and skin stretching. It was okay shaving down my cheeks WTG but when I was trying to go WTG on my chin and jaw (out towards the ears) I wasn't too sure of the grip, likewise the neck was a bit of an issue in this regard. Also getting to see if the blade was at the correct angle with my arms and hands in the way was a bit problematic. :?

Back to a DE tomorrow morning to make myself look presentable but I'll try the straight again on Wednesday evening.

Regarding stropping; I've got one of Neil's basic 2.5" latigo strops. Do I just strop on the smooth side? How many times?
 
Well done Jim, back to straights then :)

About stropping, you got a nice strop, I suggest you do 20-30 laps on the strop, you can do more, but not sure if it's really necessary.
1 lap = once up, once down, so 2 strokes. Be sure to turn it on it's spine, and not the edge.
(meaning that when you get to the far end of the strop you flip the edge towards the end of the strop, without the spine leaving the strop.)

Basic rule of stropping, the spine never leaves the strop from start to finish.

Hope that's clear, it's save you wrecking the edge, and or the strop!

Enjoy!

Max
 
FrenchBlade said:
Basic rule of stropping, the spine never leaves the strop from start to finish.
Click to expand...

"It puts the lotion on the body" :lol:

Jim: No, I don´t think so - I haven´t seen or used this strop, but latigo is one hard kind of leather and my Tony Miller latigo strop is like stropping on ice. But you should be stroppping on the side with Neils logo facing up. If you´re unsure, please post a photo ...
 
Hi Michael,

This is a photo of the strop below. Neil's logo is on the smooth side of the strop. So I should strop on this side?

f6f8d536.jpg
 
Hi Jim,
good for you on your first straight razor shave!!

Well...I'm far from being an expert on this subject, but for what it's worth...here is some of my advice.

Everything that Max and Mikael have said is absolutely correct, I usually strop the blade 20 times before a shave and 20 times after...I believe stropping after shaving really cleans and dries the edge quite well.
To answer your question...strop on the smooth side, I understand some guys apply Chromium Oxide on the rough side of the strop and use it to fine tune the edge, however I believe that is something we do not need to do in our stage of development.
Before I strop the razor I vigorously rub my hand over the leather to warm it up...surprisingly that little trick really works.

Hope that helps you out,
good luck!!!
 
Rob1971 said:
Hi Jim,
good for you on your first straight razor shave!!

Well...I'm far from being an expert on this subject, but for what it's worth...here is some of my advice.

Everything that Max and Mikael have said is absolutely correct, I usually strop the blade 20 times before a shave and 20 times after...I believe stropping after shaving really cleans and dries the edge quite well.
To answer your question...strop on the smooth side, I understand some guys apply Chromium Oxide on the rough side of the strop and use it to fine tune the edge, however I believe that is something we do not need to do in our stage of development.
Before I strop the razor I vigorously rub my hand over the leather to warm it up...surprisingly that little trick really works.

Hope that helps you out,
good luck!!!
Click to expand...

Only thing I would watch out for is depending what maker of strop you get some backsides may be rougher than others, nothing a little sanding wont fix though, the rubbing the strop really does work as it imparts the oil from your hand into the strop, and helps the break in process
 
What they said about hand stropping is right on (it´s very cool, try without once and then the next time you rub your hand for maybe 10-15 laps before you actually strop...).

Yes, strop on the logo side.
 
I am at a similar stage in my straights learning curve. Had my first half decent result last sat.

I understand exactly what you mean by arms and elbows in the way. Sometimes it feels like I am trying to guide a canoe paddle around my face while performing some kind of oddball yoga.
 
Pig Cat said:
Oh. I have been stropping on the rough side of my latigo strop. It seemed the right thing to do. :?

NEIL!!! :lol:
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Don't panic Mr Mainwaring! This sort of latigo has a very fine suede-like rear surface - its not at all like the rough surface of the flesh side of other leathers. In fact I take one of these away with me (it rolls up quite nicely without wrinkling) and use the reverse and then the smooth leather (logo) side. The back (suede-like) will act in a similar manner to canvas and precondition the edge, then the leather side brings up the edge.

If you have just been using the suede side all it means is that the razor has not been getting quite as sharp as it could be. Start using the leather (logo) side and after a week or so once you have got used to the feel of the edge it produces, do 20-30 on the suede side followed by 30 - 40 (you could go up to 60, but as Max points out you don't need to do that many laps - in bygone days they used 10 - 20) on the logo side and see if you notice any increase in sharpness.

Regards,
Neil
 
Neil Miller said:
The back (suede-like) will act in a similar manner to canvas and precondition the edge, then the leather side brings up the edge.

If you have just been using the suede side all it means is that the razor has not been getting quite as sharp as it could be. Start using the leather (logo) side and after a week or so once you have got used to the feel of the edge it produces, do 20-30 on the suede side followed by 30 - 40 (you could go up to 60, but as Max points out you don't need to do that many laps - in bygone days they used 10 - 20) on the logo side and see if you notice any increase in sharpness.

Regards,
Neil
Click to expand...

That's the reason that I asked, I thought that the suede side may act similar to canvas. Thanks Neil.
 
Didn't have time during the week so second one down today. Much the same as the first really, maybe slightly improved. It tried stropping the razor before the shave this time. Managed to nick the strop quite a few times, mainly when flipping the razor over when coming towards me. The main thing is that I didn't ruin the edge as I could still shave with it.

I still struggled with the sight-lines. Found it difficult to shave my chin and jaw where the stubble is a bit thicker and as such I'm a bit red and irritated there. My cheeks are quite smooth though and I suppose that hints at what could maybe be achieved with a lot of practice.
 
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