- Jul 29, 2001
- 27,703
- 12
- 81
2 weeks ago I went in to the local barber shop for a haircut and decided to add a shave to that. I got the full treatment. Hot towels, shaving soap, straight razor shave, aftershave etc. I really liked it.
Currently I use the 5+1 blade Fusion and am fairly happy with it, and I have a rotary electric which is okay in a pinch. I had always wanted a straight razor so my wife surprised me with one today for my birthday, along with some shaving soap and a badger brush.
I had a long hot shower before to loosen my 5 days worth of growth up, lathered up with soap and for the next 30 minutes slowly scraped away at my facial hair until it was all gone. At first I was having trouble with just my cheeks and figured I'd quit after they were done as I just couldn't see how I'd maneuver my hands, the blade and my face to get the spots under my nose, around my chin, behind my jaw, or on my neck.
I figured it all out though, and I only nicked myself twice. The shave is comparable to a "with the grain" fusion shave, and better than the electric.
After I finished I re-applied the shaving soap and just went over it again to see if I could go faster. Having no hair left helped and I was much quicker the second time. I expect it should go much more quickly from now on, especially if I keep up with it every second day and don't let my facial hair get so long again.
I definitely found going to the barber 2 weeks ago to be very helpful as it gave me a good idea of how it should feel on my face, and how it should sound. The sound of the blade on the hair changes with angle so I just made sure to keep the right sound.
This is the razor
UPDATE:
So the first shave was Wednesday evening after about 4-5 days of growth. The second shave was this morning, after almost 36 hours. I had a hot shower again, lathered up and went at it with more confidence. My cheeks and neck were a breeze; I had those done to an equivalent of a gillette-fusion-against-the-grain shave in a matter of a few minutes. My moustache area was a little slower, but not much.
My chin was the part where it all slowed down. It seemed as though I couldn't get the hair there soft enough no matter what I did. To be fair though, even when I use an electric razor or the fusion, going around the chin bones hurts some as the razor tends to pull a lot. It was actually more comfortable than the fusion as it pulled less, but it was slower as I was more careful.
All in all it took maybe 10 minutes to get cheeks/moustache/neck/sideburns, and another 15 for my chin. I also played with alternating my hands; right hand for left side, left hand for right side.
UPDATE 2:
I'm getting the hang of this
I'm not worried about cutting myself anymore, although I do seem to nick myself roughly twice every time I shave. It's nothing serious; splashing a little cold water on my face seals up the wound and it stops bleeding.
I can finish my cheeks/sideburns/moustache/neck at about the same speed as with my fusion now. The jawline and chin still take a little longer, but it's mainly because the hair is thicker and stronger there.
I've started doing a with-the-grain shave to start off, and then re-lathering and doing an against-the-grain shave on my cheeks and neck. The results are quite good as I can't feel any stubble in any direction.
I'm working on getting stropping down now as I have a leather/canvas strop. I'm a little worried about messing up the blade but it's going well so far.
The shaving soap is fantastic. I'll never use shaving cream again even when I use my fusion. I'll fully admit that using a straight razor to shave goes beyond utility and is unnecessary when other good options exist, but using shaving soap and a brush is something that is something that is easily accessible to everyone. My disk of soap cost $6 and will last much longer than a can of shaving cream. The brush was $30 or so, but that will be made up quickly by saving money with the soap.
3 week update:
I'm down to being only marginally slower with the straight razor than with my fusion. I can also now get a closer shave with the straight razor with the grain than I can with the fusion. I haven't done much against the grain stuff yet as I'm still getting used to it some.
One thing I found that works well is to use this pre-shave oil on my face as it helps to lubricate my skin. I'm just using a free sample pack I got at a shaving/cigar shop but will look for more later.
Currently I use the 5+1 blade Fusion and am fairly happy with it, and I have a rotary electric which is okay in a pinch. I had always wanted a straight razor so my wife surprised me with one today for my birthday, along with some shaving soap and a badger brush.
I had a long hot shower before to loosen my 5 days worth of growth up, lathered up with soap and for the next 30 minutes slowly scraped away at my facial hair until it was all gone. At first I was having trouble with just my cheeks and figured I'd quit after they were done as I just couldn't see how I'd maneuver my hands, the blade and my face to get the spots under my nose, around my chin, behind my jaw, or on my neck.
I figured it all out though, and I only nicked myself twice. The shave is comparable to a "with the grain" fusion shave, and better than the electric.
After I finished I re-applied the shaving soap and just went over it again to see if I could go faster. Having no hair left helped and I was much quicker the second time. I expect it should go much more quickly from now on, especially if I keep up with it every second day and don't let my facial hair get so long again.
I definitely found going to the barber 2 weeks ago to be very helpful as it gave me a good idea of how it should feel on my face, and how it should sound. The sound of the blade on the hair changes with angle so I just made sure to keep the right sound.
This is the razor
UPDATE:
So the first shave was Wednesday evening after about 4-5 days of growth. The second shave was this morning, after almost 36 hours. I had a hot shower again, lathered up and went at it with more confidence. My cheeks and neck were a breeze; I had those done to an equivalent of a gillette-fusion-against-the-grain shave in a matter of a few minutes. My moustache area was a little slower, but not much.
My chin was the part where it all slowed down. It seemed as though I couldn't get the hair there soft enough no matter what I did. To be fair though, even when I use an electric razor or the fusion, going around the chin bones hurts some as the razor tends to pull a lot. It was actually more comfortable than the fusion as it pulled less, but it was slower as I was more careful.
All in all it took maybe 10 minutes to get cheeks/moustache/neck/sideburns, and another 15 for my chin. I also played with alternating my hands; right hand for left side, left hand for right side.
UPDATE 2:
I'm getting the hang of this
I'm not worried about cutting myself anymore, although I do seem to nick myself roughly twice every time I shave. It's nothing serious; splashing a little cold water on my face seals up the wound and it stops bleeding.
I can finish my cheeks/sideburns/moustache/neck at about the same speed as with my fusion now. The jawline and chin still take a little longer, but it's mainly because the hair is thicker and stronger there.
I've started doing a with-the-grain shave to start off, and then re-lathering and doing an against-the-grain shave on my cheeks and neck. The results are quite good as I can't feel any stubble in any direction.
I'm working on getting stropping down now as I have a leather/canvas strop. I'm a little worried about messing up the blade but it's going well so far.
The shaving soap is fantastic. I'll never use shaving cream again even when I use my fusion. I'll fully admit that using a straight razor to shave goes beyond utility and is unnecessary when other good options exist, but using shaving soap and a brush is something that is something that is easily accessible to everyone. My disk of soap cost $6 and will last much longer than a can of shaving cream. The brush was $30 or so, but that will be made up quickly by saving money with the soap.
3 week update:
I'm down to being only marginally slower with the straight razor than with my fusion. I can also now get a closer shave with the straight razor with the grain than I can with the fusion. I haven't done much against the grain stuff yet as I'm still getting used to it some.
One thing I found that works well is to use this pre-shave oil on my face as it helps to lubricate my skin. I'm just using a free sample pack I got at a shaving/cigar shop but will look for more later.
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