Straight Razor Shaving Guide

Use a straight. You know it makes sense.
Classyjack
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Post by Classyjack »

Chris: Just wanted to thank you for writing such an amazing guide. As a new member, I read it with great interest, though I'm a good ways from trying a straight. Kudos for wonderful work. Best, John.
crackstar
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Post by crackstar »

:) Chris, bravo! You're a master of the straight razor. Myself, I have a feeling I'd never even get to first base because I'm a big coward. It took me long enough to master my Vision DE!
Best regards, Jeff
CRR
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Post by CRR »

Chris,

Thanks so much for your guide. It has helped me out tremendously. After coming to the conclusion that using an M3 and a can of Gillette Foamy for my regular shaves was just no longer an option, I was intrigued by st8 razors. After I found this site I bought a DE and used it without any trouble at all right out of the shoot. So I figured I'll jump in and see if I can manage with the str8. Your guide gave me everything I needed to get going, so thanks very much!

It's quite enjoyable to shave with all these great shaving products. What a difference a good razor and soaps/creams make, wow! I've definitely got the bug now.
Chris.

Steady Boy, Steady!
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dcdube
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Post by dcdube »

great manual! I just wanted to let you know one of the links is wrong. You have taylorbondst.co.uk instead of taylorloldbondst.co.uk
Again, bravo on the manual.

Dennis
NoamChomsky
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Post by NoamChomsky »

Seriously man... look at your face after the second pass... you are redder than a cherry on vanilla cream... you can't possibly convince me that your straight razor and english cream is a less irritating shave than a DE or 3xBlade. Just look at your cheeks man!! RED! You wrote it yourself in the chapter 'Aftermath' just how much lotions you need to use after the so called best-shave-in-the-world.

It was an informative guide, but it looked painful,
FrancisDeSales
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Post by FrancisDeSales »

Excellent work, Dr. Moss. Thank you very much for your time and effort. I will be taking another go at the cutthroat tonight. (Not a morning person here.)

But... (You knew that was coming, right?)

In the picture showing the types of blade points, your arrows obscure the shape of the points.

Also, trust Noam Chomsky. If anyone in the Americas knows RED, its him.
"The Catholic Church is like a thick steak, a glass of red wine, and a good cigar."
[GK Chesterton].
neotech
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Post by neotech »

:D Having just downloaded and read your piece,I think its fantastic,very well written and with very informative photos (in witch you dont look too silly :wink: ).I'm a wet shave/straight razor "virgin" her in the uk looking to start soon (trying to find a good razor from Ebay at the moment that wont cost me the earth) and your book has helped no end.I look forward to a life time of wet shaving and to making many new "shaving buddies" through this site.Once again a big THANKYOU :!:
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rtaylor61
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Post by rtaylor61 »

neotech wrote::D Having just downloaded and read your piece,I think its fantastic,very well written and with very informative photos (in witch you dont look too silly :wink: ).I'm a wet shave/straight razor "virgin" her in the uk looking to start soon (trying to find a good razor from Ebay at the moment that wont cost me the earth) and your book has helped no end.I look forward to a life time of wet shaving and to making many new "shaving buddies" through this site.Once again a big THANKYOU :!:
Neotech,

Unless your honing skills are up to date, I would suggest that you visit
SRP and purchase a shave ready razor from one of he honemeisters there. You should be able to pick up a usable razor for under $50 bucks, and then all you need to keep going for a bit is a good strop.

Randy
"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." J. B. Books
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drmoss_ca
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Neotech,
Randy is right - an old ready-honed razor is the way to go for thr first razor.
Glad you liked the book.
Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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drmoss_ca
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Post by drmoss_ca »

The rest of this thread has been split off as "Straight razors vs. DE's" and is somewhere below.

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
bbach7
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excellent

Post by bbach7 »

Dr. Moss,

Congratulations on such an outstanding guide! I have lurked these many months at shavemyface.com and have benefitted enormously from the advice of members such as your good self. After reading your guide, I immediately purchased a straight razor! Kudos, too, to Pipa Moss for such excellent technical photographs.

Thank you again for your continued efforts.

Best,

Brian Bach
"J'accept"
bbach7
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Post by bbach7 »

Mea culpa

Kudos to "Pippa" Moss for photos. Apologies.



Brian
"J'accept"
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drmoss_ca
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Post by drmoss_ca »

You're very welcome - I hope you get on well with the straight razor.

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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drmoss_ca
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Londoners might be interested to hear that Shervington's, a long-established tobacconist in London, are planning to stock the book in their shop. So when you pop in to refill your cigar case, take a look!

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
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FiReSTaRT
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Post by FiReSTaRT »

kal wrote:Chris, many thanks for an excellent well illustrated guide. My only regret is that you did'nt prepare it twenty years earlier. Still I learnt many new helpful tips. I'm sure this will encourage many wetshavers to give Str8s a try.
I have one comment about honing that might put me under attack by seasoned Str8 users. Contrary to what seams to be the general consesus I prefer to hone as often as possible , appox every 8-10 shaves. I use a very fine German stone (finer than 8000)and apply only a few light strokes at the time.
I found this the best way to keep my razors consistently in top shape and find no need to use anything else other than a regular leather strop before the shave. After many years I still cannot detect any noticable wear or deterioration on any of my razors.
Regards
Kal
I am not a honemeister like L.A., B.E., 2xR.T., but I got 4 antique blades shave ready on my own and am maintaining a shaving rotation of 6, so you could call me a seasoned user. Actually that's exactly what I do with my blades. They get touchups on the hone every 10 shaves or so. At least these touchups don't take nearly as long as restoring a new acquisition. In addition to that, the more blades you have in the rotation, the less time you have to spend honing them as you're doing it wholesale. Takes me less than an hour to refresh my whole rotation (including setup, cleanup and 35 passes on the TM strop).

P.S. I just downloaded the guide but it's too late for me to read it and write a review.. That comes a bit later :)
"The downfall of any system of government is that it is run by humans." -- Ilija Milicevic
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FiReSTaRT
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Post by FiReSTaRT »

I just read through the guide and it was WELL-written and very informative. I do have a couple of small observations that may contribute to the development:

1) Most str8 veterans avoid putting abrasive pastes on hanging strops. This process is an extension of honing, so you need a firm flat surface. A soft piece of leather won't do and you're just ruining the strop that way.
2) Barber hones don't have a standardized grit rating. Usually they are between 7 and 9k grit for the finishing ones. You might as well stick with the Norton. For those who want to put on an extra fine edge, the choices are Coticule/Escher/Swaty and you can get Norton/Chinese/Shapton stones in the 12-15k grit rating for edge polishing past the N8k level and refreshing.
3) Wider stones lead to wearing too much of the point-side of the blade. That is why narrow stones with the x-pattern give a more even edge and longer lasting blade.
4) You may want to include Randy's bit about the pyramid (after getting his permission ofcourse).

I hope this helps for the next version.
"The downfall of any system of government is that it is run by humans." -- Ilija Milicevic
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drmoss_ca
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Post by drmoss_ca »

Glad you enjoyed it. Let me reply that to a large extent these matters are ones of opinion. I have used pastes for example on leather paddles, balsa paddles and hardwood paddles. I find they work better for me on a hanging strop which is dedicated to this paste and thus not ruined. I think more new honers have damaged their edges by sliding off the side of a narrow hone than have over-honed the point on a wider hone, and so on. We all do it in the way that works for us!

Chris
"Je n'ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse."
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Pomination
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Post by Pomination »

Hi Chris,

Have you ever thought about translating it into French ?

Definitely a nice guide with very helpful informations.
Concernning translation, it would be very nice because such a forum or guide are not existing in France and in french language.
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VintageBlades
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Post by VintageBlades »

Chris,

I'm one of the newest members here and have just read your guide. It is a remarkable resource that I would be honored to place on my site. It is just the thing my customers have been asking that I provide them. I also want to thank you for your collaboration with Sara Bonnyman on the Moss Scuttle. I just received my two (blue and brown) in the mail today.
Jim
~ Vintage Blades LLC ~
http://vintagebladesllc.com/
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ichabod
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Post by ichabod »

I was typing in a question about sizes, 5/8 vs. 8/8, what hollow ground gets you, stuff like that, when I thought I should check your guide first. You answered my questions and provided a wealth of further information. A master work, thank you.
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