Shaving is a unique experience. Why? Because each individual is different when it comes to:
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So shaving tools and accessories that work for one may not work as well for another. Hence the need for experimentation and practice to get the ideal shaving results.
The list of tips below will aid in the shaving experiment and development process until you find the best methods for optimum results:
Using the guidelines above will minimize the irritation and help you get a close shave that keeps unwanted body hair at bay!
Straight Razor Shaving is not at all difficult. You can't jerk the blade across your face, of course. It is a thing which takes patience. This are cut throat razors after all.
The most important thing of all is that your razor is sharp from the tip to the handle. The sharper it is, the better the shave will be. The worst the shaver will be is when it's really dull. In that case you have to use two grades of whetstone, a 4000 and an 8000 such as a Norton Waterstone 4000/8000 Grit, 3".
You have to learn how to sharpen the blade to do Straight Razor Shaving. Look on YouTube and search for 'Sharpen straight razor'.
How To Sharpen A Straight Razor
You basically make little circles on the stone. The angle the blade is as it lies on the stone is the most important. Most people hold it at too high an angle at first. It has to be as flat as you can get it, relative to the whetstone. You tend to put oil on the whetstone first, but some stones are dry stones. If you purchase a kit, it will have all of the things you need including instructions.
Once you have it that sharp, the edge would be very rough if you magnified it with a microscope. So, you take it to the hone. A hone is a tapered piece of metal. It kind of smears the metal sharp. You rub it down, then back. Again, look at a YouTube video. Sharpening a razor isn't really a thing that you can learn on-line though. It takes an expert to change the angle ever-so-slightly. He watches closely, then you try it, then he changes the angle until you have it just right. That kind of thing really can't be done via the internet. It would be like trying to teach playing the violin over the internet.
Next, you use a strop. A strop is a piece of leather with a loop to fasten it on the other end to something. The angle you hold the strop is important, and the curve it has is also important. The angle you hold the blade relative to the strop is important as is the angle you hold the razor to the strop. Each of these things can be seen on YouTube videos. They would all be very difficult to explain via text. (Have Soap for Shaving you ever tried to tie your shoe by just listening to writing? It doesn't work well).
Red pastes are applied to one strop; and you then drag the razor down the strop, turn the blade over and go up the strop. Each time you do that, you hold the razor nearly flat relative to the strop and hold the blade at a particular angle relative to the strop. I used to sharpen my father's razor, and so have done it many times. I also used to enjoy sharpening on a whetstone.
Then you rub black paste into another strop or on the back side of the two-sided strop (if you have one) with the ball of your thumb. This is a finer powder than the red iron oxide is and polishes the metal until it's super shiny and, literally, razor sharp.
This sharpening procedure takes skill and time to learn. Once you got it down pat, though, you have a razor for life. It's actually a bit like learning how to drive a manual shift car. It's impossible until you learn it, then you'd wonder why you couldn't do it before.
How To Shave With A Straight Edge Razor
Next, you're ready to shave. You lather up your face by either getting some paste in a jar, by using a soap that's a cake soap, or by using shaving cream from a can.
The angle you hold the blade, and the way you hold it can also be seen on YouTube.
Rinse off the lather, and you're done. It all has to do with the angle that you hold the shaver.
You could purchase all of these things separately, or you can buy everything in kit-form. After you have everything, and have learned how to sharpen the blade, it basically costs you nothing for the rest of your life.
You could also just purchase new blades, instead of sharpening your own blades. A Scalpmaster strop goes for $8.99, a Van Der Hagen Premium Shave Set (Soap, Bowl and Brush) goes for $11.99. A parker SR1 Stainless Steel Straight Edge Razor with five blades is $17.37. That's all you'd really need, unless you want to grind your own Straight Razor Shaving blades, as well.