Off the Beaten Path: Turning Back the Clock to 1962 - 2nd Attempt at Straight Razor Shaving

Hello Everyone,

So, as you saw in my first ever, failed attempt at straight razor shaving, it didn't quite do so well. Therefore I decided one likely issue was it wasn't "shave-ready" or in other words, my blade was dull. Thus I finally got the said Japanese, water stone for honing from www.classicedge.ca/ I ordered, and I decided to go for round two.

These first two videos are the honing portion of fine tuning my blade into a beard-cutting machine. The first video explains what I got and shows the coarse side honing, the second the fine side honing and the "thumb" test I was talking about:

Introduction and Coarse Honing

Fine Honing and the Thumb Test for Readiness

Great, just had to cuss at one point .... just goes to show you how we are so used to swearing in our modern culture, throwing out words like water. 

And so, we turn to the morning after. Here I take my second attempt at straight razor shaving. I stop the blade again, and actually count my oil drops,  and will see if this time, I get my shave .... with stypic pencil at the ready for minor oops-ies. Might I add I am not working for a few days so in case of accidents, I don't go to work as if Freddie Kruger had a field day with my face?

Just before Stropping the blade and putting cloth on face

Adding pre-shave oil and the inevitable shave .... 

So did it work??? ..... Well, It was definitely cutting away much more hair than usual, however, no sweet clean shave. Still, the blade being dull WAS a significant problem to my success. Therefore I am now considering doing either, some of, or all of 1) more honing; 2) possibly buying shaving cream, or 3) shaving after 18-24 hours with less hair, instead of after 2 days of growing a jungle and trying to hack it all down with a machete. I'll be trying to shave after a bit more honing tonight to see if that will help, and then trying once more tomorrow.

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian.