Ariana and Evans method of continuing to use soap even though it burns you
I didn't know that was a thing! I'm fortunate enough to not be sensitive to A&E's fragrances. I'm certain that many years of (the real) Old Spice finished tanning by skin long ago.
Maybe sputtering the edge ...
Yeah, I thought of that too. Normally, that wears away after the first few days, though. (Among the many useful takeaways I've had from previous AAs 🙂)
August 3, 2024
Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point
Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders
Another day, another vacation from stropping. Today's shave was more comfortable and closer than the last two days. How can that be? I've done no stropping, and some straight razors shavers strop before the shave, during the shave, and after the shave. Well, all part of the grand plan.
TLDR; My technique is adapting. (Feel absolutely free to ignore the following.)
I thought of this "no stropping" challenge when @djundjila@sub.wetshaving.social first suggested the idea of FriodomRiders. I strop after shaving mostly because I want to make sure that the edges on my (mostly carbon steel) razors get completely dry. With stainless steel, that's really not an issue. Towel drying will suffice.
In my very early days of shaving (just after the asteroid wiped out the dinasaurs), a DE blade was supposed to go one month of (1-pass) shaves. No stropping. Since taking up the hobby and also understanding the value of multi-pass shaving, I tend to toss a DE blade between 8 and 12 uses. No stropping. Artist Club blade? Twenty-ish uses. No stropping. GEM twenty-ish uses (but 31 was no problem). No stropping. @sgrdddy@sub.wetshaving.social has put a few (😉) shaves on a single Nacet blade over the years. No stropping.
You get the point.
If machine-made blades provide great shaves and don't need daily stropping why in the world do straight razors? I think the answer is just tradition and perhaps, honing technique that relies on stropping for final edge condition. I think I'm relying on the former because I know I don't do the latter.
Since I knew I would try to go 31 days with one edge, I chose to create an edge that is slightly less refined, and I worked to create convex roundness at the apex. I expect that this type of edge is more durable at the expense of a little closeness. The shaves I had on days 1 and 2 were very comfortable and slightly less BBS than my normal 2-pass routine. Pretty much what I expected. For today's shave I played with angle and pressure a bit and was quite surprised to have shave quality that equals my normal straight razor shave. Perhaps you can teach an old dog new tricks!
In past years I have kept a microscope photo record of edge degradation. I'm doing that this year as well, but I think it isn't really necessary to update edge condition daily. This time around, I plan to make one photo each week. I made a photo of the edge condition before use, included it at the end of my honing video, but did not post it here.
Here is a photo of the razor's edge on July 31.
That's a very good looking setup for the month. Varen won't be much of a sacrifice, nor will the Drakkant. The knot will be what it is, of course; a work in progress for as many shaves as it takes to become comfortable. Love the handle on that Zenith!
August 2, 2024
Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point
Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders
Love this soap and splash. I feel that its freshness counters the oppressive heat we're having. Yesterday was the first time that I used a straight razor and did not strop it after the shave. (I only strop after a shave, not before.) I plan to continue without stropping for this entire month. I'm expecting that I will notice an edge difference somewhere around 12 shaves. That's where I notice a DE blade beginning to go off. I may need to add a third pass at that point.
I suspect that we over-strop straight razors. If the edge has the right geometry off the stone, it typically is not as keen (Science of Sharp definition) as a DE blade. One can take a DE blade for 31 shaves without too much loss of closeness and comfort. I don't see why that can't be done with a straight.
I have a busy month coming up and was not convinced I could find the time. I think going without stropping will be an interesting enough challenge. I noticed that this year’s headless horseman allows stropping. 31 shaves on a good edge that is stropped daily doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to me.
August 1, 2024 -- Austerity Begins
Brush: Zenith r/Wetshaving 31mm x 57mm Moar Boar
Razor: J.A. Henckels Friodur 14 Full Hollow Square Point
Lather: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Soap
Toner: Thayers - Lavender - Toner
Aftershave: Chicago Grooming - AG 1889 - Aftershave
Fragrance: Guerlain - Jicky - Eau de Toilette
2 passes. Face lather. Excellent shave. $headless $FriodomRiders
Finally! No more sleepness nights weighing the pros and cons of different setups for the morning's shave. And now I can take a vacation from the monotonous back and forth of stropping.
Vida did such a great job on AG 1889 (a nod to Guerlain Jicky) with its wonderful Darkwing base, that I feel a little guilty for using it in a month that we call Austere. I'll get over it. Wondeful shave today with AG 1889, the MOAR BOAR, and the Frio 14.
Edit: I forgot. I made a video of honing the Frio 14 to prepare it for this month.
@gcgallant
@sub.wetshaving.social