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Brew's Foul Concoction

New Westholme strop arrived. It's absolutely beautiful. I stropped a Brown Razorworks razor on it for tomorrow's shave, and it's like stropping on a fast cloud. At 3", this is going to get a whole bunch of use. The linen component is the same linen that Tony Miller uses, which is ok, but not firehose, kanayama, or Neil Miller's (RIP), each of which I prefer. The Horween cordovan feels very similar to the Japanese Kanayama cordovan, which is also very fast and cloud-like. Length is great. I'm very happy with this one.
 
First shave with a regular straight in about a week. The BRW razor was great, and I love stropping on the new cordovan Westholme. I think I'm real lucky to get this strop, and it even has barber's ends, which I prefer. I've been using the Feather AC due to an injury to my left index finger that made some passes with a regular straight dangerous. The Feather blades are so sharp, I find I shave with a much lighter touch and don't need to have quite as much fine motor control. I know, sounds backwards, but the sharpness of the Feather blades can hide a whole lot of bad technique . . . . to a point (and then there's blood. . . . ). Anyway, finger is mostly healed, and the shave was great.

I hope you and yours are well through all of what's going on. I almost was going to put down some of my thoughts on this here, but there's enough negativity in each of our lives these days, I don't need to add to yours. Be well.
 
Brew said:
the sharpness of the Feather blades can hide a whole lot of bad technique
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I’m not sure if I buy that. A little too much pressure or an off angle and I think you’ll pay a bigger price with a Feather than a more mild blade.
 
NurseDave said:
I’m not sure if I buy that. A little too much pressure or an off angle and I think you’ll pay a bigger price with a Feather than a more mild blade.
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I know, it's counter intuitive. But if you use zero pressure, the sharpness of the blades will make up for sub-par shaving angles and poor stretching. And the price can be bigger, if you're not using zero pressure. A friend once described using the Feather blades like using a hovercraft to remove lather. You don't even want or need to try to touch skin. Big damage is difficult with zero pressure, but it will still cut hair, even at bad angles.
 
Hmm, maybe so. But to me the no pressure thing is the biggest and hardest technique to master and stay consistent with. My sig used to say "When you think you're shaving with no pressure, you still are".
 
Hope the finger injury wasn’t too serious Larry. Shaving related?
Brew said:
I almost was going to put down some of my thoughts on this here, but there's enough negativity in each of our lives these days, I don't need to add to yours.
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If you gotta vent brother, do it! Koda can only take so much :p
 
I love the shape of my Riga razor. The smile gently following the curved spine, the French tip, the thumb/drip notch all just work for me. However, the razor is a menace to 3" strops. It cut one of mine nearly in two and I almost damaged a second piece of leather with it. But it strops perfectly fine and safely on 2.5" strops. Strange how these ergonomics work. It's the only big blade I have that doesn't sit well on big strops. In fact, it thrashes them. It won't be seeing the new Welstolme cordovan strop any time soon, that's for sure.
 
Must protect the cordovan! Riga is on my short list, though it’ll be a while before I actually pull the trigger. Absolutely beautiful razor.
 
Smattayu said:
Must protect the cordovan! Riga is on my short list, though it’ll be a while before I actually pull the trigger. Absolutely beautiful razor.
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I think I picked mine up from the maker's Ebay listing. It came in green plastic scales, which I really didn't like and always intended to replace. Alfredo made some nice bone scales to replacIMG_0555.jpege the plastic. I think it's a real good looking razor.
 
Attacked!!!

Mid-shave, razor in my off-hand shaving the left side, and I hear a loud buzzing in the bathroom that was not coming from the usual source. All of the sudden a stink bug (little irony there) lands on my left side, mid waste. Flicked it to the floor, got some tp, and gave it the swirling ride of its former life. Shave was completed without harm to any other beings present.

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