upgradeitis

i knew that when i ordered my safety razor, it wouldn't be the end of it.

even when i got the "upgradeitis-proof" safety razor, the top of the line ridiculously overpriced dealy, i knew it wasn't the end of things.

there was still one more step to take, and now i've taken it. i got me a cutthroat.

it arrived on saturday, and i got to try it out that evening. the first stroke was, to be honest: terrifying. but it needn't have been. the skills i'd learned while using the safety razor were the foundation of the skills needed to avoid accidental decapitation with the straight razor. i've used it four days in a row and haven't cut myself yet (well, not really). on the other hand, i also haven't had a really good shave in four days.

shaving with a cutthroat is a skill, and while there's decent info to be found on the internets, a skill takes practice. this particular skill takes lots of skin irritation and bad-shave-days. there's a good amount of work that must go into keeping the blade sharp enough to be a razor and not a butterknife. my shave time has more than quadrupled into at least 25 minutes. but that's not so bad: on saturday it took me 45 minutes. i'm getting better.

this morning i decided that part of the problem was that the blade was not quite shaveworthy as shipped. i had been warned by the retailer of this possibility. so tonight i used my sharpening tools and can now split a hair with just a little pressure. that's pretty sharp. couldn't do that this morning. we'll see tomorrow if it makes a difference. i'm betting it will.

of course, no shaving upgrade would be complete without tons of accessories. and accessories there were. two strops, a ton of pastes, pumice, soap, all kinds of junk. to hang the strop i had to drill holes in my wall and install a hook. to house the soap i had to buy a jar. and my towel rack needed re-arranging. a cup of isopropyl alcohol now adorns my shaving area, for sterilizing the blade and removing the oil which, applied daily, keeps the blade from rusting. accessorization, oh yes.

anyhow, long story short: if you don't hear from me for a couple of days, i've probably just accidentally removed a little too much from the neck while shaving. cheers!