First tentative try with a straight
I recently bought a Wester Bros. Anchor Brand "Manganese Steel" straight razor, shave ready, from xChris in the classifieds here. Since I'm unemployed and don't have a lot of money to spare for extravagant shaving utensils I thought this would be a good and inexpensive way of acquiring a straight razor, but I didn't know whether I would actually have the guts to use it for its intended purpose, or whether it would just be an addition to my case of curiosities.
To give you a bit of background on my shaving experience, I started shaving with cartridge razors and "goo in a can" in my teens, and up until autumn last year I had been shaving with a Mach 3 and nothing but water for years. Then a friend who has been lurking on the shaving forums got me interested in traditional wetshaving with a DE razor. I first used a cheap Chinese razor, and later a Gillette Super Speed and a Merkur HD.
Today, I decided to try shaving with the straight razor. Just the cheeks, mind you, since I'm still a bit wary about putting a knife to my throat. I lathered up with European Palmolive shaving cream, using my Edwin Jagger Best Badger brush, and then opened the straight razor and gripped it like Dr. Moss described in his fine guide, which I re-read yesterday in preparation for this shave. Then I put the edge to my cheek, stretching the skin with my other hand, and using the slightest tough possible let it slide along my skin.
It was an interesting experience for sure. My nervousness disappeared after the first stroke and was replaced with curiosity. I could hear the blade make little "tink" noises with each hair it came into contact with, and I felt a slight tugging on the hairs. I have no idea if I used the optimal angle or not, but I kept shaving with the razor, being very light on the touch, and trying to manouver it so that the spike point wouldn't catch me, and since I also sport a goatee and moustache I was trying to manouver the blade so it wouldn't remove too much of my beard. I'm sure some of my positions would have made true master shavers cringe, but hey! I'm a newbie! :)
After shaving my cheeks I put the straight razor away and finished the first pass with the Merkur HD. I then felt my shave, and the cheeks were still stubbly, so I guess my technique sucked. Still, it was very interesting to try it, and I did cut the beard, going by the stubble trapped in the lather on the blade. I don't know when I will try this again, though, since I don't have a strop, and don't know whether I will buy one anytime soon either. So for now, the straight razor will have to rest in its box.
/Nicholas