the fist shave

Hi guys,

just had my first partial SR shave. :mexwave:
To be honest, I postponed it a bit, a few days ago I ended up in the cut of the day thread.
And of course, got a bit scared. I've been waiting 3 days, every saying, there's not enough time. :)
But today I gathered my courage and went for it.
I have a Dovo 5/8 silversteel,Proraso and use a mid-class badger brus.
Ok maybe a bit more than mid-class, wanted something decent to start with but nothing too expensive, a Hans Baier.

For me it was a very odd expercience. Trying to find the right angle, not so easy as it looks.
Of course a cut, but that's my fault, overconfident after the first strokes...
Next time, I'll be more careful. Pain is a good teacher, hope it will be my last lesson... :hmmm:
I've tried to a few strokes with my left hand, but I don't think it will be my cup of tea.

My angle wasn't all good either, in my opinion there was to much of a scraping noise. So another thing to pay extra attention to.
Despite those little issues, I can say I'm rather satisfied with this first try.

The only minor point at the moment is the stinging of my skin. But I've read on the forum, it's a common thing when you start shaving with a straight razor. I've put on some Nivea sensitive skin aftershave balm, that's all I can do, I assume.

I'll update this post after the next shave and so on, until I feel a bit more confident that everything is more or less as it should be.

Any remark or suggestions are more than welcome.:y


Yves

Nice to hear you're on your way. The stinging sensation will diminish as you adjust your angle to reduce the scraping noise.

Well, that's one way to get smooth hands, I guess.

Every shave after the first will only get better and better!!! I am new to this too, still trying different things, such as angles and so forth.

Have fun with the journey of shaving with a SR:beer1:

Congrats! Sounds like a solid start. :tu

As Brenngun said, the stinging will get better with practice. In addition to figuring out the angles, a lot of guys use too much pressure when starting out, and once a lighter touch is developed, the stinging decreases. It will also take some time for your face to get used to you dragging a single hunk of very sharp steel across its surface. These things all improve with time.

Another thing to consider is whether the razor was professionally honed before use. The Dovo factory edge will generally cut stuff, but it (again, speaking generally) won't be as sharp or as smooth as a truly shave-ready razor.

Since your razor is a full hollow ground, you should expect a fair bit of sound as you shave with it. Generally speaking the more hollow the ground of the razor, the more sound will be heard when shaving. So that may account for part of what you're hearing.

My issues were more with pressure at the beginning. The thing that helped me was when I read just to wipe the lather of and don't try to shave. A truly shave ready razor will remove the hair with no pressure applied. Good luck. Ed

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cangooner

Another thing to consider is whether the razor was professionally honed before use. The Dovo factory edge will generally cut stuff, but it (again, speaking generally) won't be as sharp or as smooth as a truly shave-ready razor.

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Well I'm not sure anymore.
In the shop they said is was made shave-ready, but they just used a strop.
And I'm starting to believe it isn't enough.
The strange thing is, they do hone in the shop.
They sell stones and used to give honing courses, so I think they should know how a razor is made shave-ready.

Don't give up on your left hand shaving abilities yet. I had issues with angle and direction at first but paying attention and practice got me to where I am comfortable with either hand . IMO I would get that razor sorted first as learning with an less than idea edge is no fun

Hi!

Cangooner pretty much said it all. It just takes time and practice to get the feel of using a straight razor. I watched videos and read thread after thread on how to shave. All that helped but until I had a few months of experiance nothing seemed to work like I thought it should. After spending good money on all the shaving equipment and expecting a good shave the first time and it didnt happen sure was disappointing! My first 4 or 5 shaves were awful. So hang in there and dont give up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yves81

Well I'm not sure anymore.
In the shop they said is was made shave-ready, but they just used a strop.
And I'm starting to believe it isn't enough.
The strange thing is, they do hone in the shop.
They sell stones and used to give honing courses, so I think they should know how a razor is made shave-ready.

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Hmm... maybe it's OK then... what kind of shop is it? If it's a place that specializes in razors and shaving gear, I'd suggest taking it back to them just to confirm whether it was honed prior to sale or just as you mentioned stropped. As you say, they *should* know better than to let a sub-par edge leave their shop.

If it's a place that specializes in knives and knife honing, I would respectfully suggest you take it to a specialist. There are some big differences between knife and razor honing and being excellent in one doesn't necessarily translate to the other.

But either way, I'd highly suggest making sure that you have a proper edge on that razor. I spent my first several months straight shaving using a razor that was definitely not properly honed and it was a miserable experience. Once I had it honed by a pro, the difference was like night and day.

That may or may not solve your issues, but at least it will eliminate one variable. :)

OP sounds like your off to a good start. You will need to get comfortable with your left hand but it will come in time. Start with the sideburns to the jaw line as that is the easiest. Avoid getting over confident it leads to blood.

What amazes me is the variety of angles to effectly get a smooth shave. Then there is the pressure issue, less is better. Last night I re-honed a 4/8 W&B blade because I found a small nick in it once I found my loupe my better half hid on me. WOW was it an awesome shave today. Three passes very light pressure plus the usual clean up in the trouble areas. Very smooth edge just like a hot knife thru butter.

When your edge is right you'll know it.

Congrats sounds like you done alright for the first time. It will continue to get better and one out of the blue the stinging will be gone. Be sure to stay aware of how much pressure you are applying, let the razor do the work it doesn't take much pressure.

Keep at it.

I'll post a small update :p
I've send my razor to Dimitry, who has it now. He told me the razor was rather sharp and ony needed a bit of honing.
So it is certain the cut wasn't caused by a dull razor but it was a dull mind :hmmm:
The cut is positioned between my lower lip and chin, the skin was stretched, so I'm guessing it's too much pressure on the blade.
Now I'm waiting for my razor to return and cut to heal, so I can give it another try.

When I've got more news, I'll be back

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yves81

I'll post a small update :p
I've send my razor to Dimitry, who has it now. He told me the razor was rather sharp and ony needed a bit of honing.
So it is certain the cut wasn't caused by a dull razor but it was a dull mind :hmmm:
The cut is positioned between my lower lip and chin, the skin was stretched, so I'm guessing it's too much pressure on the blade.
Now I'm waiting for my razor to return and cut to heal, so I can give it another try.

When I've got more news, I'll be back

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....or too harsh an angle, especially in that chine area. I read when I first joined the forum that in that and the chine area, some people move their face as well as the razor. I thought that was crazy, but now find myself doing it almost unconsciously.

or any lateral motion. that's 90% of how i cut me.

Hey speaking of moving a face, while a barber has to stretch the customer skin all around with his fingers, a self-shaver gets to use other tricks.

And whilst i generally don't care to watch other guys stretch and pull and maneuver their beards under the razor, I did happen to watch a fellow (youtube) the other day and picked up a new-to-me trick.

Roughly 100 years ago, my Dad told me about "puffing" out cheeks for shaving. Then a few days ago, i see dude using his tongue to push out the creases around his mouth. And now "tongue-in-cheek" is a real handy dandy tool I use. Everyone develops his own strokes and "tugs". Taught skin is everythin. *

(given a sharp instrument, and good prep)

Yes and focus on removing the lather, nothing more. If the lather is gone, don't go over the area again until it's re-lathered. This is a good rule for beginners. No rush.

cheers.

*and this is why kids are fascinated...it's the faces we make!

I would do basic movements until your comfortable and confident with the razor. Then, move on to the "against the grain" hard to reach spots.

~Tall Guy