Thread: My disastrous first shave.

Yikes, that's as bad a first outing as you can get. Onwards and upwards mattabaum!

As for the blade, perhaps post a picture so we can see what the nick is all about? I think most of us would suggest holding off shaving with it until it's properly repaired - nothing like a nick in a blade to ruin your face! If there's a visible nick, you can bet the edge will need a good honing to get it properly shave ready again. It will be worth it - persistence and patience are my words of advice.

Originally Posted by mattabaum

Thank you for all the advice. The cut should heal well.

The main concern I have at this point is my blade. there is one tiny little nick in the blade and Im wondering if it would just be ok to continue using. How much damage is ok? And if it is damaged to bad what should I do with it?

No, you should not use it. It will ruin your next experience. Send it to a honemeister to be repaired. I'd suggest any of the members who advertise here. I use SRD.

Buy a paddle strop and only strop again after you watch all the videos. Most of us have had the same experience with our first strop.

The damage is very small and would most likely not appear in a picture. This is why I thought it might be ok to use.

Originally Posted by mattabaum

My shipment of straight razor, cream, brush and strop arrived in the mail today. To start, i cut a nice gash in the strop. Second, the bristles were falling out of my pure badger brush. My lather was pretty bad as well. I used Taylor of old bond street cream and i suppose I used to much water in my lather. My razor was pre-honed so this is not the problem, but throughout the whole shave, my blade was sticking to my face and tugging the hair. When I finished, I began drying my razor and it slipped from my hands, cutting an emergency room quality gash in my wrist and dinging up the blade as it hit the floor. I could A) Use some advice on how to do it properly, B) Use some encouragement and reasons why I shouldnt bring my fusion pro glide out of retirement.

Welcome to the 'Place'
Don't mean to kick you while your down but a lot of that experience could have been avoided by more research.

Here's a few links that may help:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...icipation.html
http://straightrazorpalace.com/strop...per-strop.html
http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...er-2010-a.html

It will get better, and you will love it. I assure you. Sometimes you have those days where everything goes wrong. This was one of them. Start over and keep an open mind, as there is a learning curve associated with it. Don't give up, though! Take it one step at a time and before you know it you will be enjoying shaving more than you ever thought possible.

Yikes that sounds like a bad experience but it will be one you look back on and laugh at.

May I suggest firstly getting a cheap Parker Shavette? I started with one of these and although my wife thought I had been fighting with the cat prior to falling in a vat of small toilet paper peices after my first shave, it helped me learn the "feel" and develop the muscle memory before getting my first straight. It also showed me I need an introduction to Alum and styptic pencils…lol.

The great thing with the Parker is you can remove the blade and practice those difficult initial moves as well as the actions of stropping with out ruining a good blade or a strop. Just learning not to hit the razor on the tap and to keep the scales dry in use is hard enough but with a little practice it all comes second nature, and if you drop the Parker or hit it on the faucet it matters not.

When I picked up my first real straight, apart from a few minor nicks it was plain sailing as I had already learnt to handle the routine and the shave with my shavette.

I just lent my Parker Shavette to my friend who is also now enjoying the "feel" of a straight. Once he is sorted I will show him how to strop etc.

I wouldn't use your straight at the moment, it will need to be honed again. May I also suggest spending time watching the videos and practicing the actions (even with the parker blade free) as this will develop your knowledge and muscle memory. My I also suggest that you get a poor mans strop kit from Larry at Whipped Dog as its better you nick a cheap strop then an expensive one, then once you have mastered the art buy a decent strop.

These first steps are baby steps and we all had to take them, and we all had mishaps of sorts for sure, but it won't be long and you'll be straight shaving and maintaining your own blade and enjoying it too.

My wife tells a great story of my first shave to all my friends and although I was embarrassed initially I now roll with laughter at the experience.

Practice make perfect my friend, don't be discouraged, you just discovered you need more practice…

Months from now, you'll be able to make beginners feel _so good_ about themselves by telling your first-shave story!

I would love to see a "Blooper's Reel" thread, where we all posted our biggest goofs. Like the time I leaned too close to the mirror, bashed the butt of my handle against it and drove my blade right into my cheekbone. Or the time…well, you get the picture.

Glad you're okay. Do everything the respondents to this thread say, and things will get better fast. Like so many things, straight shaving really is safe and oh-so-enjoyable…once you know how.

Like others have said, Hang in there. Take your time and learn one task at a time...example, learn to lather until it's second nature. Same with stropping ect. Practice makes perfect.

Best analogy I can come up with is that you had sex when you should have been making love. Slow down and take your time, enjoy the whole of the process. If you make a bad batch of shaving cream, stop and start over. If your stroping, go slow. If you have the razor on your face, soft, slow, and deliberate strokes. When your done, carefully hold and dry your razor. Most importantly, if you enjoy everything to do with Straight Razors take the time to really enjoy them. It does get better with time.

Mate, it can only get better from here, I reckon.
You might like to edit your profile and let everyione know where you are - there might be someone just around the corner who could help.
You've already got all the advice I could give you from previous posters