Thread: My disastrous first shave.

You will find (like we all did) that the chin is the hardest part and the last part to get BBS (if ever especially under the chin). Take your time there at first and don't even attempt an ATG pass until the WTG goes well

Straight razor sharp is way different than knife sharp, not that you can't get a knife that sharp, but most don't. Razors have a built in angle guide and are honed to a minimum of 8000 grit and usually higher 12k+

Originally Posted by DPM1267

I sharpen my own knives and have used a strop on some of them just because I like my blades to be as sharp as they can possibly be so I knew about that from prior experience, so no chopped up strop either. I did however nick the hell outta my face LOL! Toward my chin on my jawline on both sides there are several tally marks LOL! I too look like I got in a fight with a cat, nothing serious though.
!

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.

Sorry to hear that it didn't go too well, but don't be discouraged just yet, did you fall off your bike the first time you rode it? And if so are you now still riding the tricycle with pedals attached to the front wheel that yoy were on prevoiusly?
First, you can practice lathering over and over again until you get a good consistency, just make it and ditch it.
Stropping can be practiced using a butterknife and newspaper strips in bulldog clips.
Proper shaving technique will take a bit to get right, so bring out the fusion and use it once you get to a point with your straight razor that it is all getting a bit tricky.
Learn which directions the hair on your face grows, then stretch the skin so that the hair stands up and shave with the grain first.
I would maybe watch a few videos of people shaving to get an idea of what you are trying to achieve. You will find that it gets easier, quicker, smoother and more comfortable the more you do.
Stick with it, but don't expect to get great results overnight.
Regards ed

HI, Interesting comment about the parker shavette. Is this something other people recommend to learn shaving? I ask this as a beginner, have ordered a razor etc but haven't received it yet.

Sorry to hear of your experience mattabaum. I hope it improves for you. Would like to hear your progress, as Im a newbie as well. I hope my first attempt doesn't end up in emergency room like you, but time will tell

Originally Posted by AndrewJM

HI, Interesting comment about the parker shavette. Is this something other people recommend to learn shaving? I ask this as a beginner, have ordered a razor etc but haven't received it yet.

Hi AndrewJM. The Parker Shavette (there are others available) helped me to learn. It was cheap and to me it made sense as the razor was sharp and if I dropped it, no worries new blade, no harm done, I couldn't mess up stropping it, etc etc.

In a perfect world it would be better to go straight to a straight (no pun intended) but I didn't know anyone locally who could hone at that point so for me again the Parker made sense. A cheap introduction to straight razor style shaving.

When I picked up my straight I cut my self several times as I did when I first got my Parker but within a day or two I was as confident with the straight as I was the Parker. I learned much about light touch with the Parker and very quickly.

Its true my straight gives me a more comfortable shave than the Parker, but I for one looking back thought it was a good introduction.

Funnily enough my Parker was returned to me tonight by a friend I lent it to, he now has his own straight and like me prefers it to the Parker. However we both agree it was a good start for a couple of newbies.

Hope that helps

Why do paddle stops cut down the learning curve?

Interesting comment about the magnifying glass. Do others do this to inspect their blades after honing or stropping?

Thanks again Kev, you always seem to reply in detail to my posts

FYI I just emailed larry at whipped dog, ordered a sight-unseen razor, was only around $40, and the poor mans strop, I thought I may try first with that, just in case I drop it or something stupid. I figure I will also use that blade eventually to learn to hone. I also have the ralph aust kit on order with SRD, which I will use after the first couple of tries with Larry's blade. Im guessing I have a high chance of screwing up the blade when I try my first hone, so I didnt want to ruin the ralph Aust, and I needed to order the poor mans strop anyway, so I dont ruin the english bridle from SRD.

You'll have to let me buy you a beer sometime, when Im next up north.

Andrew

Originally Posted by AndrewJM

Why do paddle stops cut down the learning curve?

Because they don't flex. There is less chance of rounding the blade or so the theory goes

Interesting comment about the magnifying glass. Do others do this to inspect their blades after honing or stropping?

Sure do, its amazing to see the difference between each stage of honing , and also to check the bevel for damage etc. a great tool indeed.


Thanks again Kev, you always seem to reply in detail to my posts

FYI I just emailed larry at whipped dog, ordered a sight-unseen razor, was only around $40, and the poor mans strop, I thought I may try first with that, just in case I drop it or something stupid. I figure I will also use that blade eventually to learn to hone. I also have the ralph aust kit on order with SRD, which I will use after the first couple of tries with Larry's blade. Im guessing I have a high chance of screwing up the blade when I try my first hone, so I didnt want to ruin the ralph Aust, and I needed to order the poor mans strop anyway, so I dont ruin the english bridle from SRD.

You'll have to let me buy you a beer sometime, when Im next up north.

Andrew

I answered a couple of your previous posts in red as I don't know how to multiple Quote yet…lol

Larrys blade will be a great start and like you say it will be good to learn to hone on as well. The Ralph Aust will be superb too.

It can't be denied there is a learning curve, but its enjoyable what ever happens. I dropped my whipped dog razor, It did have a wee bit of damage to the edge, but it was nothing I couldn't sore our with my 12K barbers hone, and my poor mans strop kit also from whipped dog. I used a 30X magnifier to check my work at all stages and I got away with it. It was a great learning curve and I enjoyed the adrenaline…lol

Keep an eye on the Aussie bit of the forum as I believe Mike is attempting to get a meet up sorted. We'll have a beer together then

Originally Posted by AndrewJM

Interesting comment about the magnifying glass. Do others do this to inspect their blades after honing or stropping?

A loupe is useful for honing, loupes are what jewellers etc use, they are small powerful maginifiers. There are very cheap combined 30x/60x ones with led lights on the bay. They are fun just for looking at stuff up close too.

Paddle strops as I understand it remove the issue of correct strop tension, and can be used anywhere, such as in front of the telly etc. I have only used hanging strops and haven't had any trouble.

Originally Posted by AndrewJM

Interesting comment about the magnifying glass. Do others do this to inspect their blades after honing or stropping?

I don't use it when stropping, or for honing if I'm just refreshing a blade that already shaves okay. But if I'm not sure what's going on with a blade, I'll look through an illuminated 60x illuminated hand-held microscope. It helps me see the condition of the edge and whether the bevel is consistent.