Thread: First Shave - oh so very interesting

Hi,

After a good deal of perusing information online, and at least as much excitement at the idea of learning something new, I decided to join the club/experience with a "shave ready" Le Grelot P. Hospital Cie. 151 5/8 I found online. My comments here might well just echo what so many others, all more able shavers than me, have mentioned in their posts, but here goes.

First I had to get used to just holding the razor. The finger position is not self-evident. I´d call it rather "delicate." The razor itself feels much lighter than I would have imagined a straight razor to feel. The razor tends to shift around inside my hand. (I´m 6´4".) It´s as if my fingers were looking, on their own, for balance and feel.

My new strop is a bit narrow and short, so I had to use the x pattern all the while trying to keep the movement flowing relatively briskly. I´ll definitely need lots of practice in that department and hope I didn´t dull the razor more than I sharpened it...

The lather-building process is kinda cool. To see so much lather come off of such a small amount of soap. It reminds me of the magic of cooking, (like beating egg whites). But since it takes me a while, given my lack of technique, to finish my shave, next time I´ll use a little more soap.

The shave itself was definitely interesting. One side of the face is evidently easier to shave than the other (I could have taken a photo to prove it, but Halloween is behind us...)

But even on the easy side of the face I had to find a way around those blind spots (what with my hand hiding the reflection in the mirror and all). So I went by feel in those sections. That´s fine for the contact on the cheek, but I noticed the point gives less immediate feedback than the main portion of the edge (I´m thinking namely of the ear. But as I took it easy, no cuts to report ... there.)


Other basic challenges included: directly under the nose (dang, how do you do that at a 30º angle, ?); the right side of the face over all (maybe I´ll try to switch hands next time?); just under the jaw; and around the chin where, given my Kirk Douglas-style dimple, I ended up saying: "You´ve done well enough for one day, mah boy..." and left that area for when I have a better feel for the razor.

Still, although I didn´t get anywhere near an ideal (or even real good) shave, I feel a strange kind of satisfaction. The kind that makes you say, "I wanna go on that ride again! As soon as my stomach (read "skin") can take it..."

Cheers to all.

Love this story. Something that helped me learn was shaving with a shavette razor. The angle is a bit more forgiving and lighter so convenient for handling and keeping less pressure on your face.

Once you get a hang of it its even more satisfying. I hated shaving with all my being. But now that I use a straight razor its an absolute joy. My facial hair does not grow very fast but those three days a week i do shave, I look forward to them greatly.

Its like a manly ceremony for your face.

Ossau, welcome to SRP!!

I agree with dexter90723, great story!

As for learning the in's and out's, that will come with time. One thing you'll read often around here is remember to go slow and take your time and enjoy the shave. Speed will come on it's own... it's proficiency your after right now. The main thing, especially while still learning, is summed up best by the founder of SRP, Lynn Abrams:

Originally Posted by Lynn

Have fun!

Congrats on taking the first step, and may your shaves be smooth and your ride even smoother!!

Sounds like you did alright. The areas you're having problems with are all the standard areas for beginners and will improve with practice. Go slow and light watch the angle and it will all come together in time. Good luck. Ed

Over all sounds like a job well done.
Up in the search box look for coup de maître (masterstroke) ,
it will show you how to hit the upper lip for the WTG pass,
XTG is usually a bit of an angle pass.
I have no advice on the ATG as I have only shaved the upper lip 3 times with a straight blade and never did the ATG pass there.

Originally Posted by pfries

Over all sounds like a job well done.
Up in the search box look for coup de maître (masterstroke) ,
it will show you how to hit the upper lip for the WTG pass,
XTG is usually a bit of an angle pass.
I have no advice on the ATG as I have only shaved the upper lip 3 times with a straight blade and never did the ATG pass there.

ATG on the upper lip...that doesn't sound fun...I've seen the WTG and XTG done on the upper lip and that seemed to do the job quite well...

Originally Posted by Phrank

ATG on the upper lip...that doesn't sound fun...I've seen the WTG and XTG done on the upper lip and that seemed to do the job quite well...

IRCC some have tried or do.....
Like I said I have shaved it 3 times with a straight, once due to an ingrown hair that got infected,
once to show a friend I was helping get started the coup de maître,
and once for Movember.
None of which needed anything beyond a DFS.

Welcome! Just a note that I didn't see anyone else touch on. More of a correction, really.

When you are stropping, you are not sharpening. You are actually polishing. The sharpening part comes in when honing.

Enjoy the ride! All our journeys are different, but we basically all have the same goal. Read up and ask away! And away you go!

Originally Posted by Phrank

ATG on the upper lip...that doesn't sound fun...I've seen the WTG and XTG done on the upper lip and that seemed to do the job quite well...

Really, Phrank? Never a ATG pass on the upper lip??

I tried the ATG pass on my upper lip once. ONCE.

I now understand why Ryan82, in conversation with me about it, referred to it as the "Fool's Pass".

I usually do a WTG pass there, followed by two XTG passes- one from ear to nose and one from nose to ear. End up DFS or better each time.