Second straight shave

My first went okay for those you who didn't read my first shave post. Lots of nicks, but no major hospital bills. Yesterday I shaved again with the straight and there was improvement. Hardly any nicks and much smoother. I did a little ATG work to clean up and that went pretty well too. My biggest issue is the closeness of the shave, or lack thereof. I have a new Dovo 5/8, half hollow. I sent it out to Max Sprecher to have it honed, so it is sharp. I guess I just need to keep working on technique, as in blade angle and keeping my skin taut. I think my lathering needs work too.
It is a challenge to get this right, but it is something I definitely look forward to improving on.
Any ideas, observations, or advice would greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

I think you are definitely on the right path. If you know your blade is sharp then the big three IMO are 1. Angle 2. Skin stretch (flat) 3. Pressure.

Steel,
More pressure or less?
Which cigar is that in your photo? I'm having an Oliva Serie G maduro this fine morning.

Joel

Sounds like a great start! And your thinking all makes sense. There are a lot of possible variables to plug away at, which makes it hard to be systematic. You'll set them up and knock them down.

Just also remember the variable "time." Sometimes, I'm not working away at any particular elements of technique, but nonetheless detect improvement over time. I think my mind learns things pretty fast; but my body learns more slowly, over the long haul.

Sounds like your doing well. Its all about gradual reduction which is why you hear people talking about multiple passes. A single WTG for me gets a good bit of it but there is still some stuble. Just remember to take your time and pay attention to your results as you try different passes, angles, and amounts of pressure. Soon enough you will know what gets you that BBS with little to no irritation

I'd also think some about what a "close shave" is. A lot of us never really inspected our faces after our daily 5 or 10 minutes with a Mach 'whatever', but now we seek BBS. Truth is with 1 or 1 and 1/2 passes with a SR (WTG and some XTG) I get as good as a shave as anyone in my life, including me, expected. However, when things are going really well and I have a lot of time I re-lather or refresh the lather on parts of my face and try different angles and strokes. I can get BBS, but then, I'm not one who has ever had razor burn issues with any shaving device since I was 15 (50 years ago, OMG).

My ultimate test now isn't to feel my face with my hand, but to go over my whole beard with a very light lather and a double edge and listen. Most of the time (90% or more) I hear nothing except in one or two very hard to reach places on my neck, under my ears. As far as I'm concerned, that's what I'm aiming for, and someday, I'll master those spots with my SRs.

For me, coming off a DE, it's a matter of trying to use a lot less pressure. With the DE I could jam it as hard as I like against my skin and suffer no ill effects. With the straight I have to keep reminding myself to lighten up or I end up with skin irritation. Old habits and all.....

A few nicks... Perhaps you can guess why I'm called pinklather. :)

We're so used to the normal approach w/ a hand tool: take tool, place on material, apply force. Its really true - we're not in Kansas anymore. Your primary feedback is no longer your hand/fingers. Its your face. The feel of the edge on your face is your first input on how a stroke is going. We're used to *looking*, then, if we must go by feel - its by the feel in the hand/fingers. Many, myself included, haven't found this an easy switch. You'll get there. I still have some of my blood remaining.

On the nicks themselves. The honorable godfather (Lynn) posted years back about the benefits of hitting a nick quickly w/ the steptic, and when done, a dab of Neosporin. Its not just the active antiseptic, but the inactive ingred. are a list of who's who of good things for skin. 'Seems to take 1-1.5 days of healing time off the clock. Now while that nick is healing - DON'T shave over it again until heals - or it won't. If you have to, take your finger & remove lather from the nick so you can see where it is and avoid it.

Whoever said that BBS is a squishy term is very right. Your shaves will get better whether or not you try to improve them. The skill comes. Don't worry about ATG, much less BBS for now. If you want to focus on something - focus on enjoying that shave. The rest will magically appear. Have a blast while your shaves get so much better than anything you've tried.