Thread: First straight shave this morning

So I finally got all of my gear together to shave with a straight this morning. For the most part it went better than I expected, especially considering I decided to go against my better judgement and just do the entire shave with the straight. I prepped my beard as I normally do, hot shower, hot towel, lather, hot towel, relather then shave. I did two passes, one WTG and one XTG. I figured for my first time a superlather wouldn't be a bad idea, so I made one out of Tabac and Nivea shave cream, whose scents work well together for me.

I got an easy DFS on my cheeks and upper lip, just as good as I normally get with my DE, and I assume that will improve with time. I'm still trying to get a handle on how to shave my neck properly, leaving me with a little irritation there, but it was mostly cleared up with some generous application of witch hazel. There was significantly more tugging than I'm used to, but I expect that comes from poor technique.

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my first shave, and I have a better understanding of the steep learning curve ahead of me.

Additionally, I used two razors for this shave and I'm very impressed with the Bruno Custom that I got from a member of another shaving forum. it surprised me how the slight smile and shorter blade made it much easier to maneuver than my whipped dog sight unseen, even with the 8/8 blade.



Finally, I thought I was going to make it through with no nicks, but right at the end of the shave I got the bottom of my earlobe with the toe of the blade. live and learn.

Sounds like you are off to a great start. As you said, the technique will come along. Good job on snagging a Bruno blade, that's on my wish list.

Doing better than me on my first! I lost a pretty good amount of blood that first day... I didn't believe it when I first read it, but everyone on here was exactly right that it takes a few months to get down. Between stropping and shave angles and learning your face, it takes some experimenting. I'm going on 4 months now of daily shaves and am just getting to where I can do my neck properly. But that first day that you get a true BBS with no cuts or weepers - it's an awesome feeling!!

Well done, and congrats on your first shave!! Sound like you are off to a good start.

Think back, did that cut on your ear lobe happen the instant your concentration jumped ahead to something else? I've found that every nick and cut I've had while straight razor shaving is due to a lapse in concentration. That old axiom, 'Know thyself' can be rephrased "Know your blade (and where it is on your face)'.

Other than that, congrats on a first straight experience and I'm jealous of your Bruno.

Congrats and always mind the blade

Thanks everyone, I've read the articles and watched the videos on stropping in he wiki.

My second shave this morning went much the same as yesterday, though the irritation is mostly on my chin rather than my neck. There is still a lot of tugging, and I feel like I need to put pressure on in order to clean any of the hair off. What do you think I'm doing wrong?

Originally Posted by Ulricus

... What do you think I'm doing wrong?

Not being an expert on Day #2 isn't very weird. It may takes days, weeks or even a month to get a clean shave from a well stropped edge. Learning how to strop a blade properly is harder (but not necessarily safer) than learning how to shave. Relax. Stay focused at all times. Quit while you're ahead for the first few days. Beard'll be there tomorrow.

Ok, it appears that richard the retiree with more time than me has got here first. Go for comfort over closeness, angles are all important as is stretching, it will take a while to figure out the best stretches, pull your skin against the direction of growth to get the hair standing up.
You may find a wetter lather than you are used to for D/E shaving is beneficial too. Also remember that the lather drys out during the shave, so if your shaves are taking a while you may need to freshen up the lather in the area you are shaving.
Stropping could be, but isnt necessarily an issue, it depends on your technique, i sent my first razor back to the vendor after a month or so to get feedback on my stropping, it was still shaving fine, but it was nice to know whether or not my technique was good or bad.

Originally Posted by Ulricus

There is still a lot of tugging, and I feel like I need to put pressure on in order to clean any of the hair off. What do you think I'm doing wrong?

Heavens no Ulricus! More pressure equals more irritation. You need to do a combination of several things to take care of that area. One: Blade angle. There is no set angle for shaving your entire face. It changes from area to area and direction of shave (WTG, XTG, AGT). Two: More pressure on the blade equals more scrapping of the skin resulting in more irritation. Think of it in terms of what another member said, "Shave the lather, not the face.". Three: Have you determined the growth pattern of your beard? Mapping you face isn't stressed enough to beginners. Knowing how your hair grows helps determine direction of shave and blade angle resulting in a better shave and generally less to no irritation.

THink and try those suggestons and see where you are in a couple of days.