Thread: It's all coming together!

Hey everybody,

I've been shaving with a straight for a couple months now and I'm excited to say that I'm starting to have some really nice shaves! Everything seems to be coming together for me about this time. My stropping is starting to be pretty smooth, I'm lathering up a lot better, my shave strokes are getting more confident, my skin stretching lets me get at my face and neck better, and my angles are improving. For all the beginners out there, just hang in there and keep at it. It'll get easier for you if you just give it some time.

A few things I've noticed in my short journey down straight razor shaving that may be helpful to keep in mind. Nothing groundbreaking here, it's all been said before. Don't worry about speed. Stress quality in everything you're doing over speed. Spend some time practicing your stropping stroke without worrying about speed.

The same goes for making lather and actually shaving. Take your time with the soap or cream to make a nice cushioning lather. Experiment a lot with different amounts of water and find out what works best for the particular soap/cream you're using. One thing that I think has helped me is trying a wide variety of soaps and creams. By experimenting you'll be able to find out how each one works, find their strengths and what you like, and get more practice lathering.

When you're shaving, don't worry about getting a quick shave. If you can, don't shave if you're in a hurry. If you need to shave before work try getting up a little earlier so you can have time to pay attention to your angles and shaving strokes. Otherwise try shaving after work when you've got some time free so you can focus on your shave quality. Play around with angles until you're getting a nice, consistent pass. I found that starting out my angle was a little shallow. Widening it out a bit has improved my shave quite a bit. Also try different ways of stretching the skin to figure out what fits your face best. I'm still practicing here trying to improve my shave around my jawline and my neck. Again, don't worry about the speed. If you have to relather parts of your face partway through your shave that's totally fine.

This may or may not help you but try using hot water as well as cold water for your shave. I was kind of forced into that. I'm living on campus and had plenty of hot water before. Now the dorm I'm in doesn't get super hot water from the sinks but I'm still getting some nice shaves with the colder water. It's a good experience to at least try it out.

That's about all I've got. Like I said, I'm still working on getting a cleaner shave around my jawline and neck and on my chin, which I've found to be the most difficult trying to maintain an angle around that curve. I'm starting to experiment with across the grain passes and against the grain passes but usually a single pass with the grain is sufficient for a nice smooth feel. It's been a great experience so far and I look forward to learning a lot more!