Thread: Yet another new guy

Sounds like for a first shave with a straight razor you did superbly.

You'll be surprised how quickly things improve for you. I found the benchmarks for me were after 20 shaves, had a handle on what I needed to do, practice was what was required now. After 50 shaves, things started to really get good and that feeling of why hadn't I been shaving any other way started to settle in.

For a first shave, you did very well, and now you have to suffer like the rest of us - willing your beard to grow faster so you can shave again!

I think the single, very best advice I received when I started straight shaving was this: 'Shaving with a straight razor is beard reduction, not beard removal.' That's why multiple passes are required. You will get the hang of it. For me personally, it took about 3 months of shaving 3 times a week to become comfortable and proficient. Stay the course.

I don't oil my blade after every shave, but I don't keep it in the humid bathroom either. When I oil the blades in my rotation, I use a light coat of mineral oil (yes, the laxative). It is cheap and effective. I also use this on any oil stones I rarely use.

For your strop... rub your hand on your greasy neck and face occasionally and rub it into the leather. That should keep it good for a while. Every once in a while, hit it with you shave soap or some good old fashioned saddle soap. I wouldn't oil it with anything not approved for that strop and/or leather.

My two cents.
Welcome.

Chris
(14 month straight shaver)

I have been shaving with a straight for a few months now. I think my best advice is watch your angle of attack. For about 3 to 4 months I was focusing on everything but that and I would get close but uncomfortable shaves even to the point that I thought that my razor was dull. I had good beard prep and good quality überlather and thought that I was doing good. And then all of the sudden one day without realizing I reduced my blade angle and I noticed how smooth it felt and shaved even better. I was probably shaving at about 45° thinking I was at 30°. So now that I am focusing on a lower angle I'm now getting that nice Baby-butt smooth shave without the irritation I was getting. So I would say if your first shaves are harsher than you like, it may be your angle. Reduce it and see if that is your problem

In no particular order and working from memory (trying to remember all of your post).
Palm rubbing your strop should be sufficient. I have a strop I was given that wasn't too special to use so I rubbed it with some zanolin (lanolin based leather treatment). As far as i am aware (and I may be wrong here) lather has more of an effect on draw than anything else, though I imagine a tallow based soap may go some way to moisturise your strop, though it probably is unnecessary, it will take a while to break in though. I wouldn't be too keen to put stuff on the strop as once it's on - it's on.

I find that for the area directly below my nose having the razor parallel with my nose (90 degree angle) and then sort of scooping downwards works, essentially rotating the blade from the spine.

Your angle could well be too low, a good test is to start with the spine pretty much touching your skin, do a short pass and check the result, increase the angle with subsequent passes over the same area until you feel a difference in your stubbliness.

I only oil a razor if i know it won't be used for a while, the prospect of cleaning oil off on a daily basis and reapplying it again post shave seems like a bit of a chore, but it is your razor and if you can be bothered it certainly won't do any harm.

It sounds like you are on the right track, and that your expectations are realistic, don't expect miracles overnight. Eventually you will get there with patience and practice.

Regards ed.

Yep, I'm pretty much already at that stage of wanting the damn thing to grow out again. I have to shave daily anyway, since I need to be clean shaven for my job, though I normally don't bother on my days off. Sometimes I might have 3 or 4 days off in a row, so I start becoming scruffy. I might have one of those days very soon actually, so it should be interesting to see how things fare with longer growth.

In terms of making multiple passes, how much is too much? I think I read somewhere about not going over 3, but I assume that would vary based on how much pressure you apply, right?

And no, I don't have a greasy neck or face, so I don't think that would be suitable for my strop! One other thing I'm confused with is which side to use the strop on. I know it's the smoother side, but both sides feel smooth. One side is shinier than the other. Would that be the right side?

Multiple passes are dependent on many things. Beard growth directions and how it sits (laying down or more upright ) , how coarse the hair is, your technique etc etc. 3 is about the most that most would want to go and many don't even do that. As for pressure it never increases unless you want razor burn and irritation. For you strop the oils from your palm will be sufficient. Can't help with the strop but most likely the smoothest shiney side.

Alrighty, second go!

I decided to try doing the whole face this time around. Sideburns were good on the left, but a little less so on the right, either because I'm left-handed, or because I had practice on the left with my first go. Or both. The neck was easier than I thought, but the shave was still equivalent to that of a safety razor, so there's definitely room for improvement. 'Stache was actually a breeze to do, which was a surprise for me. Either safety razor or slightly better quality shave, but the important part was that it didn't feel uncomfortable while shaving.

The hardest part was the chin. I can definitely still feel a lot of hair still sticking out, so obviously my technique is not working. I'll need some help on that.

One thing I did was wayyyyyyy too many passes again. This time I had spots of blood. Didn't feel like I cut anything, but I'm guessing that's what happens when you overdo it. I did cut the underside of my ear lobe though! I think it's stopped bleeding now...

Oh well, practice makes perfect I suppose.

Sounds like you are getting off to a good start.
The first few shaves are not usually as good as a safety razor or even a cartridge. They will get better and closer with practice.

Alrighty, so while I wait for the forest to grow back, I'm going to shift to the topic of the lather, or the shaving cream/gel/thing you slap on your face. Is there any particular type I should be aware of? Currently, I have this old can of gillette stuff. It's some blue gel. Not much of an idea beyond that about it, honestly. I just smear it all over my face and hope for the best. Anything else that could be used/used more effectively?

Originally Posted by hiigaran

Alrighty, so while I wait for the forest to grow back, I'm going to shift to the topic of the lather, or the shaving cream/gel/thing you slap on your face. Is there any particular type I should be aware of? Currently, I have this old can of gillette stuff. It's some blue gel. Not much of an idea beyond that about it, honestly. I just smear it all over my face and hope for the best. Anything else that could be used/used more effectively?

I like to use what we call an überlather it a mixture of shaving soap, glycerin, shaving cream and water that has set on the soap for a few min. But in particular I like anything tallow based when it comes to soaps and creams. The brand that I am using now for cream is Queen Charlotte which is tallow based. For soap I am using colonels conk which is a glycerin based soap. But when I get done with it I'm going to buy a brand called green mountain which is a tallow based soap. But really many soaps/creams that are tallow or glycerine based would be good. However some are better than others