Thread: First Straight Razor Delivered!

For what it's worth, I haven't found pre-shave oils to be any benefit, but YMMV. I wash my face very wetly with Dove soap and rinse, again very wetly, then go right to face lathering while my face is still very wet. I also now do my lathering and shaves cold water...of course it's summery here still, so it feels good.

Originally Posted by Shaotzu

I think I picked up the feather light touch on the first pass with the SR. So I'm hoping I can carry that over to the stropping without too much trouble. And thanks for the advice on the pre-shave. I haven't really decided if I think the AoS oil is worth it, but I have it so I'm playing with integrating it into the shave or not. I might try some Cremo since I can pick it up locally.

Just thought I'd show off . . .

Nice razor Shaotzu! Also, thanks for recording your experience. It has been very useful to read through this as I prep for my first day with the blade

I found the AoS pre shave oil a bit sticky and don't use it anymore. I have tried a few others and found them better, but still not what I was looking for. Now I just use some Nivea face wash or proraso pre shave cream depending on my mood.

Originally Posted by Picassov7

Nice razor Shaotzu! Also, thanks for recording your experience. It has been very useful to read through this as I prep for my first day with the blade

Good luck and let us know how it goes! I will say, I've been playing with the straight almost every day and it hasn't dissappointed at all. I normally don't shave on Sundays and I've been tempted to anyway. At this point, while not completely 100% comfortable across all aspects of my face, my WTG pass is pretty solid with the straight, and I can move XTG in a few spots with relative ease. Stropping technique has improved substantially and feel like, unlike on day 2, I'm actually doing something with the fabric and leather.

The advice to go slow and steady and do what is comfortable is 100% right on. At the same time, trust yourself and it's not that hard, it's just time and practice!

Originally Posted by ruckin

I found the AoS pre shave oil a bit sticky and don't use it anymore. I have tried a few others and found them better, but still not what I was looking for. Now I just use some Nivea face wash or proraso pre shave cream depending on my mood.

Yeah . . . I will say, I do like the sandalwood scent on it though. But yeah, the pre-shave oil does seem a bit sticky to me as well. I might try a few things, but really, I'm not seeing much issue with the various creams/soaps I have been using, so not sure I need to do too much to focus on pre-shave treatment. Then again, I am playing with lots of variables right now anyway (straight vs DE, different blades in the DE, lathering soaps vs creams, etc.), so not sure adding another facet to my shave is going to really tell me anything. Instead, right now, I'm mainly looking for what feels comfortable and yields decent results, and then I can start tweaking.

In other news though, my lathering technique appears to be working much better!