Ramblings of a Noob

I figured I would start a thread dedicated to the Noob, by a Noob.

Starting down the path of straight razor shaving is daunting to say the very least. So much technical info, advice from folks who obviously know their stuff, techniques and skills that almost seem like a black art to the outsider. Then the mental mind f#@k of holding the sharpest hunk of metal you've ever seen against your precious mug and taking a swipe at it! Standing there alone in your bathroom, all the right gear, all the lurking and reading and googling coursing through your head, all the doubts psyching you out. Do I need to strop more? Did I hone correctly? Should I hone? What razor should I buy? Why? What soaps? How much lather? What the hell is WitchHazel? Preshave? Whats that? The list is never ending! So now you finally come to that pivotal moment in your shaving tenure. One of those times in life where you've earned another man card. You hold your skin taut, raise the blade to your face concentrating on the perfect angle. You steady your hand and take that first stroke. Then the second, another and another. The first side of your face is now lather free. You take a second to admire your work, rinse and then fumble to reverse the blade and hold your skin taut. All while trying to orient yourself in the mirror. You start again. A few more short, nervous strokes and then on to the more delicate and awkward parts of your face. You make your way through your first foray into this new found world of straight razor shaving. A nick or 2. Some rogue hairs you missed. A few more passes, going over and over till your face skin screams in reddened pain and taps out on you. You concede that its game over today and break out the safety razor for a quick cleanup. You then go through the aftercare process, feeling that burn all while reflecting on the past 30 mins of your handiwork. Awaiting anxiously for a day or 2 to pass so you can have at it again. Thinking of all the things you missed, figuring out your technique. Your path to take around your face. And a million other things. You emerge from your shaving experience a new man. I know its just a shave to the layman, but for myself, this has been a life changing skill I have learned. A rite of passage if you will. A dying art that I personally will continue to pursue.

the point of all this rambling? All you Noobs and lurkers out there, grab a blade and do it! Its pretty freaking cool. You learn something about yourself every time. As I type this I am still reflecting on my best shave I've ever had in my life. Granted I got a boost from some of those in the know and that gave me a ton of knowledge in a short amount of time. And I had a selection of razors at my disposal. Be that as it may, its satisfying as any other skill based accomplishment I've had. My personal bar raised. I encourage the rest of you out there to give it a go and post up.

You know what? It IS pretty freaking cool! And, I am having a lot of fun with this! Who the heck knew that shaving was so much fun.


Mike

The biggest obstacle I think most new people (and some not so new) face is using TOO MUCH PRESSURE to "SCRAPE" the lather off your face.

You SHOULD be just letting the blade GLIDE over it with almost NO PRESSURE.

Feel like you are just taking the lather off your face.

Think of it like the old time movies where the barber tries to shave a balloon...you are not going to put pressure on that...right?

Don't pop the balloon and your face will THANK YOU.

Minimal redness and no or almost no burn with your aftershave.

Well said. It's gonna keep getting better too.

Just to add a tiny bit to the OP (whose sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with), you can minimise some of the initial second-guessing and uncertainty by making sure you purchase a shave-ready straight from a reputable vendor/honer for your first go. Usually you don't have to strop them when they come back from the honer, just grab it and go.

It still doesn't help with technique and so on, but at least there's a couple of things you don't have to worry about.

James.

Honestly, you read some of the info and there is a ton out there. . . it is a bit scary. It almost sounds like it is some crazy secret club and involves years of training before you can do it. But really, all this advice is out there to help and keep people informed. Is shaving with a straight easy? No, not as easy as running an electric around your face obviously, but it's not that hard. Try it. You'll learn. You'll get better. It's a lot like driving a car. A lot to do to keep in mind, but start slow, you'll figure it out. Will you win the Daytona 500 on Day 1? Nope, and you won't have a perfect, smooth, clean shave on day 1. You'll make mistakes. You'll have razor burn, unshaved whiskers, even some nicks. Some days will be better than others. You'll need your old razor to finish the job at the beginning, and that's ok. Then one day, might be shave 3, might be shave 33, you'll decide that shave was good without the old razor to finish the job. Then you'll notice a spot that is smoother than ever, or a spot you never got well with your old method is finally getting a decent shave. And you'll start to have your own tricks, and you'll learn and keep improving.

So take the advice, take it slow, but the most important advice is take the leap and take an unsafe razor to your face in the morning . . . survive that in the morning and the rest of your day is cake. :)

You think its cool now. Wait until the day when you splash aftershave on your face and there is no burn just a nice tingling cooling sensation. I dont get it every shave but reaching that point once or twice a week keeps me striving.

It's good to hear your still enjoying the experience naes :<0) Great advice !