Thread: I am not a chicken, am I?

So I have been using my DE for 4 months now and I really want to shave with a straight. Every time I gat ready to shave I put the straight back in the case and get out my good old Murker 30C( that has never hurt me lol) and go BBS. I love wet shaving it is so nice not to hurt after I shave. A long time ago when I was bulet proof, around the age of 20ish, I used a straight and cut the hell out of my self. I was never shown how because I didn't know anyone that new how. My roommate in college had one and we had no money so we made it as sharp as we new how and away we went. I am still surprised to this day that we lived thru college let alone a straight shave that we both should have just skipped.
So my question is this am I a chicken? Will I ever get to be among the rancks of the people I see on here.
I have been shot, shot at, had guns put in my face and had some pretty ugly things happen to me in my life all in the name of the badge but why can i not bring my self to shave with a straight?

Thanks to everyone here I am truly enjoying shaving again! Also remember I suck at spelling lmao.

I've had a few close encounters in my life too, never thought about them until they were over. The first time I lathered & picked up a straight, I held it for a good 2 minutes staring in the mirror asking myself , " Do you really need to do this?" I did about a 2" stroke on the side of my face, stopped,, said that's enough for tonight, then grabbed the disposable & finished. A little bit at a time, is the way I started.

If you're interested, do it. I tried a disposal straight from the drug store about 15 years ago and needless to say it didn't go well. But with this forum you're set.
Read up first, make sure you've got a shave ready straight (you've already got the lathering part down), and have a go. Good luck!

Thing is you don't have to do anything you are not comfortable with doing, you are getting good shaves with your DE. I think most have some trepidation contemplating their first straight shave, I did. When you do decide to give it a go Hirlau's advice to take it slow and easy is great advice. You have nothing to prove to anybody by going too quickly before you are ready. Everyone is different so work at your own pace and you will get there. Good Luck.

Bob

You have fear, and you can overcome it, many have as you mention, before my first straight shave, I looked myself in the mirror and said:

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

In a couple of months, you won't be able to imagine shaving any other way.....

I too had a bad 1st experience with a SR when I was about 25 years old. Everything I thought I knew came from TV and knife sharpening experience. I had never heard of shave ready but I soon learned plenty about razor burn and cuts.

Thirty five years later with the knowledge gained from SRP, I tried again. My hand shook and I felt like I was trying to write using my weak hand, but I carried on. I learned to take it slow and that every shave could come out OK with the help of my DE. Skill shaving and stropping advanced together. The better I became at stropping, the better I was able to shave. As shaving skill increased, the better I became at detecting stropping and honing deficiencies and learning what was working for me. Now, the SR feels like and extension of my hand just like a pen and fork.

If you use a shave ready straight razor this time, you will get there if you take it slow and stay determined. Your DE will be there to save the day while you learn and when you are short of time. It will take time before you will be able to equal a DE shave, but you will probably start to notice that the easy parts to shave will begin to shave smoother. For me, most parts of my face are better with the SR. I sometimes hit a few of the hard to get spots with the DE, but usually dispense using the DE.

Wait until you have the time and proceed as you feel comfortable. My first 10 shaves went that way. I got some minor cuts but shaved around them until they healed so I didn't make them worse. Do a little and then next time do a little more. 20% confidence, 20% knowledge, 60 percent razors edge. The whole point of using a straight is taking your time to treat yourself. The key,,,,taking your time.

What I find to be very funny is that I have a couple of DE's but haven't got the nerve to put one to my face, I have never had any fear of straights. It appears I have the one shoe on as well, just the other foot. All in good time. It you are doing well with the DE it is hard to find incentive.

You have the urge to do it, that's important. And i would advise you to read as much as possible about straight shaving, and watch videos on youtube, that helped me a lot. Gaining knowledge before doing something does help the experience of doing it. A MUST WATCH is Lynn Abrams channel on YT. You won't go wrong with this..If you faced so much in life, face this two, just go easy..slow..no need to rush..and with time you will have so much fun with it you probably won't go back Wish you all the best! When the time comes, you will be ready for the straight shave! Just do some research on it before Hope that helps.
Kind regards, Stick

After reading what you have been through already, I think once you get past the initial primal fear, you will be good to go. A good razor will be so sharp you won't feel anything anyway, hope this helps. Best of luck.