the exaggerated art of straight razor shaving; begginner's adivce

I've been shaving once a week for little more than six months with a straight razor. That means I've had maybe two dozen shaves, so really I'm still a begginner. However, I've learned to give myself a fair shave in two passes, I believe I'm stropping just fine and I've managed to sharpen a razor with my 4/8 Norton. In all this time I've given myself only two nicks on my face that are worth mentioning and given my small two-inch loom strop two small nicks that don't affect the stropping. All the accidents happened on two instances when I was in a hurry (you should never shave with a SR in a hurry, it's dangerous and takes all the pleasure out of it).

I've come to the point in my shaving carreer when I feel like I have something worthwhile to post here - that in my opinion, if you're a begginner everything read here on srp should be taken with a pinch of salt.
One should not shave only half his face on the first try. Instead he should go as far as he feels comfortable, whether it's half a cheek or all the way. I did all of my face on the first try. It wasn't good, but it wouldn't be any better if I waited for the next week.
One should hone his blade as soon as he wants, can't imagine how the skill of shaving can have an impact on the skill of honing. You can't mistake a dull blade for a sharp one, even if it's your first. The dull one doesn't shave, and if it shaves, it is probably good enough.
One should strop as he finds comfortable for him. I tried not twisting my wrist, I tried the x-pattern, I tried standing and sitting - all the must-do's (not even suggestions) and found out that it doesn't work for me. Instead I walk around the room with my loom strop, twisting my wrist, running the blade not perpendicular, but at an kind of angled X-stroke. It works great for me.
I don't do fifty laps on the strop or any other number, I don't even count them. In most cases I've read, twenty should do and you can't do too much. Unless you're doing it wrong, but in that case no specific number will do. So I just strop until I don't feel like stropping anymore.
Obviously a 3-inch strop isn't a necessity either, as some try to make it seem, although I imagine it could make things easier.
I guess there are more examples, but I can't think of any right now.

What I'm trying to say is - straight shaving is not a rocket science, it's fairly easy. Yes, it's harder than with Mach3, but not enormously so.
The experienced shavers should ease a bit on the scaring of the newbies like me. And the newbies should experiment more, try out what works for them, nothing is set in stone about straight razor shaving. I would problably have started using a SR half a year earlier, if not for this forum that made me feel like I should study all the corpus on the subject before I can even lift a razor without killing myself.
On the other hand - I probably wouldn't have ever started using a SR if it wasn't for this forum, for which I really am thankful. The good on this forum greatly outweighs the bad, no doubt about it, but there is always room for improvement.


Hope this helps more people than it offends! :)

Yes, well.

First, thanks for your input, the feeling of which I share. Yes it's true, I do find it's not as difficult as it's sold to be.

Now.
SRP has a vocation as an educational resource.
SRP is also a website, the content of which, in many countries, can be used against both the writer and the owner of the website.

Therefore, for the purpose of education :
- I find it quite important to stress all the risks and difficulties that may arise.
- I find it quite important not to sell straight shaving as "remarkably easy". It's not. You have to forget what you know and learn anew. That it was easy for you does not mean it will go the same with anyone.
- As a former admin/moderator/etc on other communities, I find it preferable to have information in excess (making a topic hard to approach) rather than in default

But then again, taking everything with a pinch of salt, trying and experimenting for yourself, is it not "common sense" ?

I mean, you don't follow anymore the step by step process (with a little story to remember it for some) to tie your shoes, do you ?

Anyway, thanks again, and well, glad you had such a comfortable transition ;)

No offense taken. You might be confusing guidelines, suggestions and personal preferences with written in stone instructions though. As an example I researched strops on here before buying one and concluded I would buy a 3 inch strop after sifting through all the comments/suggestions. I picked up a narrower vintage strop later to see if I had come to the wrong decision initially. Turns out I still like the 3 inch strop better and would suggest that to anyone asking. The person asking is certainly free to draw their own conclusions though. Yes, you have to find your own way to what works for you.

As far as scaring newbies goes I don't think that is the intent of any experienced shavers who are members here. It is more like suggesting a person consider all the angles before jumping in rather than blindly forging ahead. A newbie is free to ignore that too. There is a pool of knowledge here and it is up to the individual how they choose to use it.

The straight razor has had a scary reputation ever since I can remember as a kid and that was a long time ago. The only thing scary about shaving with a straight is it's reputation in popular culture which precedes it. That reputation also seems to be what attracts some to shaving with a straight razor as a means to show/prove their "manliness". No, nothing scary about using a straight if done in a thoughtful and considered manner.

Bob

It had been a quiet couple of months,,,,,,,,,

I'll take your OP with a "grain of salt" & a pinch of B.S.,,,,,, (Basic Seasoning)

Interesting and I see where you're coming from.

Yes, they just are "guidelines", which I gather are written towards the lowest common denominator, i.e., written with the intent of starting as basically as possible (shave only the sideburns) and slowly moving up in complexity, the idea being anyone can begin where they feel comfortable.

And there are those like myself, sounds like you as well, and I'd go so far as to say a majority of the members here, that when someone tells us how to do something, we read it, take it with a grain of salt, and do what we want anyway! :rofl2:

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

It had been a quiet couple of months,,,,,,,,,

I'll take your OP with a "grain of salt" & a pinch of B.S.,,,,,, (Basic Seasoning)

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Rookies......wait till the first gash appears....then watch their hands shake as they attempt to get the confidence back ...that they once had. Like Mike Tyson said " every one has a plan...until they get hit "...

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:rofl2:

Walking about the room stropping with a loom strop. Angled X-strokes! Video, Please! :D
What we do here is try to get guys into straight razor shaving as easily and comfortably as possible.
OP, if you will read through all the fearsome, contradictory, and complicated advise here and separate it from the sound, conventional, and proven techniques recommended here, you will see that the former is suggested by newer members who, in their enthusiasm, are reinventing the wheel and spouting their newfound 'factual knowledge' while the latter advise will be given by experienced and more senior members here as a teachable method for newer guys. This holds true in shaving, honing, stropping, and all aspects of straight-shaving.
It is good you have found what works for YOU. However, unorthodox methods are no way to standardize education and help others progress smoothly. JMO
Lots more to the madness, I am certain! :rolleyes:

You can learn to do anything by trying i suppose, and it worked for you, the purpose of the advice given is to provide the best chance of success.

OP just look at the cut of the day thread ,, that's all anyone is trying to attempt here, give all the info you can and try to make the new start as enjoyable as you can so it sticks with you ,,, bad experiences tend to make a few new guys quit. But if it works for you That's great ,, probably because you read about the experiences of those on this forum. Hummmmm? Tc

I see "OP" used here and there, and I just haven't figured out what that means. Is it a member name, or an acronym? I know, I'm a knucklehead...

Some people jump in feet first and for for it all the way and are successful in their endeavor, and my hats off when it goes that way. I'm not sure if you intended for your post to sound like it was full of attitude or not. People all have their own pace and their own opinions. It's all good. I have certainly read way more posts about people being nervous and needing to take a lot of time getting rolling than those saying wooo this is so easy. If we wanted to look at it from a statistical point of view, your experience is rare. It's your shaving experience so feel free to do it however you want. There are no hard fast rules, simply suggestions and guide lines. Feel free to shave while running naked in the streets, as long as you are having fun and getting the shave of your life, wooooo hooooo.

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Originally Posted by Smyth

I see "OP" used here and there, and I just haven't figured out what that means. Is it a member name, or an acronym? I know, I'm a knucklehead...

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Would be Original Poster I believe.

Bob

No offense to the OP but 12 shaves isn't enough to really tell much, I thought I was getting great shaves at about the same shave count, but at about shave 30 I was laughing at the first 15 and at 100 shaves I knew I was wrong at shave 30. Stropping I've found is the single most important part of SR comfort and if 20 laps is good 40-50 will be better.

Agree completely with rodb. I'm in it a year with hundreds of shaves under my belt and I'm still tweaking things trying to improve stropping technique -- pace, pressure, etc. At every point along the way I thought, 'hey, I've got this down' only to find out after another 10 or 20 shaves or honing sessions that I still have things to learn. Most of the time when I have trouble it's when I deviate from the suggestions of the mentors and experienced shavers.

It's a lot like learning to play a musical instrument. Your piano teacher tells you to curve your fingers when you play but it feels funny to play like that and shoot, you can play better without curving your fingers. Initially. But then after you've advanced and you've already learned to play the 'wrong' way your progress is hindered by poor technique. Then you have to go unlearn the wrong way and start over again when you would have just been better off doing it 'right' from the beginning.

It's not quite the same thing but...

ifcis what you are just beginning to discover is that straight razor shaving and DE wet shaving are very subjective. I do not think that the very few straight shaves you have had
makes your advice safe for our new or first time straight shavers.

In my opinion SRP members have worked especially hard to provide new to wet shaving members with as much of the very basic advice in our libraries and subjects in general as we can in an effort to provide these particular members a safe and enjoyable venture into wetshaving.

Ifcis you probably catch on to everything you do quickly. If so, this is just another stepping stone of you many successes.

Some of us joined here to learn how to shave or to ask for help with an aspect that was troubling us.

Some of us joined to take part in the growing community of men and women refusing to shave with plastic gizmos or to communicate with others who were like us and would not call us crazy for needing umpteen brushes, hones, razors or soaps

Some of us joined to help others who were troubled by things that also troubled us when we started shaving with a DE or straight.

Maybe it was a combination of reasons including show and tell and suggestions on new products that are not sold at our local supermarket

Whatever the reason welcome to SRP and I am very happy your once a week adventure with a straight is going well. As for giving new guys advice, building someone's skill and confidence is not done by bragging about your own skill

I have never felt anyone on here was using scare tactics. Advice from experience is always more valuable then advice from inexperience. Just ask a nine fingered woods hop teacher about safety when using the saw.

Jim

I appreciate everyone's posts on this site, I think I learn a little from every one I read. It's not rocket science to get an acceptable shave . If I wanted a great non cartridge shave I would get a de. For me I enjoy , I guess you would call it the hobby aspect, I like to hone and experiment. I like to take apart ( don't like it so much when I break though) and fix or personalize my gear. That's where in my opinion these gentlemen and ladies shine . The details to feed my passion can seem like it's posted to overwealm but to me it's a blessing to get good answers and different perspectives

Since there is no one way to do ANYTHING, suggesting that there is only a one proven way to nirvana is contradictory to human nature (unless you are a follower and not an explorer). Any time I'm told this is THE WAY I either dig in my heels and get stubborn as a one year old, or run like hell from that false prophet.

All roads lead to the best shave you can have at that point in time. For some it is an easy road, but I believe it is, for most, the road that I am on. Daily moments of tweaking the process I've been using, discovering a slightly new way to so what I've been doing. But remember, human nature as it is means that no two of us are on the same road. Which leads me to cry BS any time someone says , "I have the way, the way is as I say". Ask Stalin, Hitler, Attila the Hun, any number of assassinated Caesars and maybe your domineering mother -in-law and they will tell you how well they did.

Paraphrasing Lynn, Go forth and have fun!

Is nothing more than Shaving guys,Is no magic Bullits,no perfect lathers,no secrets to prep,wash your face, lather and shave.
Is very simple.

Gee, Pixel! Sometimes you're such a killjoy! :roflmao

So your advice to new guys is strop walking around, take advice with a grain of salt, shave as much as you feel comfortable shaving and take an already shave ready razor to a hone as soon as you want to practice honing?

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Originally Posted by JTmke

So your advice to new guys is strop walking around, take advice with a grain of salt, shave as much as you feel comfortable shaving and take an already shave ready razor to a hone as soon as you want to practice honing?

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I think he has gone?

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

Gee, Pixel! Sometimes you're such a killjoy! :roflmao

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Just like to tell it like it really is,this thread can go on and on forever,to what end?
Some members just feed on these threads.

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Originally Posted by ifcis

What I'm trying to say is - straight shaving is not a rocket science, it's fairly easy.
And neither is honing rocket science, many say, but this and many other forums are full of questions about both so not everyone finds it easy, tho it may be simple in concept..


I would problably have started using a SR half a year earlier, if not for this forum that made me feel like I should study all the corpus on the subject before I can even lift a razor without killing myself.
So we'll never know if that 6 months of study really helped you or not :hmmm: but as has already been mentioned the forums are full of people who have not had as easy an experience as you.

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Oh great, another prodigy.

Agree with pixelfixed for the most part but there is some valuable info shared on this site.

Teach to the lowest denominator.

Well, not the lowest :D. But I, for one, learned a great deal!

Welcome to the forum and glad you figured it out.

Folks have been doing it for hundreds of years with far less equipment than is available now. It really is easy… until it’s not.
Straight Razor shaving and maintenance is about problem solving, identifying problems, avoiding them… and scraping hair from your face.

Sounds like you haven’t encountered any… hope it continues like that for you.

So you can lead a horse to water but you cant make him drink. Then when the horse has drank its fill, It decides it invented water. Interesting.

The gentlemen who use this site have only the finest of intentions, are helpful to a fault, and as a group only want the best for you. To give a back handed compliment given your short time here smacks of unthankfulness for all who have come before you.

It doesnt take a rocket scientist to be a rocket scientist. It takes one smart guy to write the recipe, all you have to do is follow the recipe. Now your a rocket scientist??

more like a recipe follower. I only hope you dont have an unexpected explosion.
But we have a spot for that here too...Cut of the day.

What a pot stirrer this is
Yes it's trial and error and everyone has to find their own groove, but the best life lesson I have lived by and can give is
" Learn from others mistakes, as life is to short to learn them all yourself "
Hence the support and freedom of information from the experience members who have already been through the trial and error stage, to help all newbs get through the initial learning curve, so all can enjoy this wet shaving experience educated to avoid these common mistakes.
I know I am glad I found this forum sooner rather than later but a month or 2 earlier would have been a lot better, just my honest opinion and I thank everyone for their advice and inputs since this forum started :beer1:

First
Attempt
In
Learning

He's gone, I tell you! ;)

I often find it rather illuminating to read people's past posts.

The hardest part is exercising restraint in pressing the 'ban' button.

That's what makes this place great! A gentleman is allowed to have an opinion!

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Originally Posted by gugi

I often find it rather illuminating to read people's past posts.

The hardest part is exercising restraint in pressing the 'ban' button.

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This Ban button you speke of,Can it be rented for a few Hours:)

I'm sorry I offended so many people, that was never my intention.
Never once did I say that SRP is not a useful place or that the knowledge here is unneeded or wrong. Quite the contrary - I at least tried to stress that I probably wouldn't have started shaving without it.
It was not my intention to brag about my uberskills, nor am I confident that I have reached some kind of pinnacle. I'm sorry if I left that impression. I still get better every time and don't suspect I will stop learning any time soon. And most definately SRP will help me with it. Why I said anything is because I feel quite unremarkable in every way. My situation forced me to do things quite differently, and it worked out much easier than one would expect after reading some of the guides and advices.

To the one who tried to insult me on inventing a new wheel regarding stropping - absolutely uncalled for. I got the advice (holding the blade diogonal, not parallel to the strop during x-stroke) from an instruction in a very old magazine I found somewhere on SRP. So that might be the original way, although I don't insist on it. Unfortunately I can no longer find it, so I don't have any proof.

To the one who tried to imply my advice is to ruin shave ready blades on a hone - that is insane. Where have I said anything remotely similar to that? My firm belief is that a shave-ready razor is called so because it has no need for honing. However once it is no longer shave-ready, it's a different story. Personally I acquired a blade that was not shave ready. I live in a place where sending it to a honemeister would mean spending more than buying a Norton 4/8. I figured that since the two trades are almost completely unrelated, it makes absolutely no difference which one I learn first - shaving or honing, so I bought the Norton. Of course, I learned all about honing here. EXCEPT the fact that I should wait for some misterious time until I magically become ready to start learning to hone.

Some of you are deliberately misunderstanding and misinterpreting me. Please don't. If you really don't like what I'm saying, you should debate and attack my arguments, not what you think I might have wanted to imply or what my underlying motivations might be. (You might need to read List of fallacies - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

This is a place where everyone shares their opinions. If my opinion differs from what is mainstream, am I neccessarily wrong? Is everyone faultless and flawless here? If I question the status quo, should I be burned on a stake?

I wrote with the best of intentions - to add to the pool of opinions here and maybe help someone with that. I also had the impression that any critique might be beneficial, if not for anything else, then to be dismissed with evidence to contrary while strengthening the original ideas.
I am glad to find out that it was unneccessary, as my thoughts and experiences apply to me only and are completely useless to any other individuals. On the other hand, I'm sad that some people think that their opinion is end all be all, and any others should be vehemently put down and preferrably banned.

Are you trolling? If you really want it I can give you a ban.

Nobody has objected to you having an opinion, rather to the ways you present your opinions in the context of everything else.

I would suggest that you take a step back and stop attacking people who are way more experienced than you not simply in shaving with and honing straight razors but in being successful with helping hundreds and sometimes thousands of beginners.

If you want to share your experience and help others please do, but putting down your betters does not transfer any credibility on you, just the opposite.

Dude, what you have done is not so remarkable, un-conventional, or offending.

It does seem by all your post that you are intentionally attempting to be controversial, in the name of asking for help.
Many are here to offer help to those that need it.

Unfortunately we have seen those that come to the site… just to be subversive… and you do fit the profile.

Hopefully you are not one of …those people… and your shaves continue to improve.

Which, you will find they will, with experience. You will also come to find, how little you know now and what you are experiencing now, is really not, that great a shave.

Good luck.