Quote Originally Posted by metulburr View Post
How many passes are you doing?

I started with one. This cuts the hairs, but it is not baby face smooth. This, i go with the grain. I go with this when i am rushing. I bumped it to two passes to get agaisnt the grain. This pretty much gets it baby face smooth for me. However just a week ago, i started doing 3 passes because i found a patch above my jaw that kept getting bypassed along with a spot on my neck and chin that require special attention. It would mess up my rhythm. So i just do all the "odd" parts on the 3rd pass. I think after a couple months i am now aware of "how" to shave my face to get it all baby smooth.

At first i was particularly uncomfortable going against the grain. I cut myself almost each time. But i kept forcing myself to do it each time. It took me awhile to figure out how to do it properly. I still sometimes cut myself going against the grain, but now it only happens when i am trying to rush through it.
I shave with a zen like state (by which I mean I relax and focus intently) I use more than one pass and go sideways to the grain on my chin and use air in my cheeks etc... to compensate for hollows and my angular face as I am thin and don't have a nice rotund shaped face. I used to stretch my skin but found it no longer makes much difference. And by the time I am at a place where I can go against the grain e.g., after I have gotten what I can with the grain, my razors edge feels duller to where it pulls and I'm scared.

Sadly I don't know anyone personally that either does or used to shave with a straight razor other than myself as I am from an era where everyone started with a disposable and have seen via movies straight razors used as terrifying weapons by men and cartoons in zoot suits and thus our psychology has been conditioned to think only old men without any other choice or use is faked in movies such as James Bond (btw is not why I started using one it came up in results when I was searching about them)