Thread: Patience

As a newbie myself, I keep reading all these threads about not getting perfect shaves the first time. I have gone through this also. However, for me, I realized there is a HUGE learning curve when starting out. My first shave was with my newly restored razor (Thanks again Bill) and felt pretty good. From there each shave got worse with razor burn on the jawline lasting most of the day. I changed angles, direction, applied more lather and anything else I could think of but the burn persisted.

I assumed like most of the new people that I had destroyed my edge while stropping. I was probably right. I started doing a few passes on the pasted sides to clean up the blade and continued shaving.

I took a few days off from shaving with a straight due to some travellng. This morning I shaved with my straight again. First thing that I noticed was my stropping. It had really improved over time but I hadn't noticed since I was doing it everyday. But today I noticed that it was smooth and the razor glided over the leather with no pressure just swish swish.

Then the shave, no burn no nicks. Still not the provervial BBS but alot better than it had been. My mustache and cheek areas were smoother with only two passes then the m3 I had used while travelling. Under the chin and neck area still need some work but it will get there.

Overall, I think the answer is patience. If you bought a good razor and had it professionally sharpened, the skill will come to give yourself a good shave overtime.

Well said. Too many people rush to the judgement that there is some problem with their razor, or stropping or honing (and there might be) but all too often people are just in too much of a hurry and they want it now.

These are words of wisdom. Thank-you macdiver.

X

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

all too often people are just in too much of a hurry and they want it now.

Isn't that more or less why Str8's died out in the first place?

I daresay it's one of the biggest ones. Remember, those old ads for the first disposable Gillette's claimed, "No More Stropping", not 'closer shave' or 'safer blade'.

X

If you look around at the world we live in today just about everything being marketed is about convenience and ease of use. Just go to your local grocer and look at peoples carts. Howmany people but things requiring real prep. Most have their carts full of frozen dinners and convenience foods.

Probably the disposable razor was one of the very first instances of this behavior.

I decided to revist this thread. From looking back in the posts I had my first str8 shave around 3/26. It has taken me till the last few weeks to consistently shave as close as my M3 used to shave. I can get this with a two pass shave and a little clean up under the chin. It takes me about 20 minutes to shave in the mornings. On the few occasions that I have done a true 3rd pass ATG, my shaves are approaching the proverbial BBS. So for any newbies like myself who are stuggling to get good shaves, hang in there. It will come and it is worth the effort.

Originally Posted by macdiver

I decided to revist this thread. From looking back in the posts I had my first str8 shave around 3/26. It has taken me till the last few weeks to consistently shave as close as my M3 used to shave. I can get this with a two pass shave and a little clean up under the chin. It takes me about 20 minutes to shave in the mornings. On the few occasions that I have done a true 3rd pass ATG, my shaves are approaching the proverbial BBS. So for any newbies like myself who are stuggling to get good shaves, hang in there. It will come and it is worth the effort.

I suppose it's only fitting that a thread about 'patience' lingers on with intermittent posts.

I couldn't agree more with the emphasis on patience. A companion thought is to not put too much emphasis on any one aspect of shaving as the key to success. There are soooo many variables in this endeavor. Yes, it's simple -- but simple <> easy. It's hard to get it all working right. But hard <> unpleasant. It's clear you have that perspective and I second it for anyone else wandering through this thread. It's really pretty cool to be rewarded for the effort with a great shave every day. "Great" may vary day to day, but there comes a plateau where every day you expect a good shave instead of wondering if you'll ever get this all figured out!

- Dale

With my fast paced job I find myself looking for the things I do out of work to be slow and soothing. Switching to a straight has really been fantastic. All the prep work is nothing new to me but that it's slow and methodical, a great way to instill patience and consentration.

At first it was tough slowing down on the shave, as the M3 allowed faster movements. When starting to hone, strop, and shave with a straight, Patience, is a must. For safty as well as a good shave, slow and methodical is the best way to start.

Just my 2 Cents worth but it is how I did it and it works for me.