Thread: OMG!!! I have got to get better at this!

I am a few months in. My first 10 shaves were more like making a painting of my face with blood, scratches, and cuts. I always had a cut somewhere on my face, if not numerous ones. Once i got into a repetition of movement on my face, got use to the angles, paths, etc. I start doing pretty well. I now only cut my face if i am rushing, or trying a new technique.

Its normal. Keep shaving, improving your technique, improve stropping, etc. and soon you will not cut your face at all.

Welcome to the forum sgwalker! I've only been SR shaving for a few months but have always wet shaved. The straights take a little time to get used to but just enjoy the ride. It's important to relax. Don't stress about how good the shave is or you'll shred yourself. Concentrate on your technique, but importantly, relax and don't rush. Give yourself plenty of time for each shave. Your technique will improve and you'll gain confidence. You have everything to gain... Except money! Just wait for your RAD to kick in!

Although I had done some trials prior to my first shave to get the feel one thing I did not think through well was the potential for the leading square edge to cut me good. I had a nice momento on my face for about a week. My co-workers were really impressed with my new Razor!

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

My first shave went simliar to this but with a feather DX and 2 cuts

Outstanding!

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

Outstanding!

Here's part 2, this guy is brilliant.

For what it's worth, I have a fairly heavy (coarse) beard and have been shaving with a variety of tools for more than 50 years. I have never gone fully ATG with any of them. I do a variety of diagonal XTG and WTG and get almost every one of those pesky whiskers. No blood/no burn. I recommend that approach!

Originally Posted by RedGladiator

Here's part 2, this guy is brilliant.

The angles here are painful to watch. LOL

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

The angles here are painful to watch. LOL

Did this poor, clueless man (with an R41 - hmmm) really get this razor from a "friend" or is he acting? I give his video points for terrifying. Friends don't lend straight razors to clueless friends. Did he "toss" that razor at the end of vid#1?

Good luck sg - just go slow and follow the yellow brick road.

Being as heavy handed as I am the 'Best' advice I have received is to 'Shave the Lather'.

focus on your stropping technique. When you get good at that, it will make your shaving experience much more smoother and painless. really light strokes in the x motion do the trick. don't press hard to force that scratching sound that you hear in a lot of the youtube videos that teach you how to strop. that will damage your blade. that was my mistake. I didn't hear the same sound so I pressed harder and harder till I did. I ended up damaging my edge and needed it to be rehoned. I wouldn't have found out my stropping was that bad if i didn't chip my blade on the faucet. when I looked at the edge under the microscope, thats when I realized that my stropping was causing problems in other places of the edge.