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I've been shaving with a DE along with a proper lather for more than a year and I just decided to jump into the world of straight razors. I already have the fundamentals of good lather, beard mapping and reduction, and NO PRESSURE. I've been reading everything I can on the first shave and proper technique. Anything else I can/should do while I'm waiting for my stuff to arrive?
What are you waiting for:
Make of razor, new used?
Shave ready or factory edge?
Strop?
We need this info before anyone can give advice. But start slow. Maybe just the cheeks then progress to the chin and upper lip and finally the neck.
I would visualise myself successfully shaving! :)
Nah, there's not a lot you can do before your first shave besides research. Probably the best research is on getting a good razor (not a cheap rubbish one that wont hold an edge) that has been properly honed by a professional. If you get that far you've done well, and the rest is about learning technique which can only really happen through practice and use.
God luck, hope your gear arrives soon.
James.
Don't take this the wrong way, but make sure you have a styptic pencil at hand. Not that you should expect a nick, but it's always good to be prepared.
Do as much homework and watch as many video's s you can. Then enjoy the learning process!
Good luck!
Pete <:-}
Agree w/ pensacola tiger. You may also want some witchazel, and alum block, if you cant find alum block, go to local drug store and look in the deoderant isle for ( crystal deoderant) its the same thing. And maybe some glycerin.
Make sure you have no distractions and plenty of time. You do not want to rush the experience and if you are pressed for time or have other distractions you will not be able to focus on the razor. Remember to pay attention to the whole edge. While the middle may be smoothly removing hair the heel or toe can be digging into your skin.
Do you stretch your skin while shaving with a DE? You will need to stretch the skin to shave with a straight.
Take it slow at first and expect to finish with a DE for awhile. Also do some practice stropping with a butter knife or similar dull razor shaped object to help avoid strop damage
I've got a shave ready no-name vintage solingen blade from the classifieds here on the way.
Haha no worries! I'm a big proponent of being prepared, so I'll probably do that. I also already have witch hazel and glycerin on hand, so I should be alright in that department.Quote:
Originally Posted by PensacolaTiger
Thanks for the help and all the suggestions guys!
If i could ad watch also video about stropping, the shave is really important so as proper stropping. I'm still a newbie in straight shaving but improper stropping will ruin your edge and you will get problems whit your shave. A lots of veteran shaver gave me that advices start whit a butter knive and when you get the tech done you'll be able to keep a good edge. Gino
Its mostly about taking your time and learning as you go watch plenty of vids Lynns is line of the best I've seen for first shaves take your time and enjoy
If it's a quality razor, chances are, you can go straight for it. Strop it after your finished and lave the razor cracked open from the scales til it dries. Oil and store.
Good luck
I have found Lynn's videos and they are super informative, I'll have to re watch them in the coming days. As for oiling the blade, is this a necessary step if the razor is going to be used regularly? And if so, is mineral oil applied with some toilet paper or cotton ball ok to use?
if used daily and dried well after each use , shouldn't need anything ,, I only oil the ones I don't use regularly . as for applying. I just get a drop or 2 on my finger and rub it on then ad drop in the pivot
As already mentioned read everything in the library, twice! Everything you ever need to know in there. Good stropping is paramount to maintaining a good edge so using a butter knife to practice is sound advice. The stropping video by AFDavis in the library is an excellent video to see proper technique.
Good luck.
Use both hands right at the start. Easer than having to relearn. Stretch your skin while shaving was a big key for me. Take your time slow and easy wins the race.
All the basics have been covered but as well as practicing stropping with a butter knife you can also practice shaving and passes just to get a feel for it. For the crystal deodorant stick you only want one that os 100% potassium alum.Quote:
Originally Posted by outback
The emphasis on stropping in the replies tells you something... Learning to properly strop is as important as learning to properly shave.
That's the one thing you can actually practice before the razor arrives so give it a go as mentioned. When you strop your new razor, take your time. Strop light and pay attention to allowing the edge to glide on the strop perfectly flat.
Lots of newbies, myself included, rolled their edges on their first razors which only costs money (for rehoning) and interrupts the learning process.
Great advice here. I'll throw out a couple more random points that I noticed when I made the transition from DE to straights last winter.
For me, one of the hardest things was re-training my subconscious muscle actions while shaving. With a DE, you usually keep a fairly gentle grip on the razor, and let it glide over your face partly on its own. Of course, that's a recipe for disaster with a straight, and so while shaving you need to initially keep focused on maintaining a firm and precise grip on the blade. Practice keeping a firm finger on the tang, and using that to help control the angle of the blade as it moves down your face.
The other subconscious motion I needed to change was at the beginning of the shave stroke. I was used to just resting the DE on my face and then starting to pull ... and doing that with a straight can result in a very dramatic landing cut. (Trust me, I know!)
Finally, remember that it's a longer learning process than making the DE transition ... so don't get discouraged. It took me a few weeks to get to the point where I felt really confident with the straight, but now it's second nature to me, and I'll never go back.
One thing that I found helpful in figuring out the optimal angle of the blade to your face is to start on the cheek with the blade flat to your face and make short strokes; with each stroke slightly move the spine away from your face until you feel the blade cut your beard smoothly (with a hollow grind you can really hear it). Common advice is about two spine widths away from your face but I find it hard to see that. Light pressure is important.
Cuts and nicks are common (well they were for me), they always teach us something.
I also am a big believer in going all in. Take your time, lather sections of your face at a time so the soap doesn't dry out, and shave the entire face with the straight. Clean up with your DE. Good advice is to just do a couple of strokes and call it good; I could no more do that than take just one bite of pie.
Have fun!
Thanks for all the replies and support guys!
Montanan, those are some good points about retraining muscle memory from some DE habits, I'll definitely watch out for that.
When my strop shows up (should be Monday) I'll have to try practicing with a knife, to get a feel for the motion. I also doubt I'll be able to just do one cheek and call it a day, I'll probably take it as far as I feel comfortable the first time. Once I get started I'll post the results if my first shave here for tips as well as just a personal review exercise. I'm hoping it goes well!
My advice is to work on blade angle and moving around the difficult angles of the face especial right under the nose, angle of the jaw and chin slowly. Most importantly is not to get frustrated and try for the perfect BBS shaves for quite a while. They will come on their own if you just work on the basics and let the outcomes improve as you gain skill.
If you constantly try for BBS shaves out of the gate you will chop your face up and get frustrated quickly. If you have to have BBS do one pass NS then clean up with the DE. Add against the grain next after you can do NS without damaging yourself and add the 3rd against the grain pass after the first two go smoothly several times. Crawl, walk, then run.
Again don't get hung up on BBS right away. If you take your time in a few weeks you will just say wow that was smooth without even thinking about getting there.
I only offer this advice based on my own mistakes/scars. Ha.
Good luck and once you get comfortable with a straight razor you will wonder why you ever used a DE in the first place.
V/R,
Docmo
Oh, and start putting money away for when you develop straight razor acquisition disorder. I was going to start with one or two now I have over 100. Ha.
Hey there are worse things to spend your money on. At least that's what I tell my wife!
Docmo
I was that way. 1Razor 1stone for 30 yrs. Then while searching the web for a razor dealer, wich just happened to be Imperial shave in medina OH. My back yard practically. The owner pointed me to this forum, that was January of this year. Now its 20+ razors, 6or7 soaps, 3 brushes, 12 stones, restoring razors, for myself. Making scales, mainly teak for now, easily at hand as im a marine mechinc. Now im thinking BAD again. Oh well, not eaven gonna fight it. Just go for the ride and see where the journey takes me😎Quote:
Originally Posted by Docmo
As luck would have it, my razor showed up before the strop. So I guess I'll still have to wait another day or two for that. As for RAD, I can tell its gonna be tough, there are just too many beautiful razors out there!
Just had my first shave, and success! I started a new thread with the full details as I had a lot of thoughts afterwords. Thanks for all the info and suggestions guys!
If You don't mind gave us some détails what where You able to do?? That's Nice that You start. GinoQuote:
Originally Posted by Guitarguy118
I managed to do two full passes, one with the grain and one across. I finished up with my DE to get to my usual level of smooth. There are a couple hard to get spots, and around the mouth seems to be the toughest due to the coarseness of the hair there. Not a bad start, no nicks or cuts, and only some minor razor burn that has faded in the last few hours. I'm looking forward to continuing this adventure!Quote:
Originally Posted by Papabear11