Thread: 2 shaves down ... a newb opens up! ":-Dx

Well as you know good guy Utopian sent me several SR's to see what I liked about it all before investing. Is that not a great gesture for sure? I started yesterday and within 5 minutes I had a deep one, a bleeder ... on my right index finger. lol But as he said later and I realized this was a blessing in that it gave me respect right off what is being dealt with. Here are some thought's I've had rather than just disappear for a few weeks I thought if one or two are interested to follow I'll hang in there and post something every 2 or 3 days if that's okay? I know these thoughts below are from a newb, maybe you had them. Maybe mine will change over time and experience.

1) How the h*LL did fathers of the last 2 centuries teach their young boys to shave with these things? Boy's playing with a razor like this? The fathers must have had the fear of the razor on their sons like modern parents letting their kids go solo in the family car for the first time.

2) I can see why there were a lot more mustaches and beards in ye olde days. Less face to shave. Smart potatoes!

3) I can't see how I could do this for every shave. Often haven't the time. Oh I know you can schedule things differently but sometimes you just can't help needing a very quick shave. Therefore I don't know if I can say I'll never have the old "bag 'O razors" close by for those "quickies".

4) Another thing that is bothering only to me is the contortions with the neck. I have damage to my left shoulder and it often makes my neck tighten I suppose from pain. I guess involuntarily because I do not notice it much until I have to shave even before this and when I lay down. Then I feel the tightness. Which I don't pay a whole lot of mind to anymore but it's there constantly. But holding my neck up so high to stretch for long periods is a bit tiresome, it hurts in other words. I know you all know pain too.

4) I don't know why but even with bag o razor and now with the SR I find that the less cream I have on the better it shaves. I don't know why. Does the soap slick the razor right on by? A puzzle to me.
6) Did anyone notice I put #4 twice!


jack ":-Dx thanks for all the suggestions, funny stuff and advice!

You,lol answer all your own questions with time ,, and as for the fathers teaching their sons , I didn't have that much of a problem it's just shaving, and the straight is a safe tool when used properly, . As for enough time to shave with one , that comes to, I shave every day and I can go from start to finish as quick as I could shaving before.
As for contortions that hurt , I have found I just learned where and when to stretch my skin with my fingers has taken the place of most of the contortions and gymnastics.

Good luck in a year or two you will have it figured out. Tc

First of all, a person in the prime era of the SR didn't have to shave until the age of 14 or 15, by which time they had been working for a while, and learned lots of dangerous things. Second, what TC said is true. Over time it gets easier. I'm at 2 1/2 years and still discovering new tricks. To fill in, there's "ye olde" DE to use. Approaching it as fun and a learning experience is the way to go!

It gets better, easier, and quicker with time.

1. My grandfather tried to teach me to use a straight when I was 13. (Why didn't I listen to my elders instead of waiting 30 years to realize they were right???) I was already use to knives and wood chisels, so I had no real fear of killing myself.

2. I have thought that about mustaches of old as well.

3. Ultimately it's your time and how you spend it is up to you. When you have time, shave with a straight, when you don't have time use another method - like a DE.

4. During my first few shaves I was really tense. I noticed after the shave that my fingers were stiff, legs were sore, and neck ached. I was just tensing up too much. After a few shaves I got more comfortable and relaxed and no more stiffness or ache. Then I got way to comfortable and slashed my finger open...

5. Or is it 4b? The amount of soap you use is a YMMV thing. Sometimes I slather it on thick, sometimes I put it on thin.

6. Yes I noticed.

1. First, remember that a lot of families tended to be larger, as not all of the kids made it to adulthood, so the occasional errant stroke of a razor was no less risky than smallpox or being trampled by a team of horses.
Regarding fear, well sure that's just common sense. I was never so aware of the pumping of blood in my neck as I was the first time I shaved with a straight razor. Now I don't give it a thought. Do you remember how scary it was when you first tried to ride a bike. It's the same thing. Fear is a good thing to help you survive till you figure it out. The fear will fade but that cut in your finger will remind you to continue to respect the blade.

2. A mustache and goatee would allow you to put off shaving the harder parts of your face until you get in more practice. The cheeks and the neck tend to be a lot easier so they are good regions to develop familiarity with straight shaving. Eventually you can venture on to the more challenging areas. Put it this way, this is an opportunity to try some sort of style change. Friends will think you are making a bold new choice. You don't have to tell them that you are afraid of cutting off your nose!

2. When you don't have time, don't even consider picking up a straight razor. Until this is second nature, the last thing you want to do is be rushed. If you are in fact in a hurry, think about how long it took for your finger to stop bleeding, and imagine that on your face. THAT should slow you down. ONLY use a straight when time is not a factor at all.

I can do a full shave in less than five minutes. The only time I ever touch a safety razor is when I am rushed and I have already cleaned off my razor and then find that I have missed a small spot--most commonly for me at the corner of my lip. Only then will I touch it up with a safety razor, which has had the same blade in it for at least 5 years. I really don't need to use it more than once every few months.

If you persist, you will find that your shave will get much faster, but that will only come with practice and patience.

2. If shaving your neck for extended periods is a problem, maybe it would be better to break it into smaller sections. The shaving, not your neck. That is, start with your neck until the pain gets to be too much, and then switch to doing your cheek with your chin down. When the pain subsides, go back to your neck again, and so forth. Only you can decide if this method is worth the bother and the pain.

2. Without knowing what cream you are using, I cannot guess as to what the issue is with your less is more strategy but you could always try an alternative soap or cream. Do you have a lathering brush? Are you satisfied with your lather?

2. Nope, I had no idea you put #4 twice--no idea at all.

Just hang in there and do be patient.

Oh and watch a few stropping videos.

And maybe wear shoes when handling the razors.

Don't shave naked, unless you'd like to come out of retirement as a soprano.

And again, be patient.

Not gonna us REPLY WITH QUOTE on that one! lol All very good stuff and suggestions indeed. I can tell you this. The very thing that for so long I told myself I was gonna try SR has already proven true. Right at the bottom of my neck under the chin I could never no how no way no matter what get some hairs off there with a "bag 'O razor" ... used to drive me nuts being the "anal retentive" type I used to say, "I bet a straight razor would work there." And ... it does!! I like that. So all very positive stuff from you all. "Ladies and gentlemen, my mother thanks you, my father thanks you, my sister thanks you, and I thank you!" - George M. Cohan lol ":-Dx