No more cuts

Ok, so I am a little over a month in my straight razor journey and I havent cut myself during my last three shaves. This is great obviously. I am getting nice shaves with no irritation and no cuts now. Under my chin is very smooth after every shave.

I have been doing with the grain and across the grain for my daily shave. I have been doing against the grain on weekends just for practise but I fully intend to leave this for "Special occasions"

So, to cap it all off, I need to get the rest of my face to feel the same as under my chin after a shave.

Off to get more practise :)

OH FARTHER!!!!!!

lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielpalfrey

Ok, so I am a little over a month in my straight razor journey and I havent cut myself during my last three shaves. This is great obviously. I am getting nice shaves with no irritation and no cuts now. Under my chin is very smooth after every shave.

I have been doing with the grain and across the grain for my daily shave. I have been doing against the grain on weekends just for practise but I fully intend to leave this for "Special occasions"

So, to cap it all off, I need to get the rest of my face to feel the same as under my chin after a shave.

Off to get more practise :)

OH FARTHER!!!!!!

lol

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Hubris:
Pronunciation: /ˈhjuːbrɪs/
Definition of hubris in English:
noun

1 Excessive pride or self-confidence:

SYNONYMS
1.1 (In Greek tragedy) excessive pride towards or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

:rofl2:

Just kidding - that's a fantastic start, and long may it continue! Just remember these things have an amazing knack of getting our attention in a bad way when we get cocky. And yes, I've been there many times - defying the razor gods and paying the price. :)

Good idea to keep the against the grain stuff for times when you have an opportunity not to rush.

Ohaha. Still taking my time mate. Ten mins a pass is really taking my time. Every time I shave I walk away a little smoother than the time before

Well done Daniel, enjoy.

thanks. I like posting my progress up here and the steps I am taking to improve. Gives people a chance to advise me

There's something gratifying about using a straight razor and making it to the end unharmed knowing that the only reason you didn't cut your throat is because you are so damb manly lol

OK so I took a quick recording of my with the grain pass earlier. Ignore the cut it was bound to happen since I was recording it lol.

https://youtu.be/E2QJ95KXRPo

You are making good progress! Just remember to take it slow and respect the razor because it can turn on you in a hurry:)

Still trying to get that smooth as hell finish. Can get it in a few places so I just need to keep practising hehe. I did record against the grain to but it was so craggy handed I just deleted it lol

I had come home from work last night fully intending to eat then shave.... strange thing though, I fell asleep while eating.... woke up with a face full of mash.... needless to say I didnt shave despite the fact my pores were wide open after my hot mash adventure

Nothing like a smooth shave, it's truly a wonderful feeling!

Lol I wouldn't know. I haven't gotten that far yet

Managed to get a lovely cut last night... I think that shave was to close... I need to aim between my normal and this lol

Sounds like you are doing pretty well. Keep up the good work!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielpalfrey

I had come home from work last night fully intending to eat then shave.... strange thing though, I fell asleep while eating.... woke up with a face full of mash.... needless to say I didnt shave despite the fact my pores were wide open after my hot mash adventure

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This man has probably found the best pre-shave routine ever:dropjaw:
Just kidding -^^-

Good to see you're doing so well, as fellow beginner I know how hard the journey can be.

Still get the odd knick here and there but no more then a "normal shave" yesterday was a hiccup and got a lovely cut so that throws the title of this thread right out the window butility as I am comfortable with handling the weapon I MEAN SHAVE I am experimenting with angles to get a slightly closer shave, along with tension and what have you. The best advice I can give you as a beginner myself is to just make sure you are using a good shaving soap and none of this tinned crap. I have two bars on the go at the moment. One cost like 12 quid and the other 50p and personally they are as good as one another lol.

I did okay on my cheeks but the neck is where I am having the most trouble.

I do fairly well everywhere. The main issue I have is where the jaw meets the knack. Bit of an awkward curve to get to. Sometimes on cooler days the lip creases can be a pain too but not to often.

Though I get a bristle like finish when rubbed against the grain as opposed to a smooth finish

I am getting less and less cuts as I shave so I am seeing my technique improve. My last shave on Tuesday the 8th, I got all the way through the WTG and XTG passes with no cuts. On the ATG pass, I got about two small weepers that closed up immediately upon contact with a cold rag. One could not tell they occurred. I did get a very small "knife cut" where the razor goes longitudinally across the skin like cutting something with a knife. But I know what happened. Iwas not fully stretched and I felt the razor dig into the skin. Normally when I feel the tingle of an impending cut, I lift off and avoid anything more than a nick. However, my thumb slid slightly longitudinally on the underside of the shavette and caused the knife cut. It was very minor and did not require styptics. About 45 seconds or so and the cut stopped bleeding. And it was not very noticeable.

Now that brought up a problem with my shavette. The Magic shavette has a blade holder that slides longitudinally inside of the head. It is not locked in place. Like most SR users my thumb is on the underside of the tang and it rests on the stem of the blade holder. It has ridges like jimps on a SR. But if your thumb is resting on the tang the right way and the thumb slides, it will catch the ridges and slide the blade holder slightly. Ive seen the blade shifted slightly out of the head after lifting. So if it slides sideways while in the middle of a stroke, voila, a knife cut.

Oh well, that will not be a problem once I get a true straight. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielpalfrey

Though I get a bristle like finish when rubbed against the grain as opposed to a smooth finish

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Daniel that's what I am achieving now on my chin and under the nose with my shavette. I can get true BBS on my cheeks. I think that bristly feel could be attributed to the Derby blades I currently have not being a very shape blade compared to others. But...I've got some Astras and Feathers on order from Amazon (items added to reach the free shipping threshold) to hold me over until I get a true straight.

I stopped using my shavette in favour of a straight as the shavete is just to dangerous though the feather blades are amazing

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielpalfrey

I stopped using my shavette in favour of a straight as the shavete is just to dangerous though the feather blades are amazing

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To date, my worst cut with the shavette is less severe than many cuts from a cartridge razor. The only moderate cut I had was when the corner of the shavette blade, which was obscured by lather, caught the edge of a pimple. But had it been a cartridge razor, it would have sliced the pimple off like cutting off a slice of cheese.

Based on both our experiences with the shavette and your experience moving to a straight, I'll most likely get great results when I get a straight. :)

It is likely. Though bare in mind the technique between the two especially in terms of pressure is slightly different

just had myself a shave with the old shavette, didnt get a single cut but I did get a bbs smooth finish, would it be fair to submise that I have the technique but the straight razor is a little to blunt?

Also got some razor burn but not to bad

The art of shaving, shaving oil has helped me, no cuts, no razor burn.

Just had my smoothest shave yesterday. Turns out that against the grain is harder to achieve than first expected lol. Against the grain on my neck for example isn't upwards like I thought it is up and towards the chin. Got some irritation doing this though. Will try it a few times see if the irritation passes. Of not I will just stop going against the grain

Quote:

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Originally Posted by danielpalfrey

Just had my smoothest shave yesterday. Turns out that against the grain is harder to achieve than first expected lol. Against the grain on my neck for example isn't upwards like I thought it is up and towards the chin. Got some irritation doing this though. Will try it a few times see if the irritation passes. Of not I will just stop going against the grain

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ATG on the chin does take time to learn, but it can be done. For me, it's a matter of skin stretching. And my beard too is goofy. From the base of the right cheek, ATG is downward at a 45 degree angle towards the Adams Apple and on the left side, it is about 45 degrees upwards from the Adams Apple to the base of the left cheek. However, my beard is coarse and I never seemed to be able to get BBS on my chin areas. However, this past weekend marked by first time shaving with an Astra Superior Platinum and I got a notable amount closer than the Derbys. Also, I had no discernable razor burn. That said, I did do a quick finish with cartridges because I missed some areas.

You mentioned about the SR being duller in your experience compared to the shavette. I watched one of Lynn's videos where he shaved with a SR for the new shavers. One thing he mentioned was that the shavette can get by with a,steeper angle of attack, like as high as 45 degrees. Could that be something you may be doing?

I think I am not going to concern myself too much with BBS under the lips. Lynn only did one close pass and he is satisfied with it. So I will just worry about going to DFS in that area.

No the Sr never goes above 30 degrees. Though I do in places have it lower. I'm not so bothered about baby but smooth I just want a little better than I am getting at the moment