first straight shave-well almost

last night i gave it a go. i did most of my face wtg one pass only. i finished with a second pass with my de. first impressions are that it is way different then my de. i had to use more pressure and there was quite a bit of feedback that i am not use to. no blood loss, no irritation and pretty good reduction.:hmmm: my new square point royal (thank you josh) seemed to work pretty well.
-is it okay to start slow (single pass) or am i being a whimp?
-is the extra pressure and feeback normal? i am use to a silent slick shave with a de.


i am really looking foward to my next shave tonight! i actually was longing to shave again two hours later. such a shame that we can only shave once a day.

i am using my belt to strop right now until my starter strop from tony comes. i picked up a cheap barber hone set from tilly. i have an otto deutsch hans coming soon that looks to be in great shape only needing a light hone job. i have a couple wapienicas coming too.

is this a good start? any other tips/recommendations?

thank you all for the great info on this site-cheers,
ryan

What? You didn't start out with a perfect shave, BBS and everything??? Quit now before you get addicted, LOL! J.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inawe

-is it okay to start slow (single pass) or am i being a whimp?

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You're being a wimp, because everybody knows that true manly men shave with Gillette Fusions :-)

You're better off taking it easy the first few shaves. This isn't rocket science but it isn't terribly easy either, and you really need to develop your technique in a way that minimises the risk of razor burn or nicks. I'd wait for several shaves before going across the grain, and quite a few before going against the grain, and then maybe only your cheeks, then over the next week or so extend these other passes to the trickier parts of your face.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inawe

-is the extra pressure and feeback normal? i am use to a silent slick shave with a de.

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It's not unusual. Some really lightweight razors are very "talkative" during the shave. The same is true with DE's as well - my Merkur Vision razor is much louder and noisy than my Fatboy.

thanks guys. this is fun but i do think i will take it slow. these small steps might prevent major blood letting. i will work my way into it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mparker762

It's not unusual. Some really lightweight razors are very "talkative" during the shave. The same is true with DE's as well - my Merkur Vision razor is much louder and noisy than my Fatboy.

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my hefty new merkur 38c is so quiet. this 'talkative' razor is very different, i suppose since i know it is normal i will get use to it. i just had to ask.

cheers,
ryan

That 38c is whisper quiet isn't it? Quite a contrast from the noise some of my straights make.

J.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inawe

my hefty new merkur 38c is so quiet. this 'talkative' razor is very different, i suppose since i know it is normal i will get use to it. i just had to ask.

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If the noise bothers you, you can try a heavier grind like a TI Super Gnome or the Wapienica. These have only a little hollowing so the blade is very stiff and heavy and the shave is extremely quiet.

i do really like the 38c- think stealth

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mparker762

If the noise bothers you, you can try a heavier grind like a TI Super Gnome or the Wapienica. These have only a little hollowing so the blade is very stiff and heavy and the shave is extremely quiet.

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the 'talkative' blade doesnt bother me per se, now that i know that it is normal. i do have a few wapienicas coming so i will get a chance to try something else, that is if i can get the hang of honing.

anyone tried out a otto deutsch razor?

cheers,
ryan

Your first time sounds great, actually - no burn, no nicks - what more can you want

Great job, keep it up, and take it as slow or fast as you feel is reasonable

Cheers
Ivo

You *might* be jumping into honing a bit fast, try to at least get a piece of junk before you try the good razors (having said this, I got a piece of junk but did not have patience and jumped on my most expensive razor at the time. Results were good :) so no complaints... but I hear many people damaging nice blades

Quote:

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Originally Posted by izlat

... but I hear many people damaging nice blades

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of course, the Wapienica's cost less than most hones, so maybe he should be more worried about damaging nice hones? :roflmao

When i first started I concentrated on keeping it very slow and not much has really changed in 2 years. I find that a more extreme angle (<30%) works best for me, but at the same time that requires more time and attention. Working slow gives you time to appreciate and enjoy every stroke.

Great start, Ryan! As others have said, your pace is your own. Enjoy each discovery. They are what keep you from bad shaves so pay attention to them all.

X

thanks guys. i am having fun already. i do think that i will switch from morning shaves to night shaves to give me more time to work on it.
i received the otto deutsch yesterday. really nice looking razor (i will have to borrow a friends dig cam). blade is short-2.5". started to hone on the set from tilly. i will take this part slow also. after a half hour i was able to get the blade to pass the thumbnail test but put it down to work on it later.
this morning i shaved my cheeks with more confidence but didnt have time to go much furthur-finished with my de.

cheers,
ryan

Ryan,

I'm right there with you. Been using a straight for almost a week now. Usually one slow WTG pass all the way around. Then I finish with a couple more passes with my DE. For now, seems to be working for me. Like you, I am working up the skill to go XTG and eventually ATG.

:)

nice jeff!
glad that i am not alone doing the one very careful pass and follow up with de. i just hope that by the end of a month i will be able to have good results with a 2 pass shave. what razor/razors are you starting with? have you started to hone any project razors yet? i know that for me to really get into straight shaving i will have to be able to put a good edge on a blade. hopefully i get the hang of it prior to needing a touch up on my primary blade.

cheers,
ryan

jeff-
ohps! i have read your posts. sounds like you worked through the minor honing problems and had a good shave this morning! very nice.

cheers,
ryan

update!

i did a full 2 pass shave last night. very passible but i still finished up with my de. first pass was okay, i have a hard time starting the momentum going. i have to concentrate on confident smooth firm passes. second xtg pass was a complete pleasure-very smooth starts and very little sticking. i did manage to get a nice little scrap right under my nose though. do most people shave every day?

cheers,
ryan

Ryan,

No project razors at the moment. I want to get my technique down and really know what a sharp edge should be before I begin restoration efforts. The light "honing" that I've done has all been on paddles (1 micron and .5 micron paste). I've experimented a bit with those and my shaves have become progressively smoother.

Just purchased two barber hones to play around with as well. I'll probably purchase a norton and a coticule within the year as well.

My razors: 9/16 W&B Spanish Point, 11/16 Chris Johnson, 5/8 Dovo Special from eBay that Lynn has now, and coming from JoshEarl is a 6/8 American Barber spike point.

nice jeff. great little collection you have going. i am looking forward to trying out other razors. last night i finally put a passible edge on my ebay find and did a 2 pass shave and a bit of touch up. first time straight shaving without reaching for the de.:) not quite as close as my merkur 38c/derby but a whole lot better than the thing fusion thing.


cheers,
ryan

Ryan,

Learning is part of the fun; at least it is for me. Attempted a 3 pass shave the other day, with the 3rd pass an ATG all with a straight. Even though I gave myself a pretty good burn my face had never been smoother. I achieved a level of BBS that I had not experience with my DE; and I love my DEs.

:tu