Thread: First straight razor shave

Just wanted to give a report of my first straight razor shave!

A while ago I got my Wapienica razors honed by LX_Emergency here on the forum (I wanted to start out with a properly honed blade). It took a while for me to get around to it, but yesterday I had my first shave.

After my shower, I lathered up some Proraso (one of my favorites after some months of wet shaving with a DE Saftey Razor) and started out. First pass (WTG) went perfect without any problems at all. I did a second pass, XTG and had a hard time getting the blade angle correct at a few places. No cuts or major issues though.

Then I got to the third pass - against the grain. Firstly it wasn't a problem, but after a while I noticed that the blade was getting a bit dull and tugging. I stropped a bit (10x) and the sharpness was improved, so I could continue. Did all of the left side of my face, perfect, not a single nick or cut. The chin was also perfect. However, at the right side of my face, I had problems maintaining the correct blade angle, and at the same time the blade was getting a bit dull again. I managed to finish shaving and got a few very small spots of blood at the right side of my face, along the jawline. Had I done some more stropping, I could probably have managed the whole shave without a single nick.

So, what is my impression of straight razor shaving? With a sharp enough blade, it was very enjoyable. I was never afraid of the razor, which probably helps. I think I will continue to shave with the straight every now and then when I have the time, but it's a bit too much time consuming to be a part of my daily routine. Maybe in the future if I pick up some speed

Congrats! And you will.

Good Job and Welcome! Keep us posted on the progress. I have found my results are better with some thorough stropping, too.

A solid first step, tks. And yes, the more you use a straight razor the faster your shaves will get, but that is not the goal. The goal is to enjoy that shave and sometimes taking more time is a better thing.

X

Congrats on your first straight razor shave. It sure sounds like it went quite well. Just keep at it and you will get faster as you learn your way around your face with a straight.

Congrats you will pick up speed and you will also notice a distinct difference at the end of the day as a str8 shave will keep you smooth thru the night

Congrats from me too! Sounds like it went much better than many members' first go (mine included )

You can pick up speed for sure - if this is what you want. Just don't force it and stay focused, to avoid problems.

Also a little piece of advice: it's great that you are not afraid of the razor, really, but keep a healthy dose of respect or you might be humbled in a bad way.

Cheers
Ivo