Thread: First Shave - Success!!!!

Fellow Straight Razor Enthusiasts,

I received my first straight razor yesterday from JoshEarl, and as luck would have it I received my strop the day before. I told myself I was going to wait until the weekend. But, well, that didn't work.

I was overdue for a shave this evening and figured I'd give a small area on one or both cheeks a try and do the rest with my DE. I've seen many folks recommend starting small and working one's way up. Well, before I knew it I'd shaved my whole face and neck.

I started on my cheeks. There was a bit of drag. Looking back I think my angle was a bit too shallow. Also I had about three days worth of growth and could have done a better job of prep. Except for my hand getting in the way so that I had trouble seeing exactly what I was doing in the mirror it went well. I've always been a member of the mirror impaired. It went so well, except for the minor drag, that I decided to try going a little further. Eventually I ended up shaving my whole face and neck. I had a couple of very minor nicks on my lower neck but came out unmarred otherwise. I decided to stop after the first pass. If I feel my face it not exceptionally close, but looks fine. I did end up touching up one small strip under my jawline where a little stubble was still visible with my DE. Because of the dragging, most likely due to my angle, there was a little minor irritation but after a little after shave and ten minutes or so it's hardly noticeable. All in all I'd classify my first attempt at straight shaving as a success.


Kevin

Congratulations, Kevin! THat really is a great first experience - an inspiration to the rest of us newbies. I just hope my first straight shave goes as well!

Congrats again, and keep us posted how your shaves progress.

Mark

Congratulations Kevin!!

I'm looking forward to receiving my first str8 and hope my first shave is as successful as yours!

All the best!
Tim

Congrats!

I had nearly the same experience when I first used a straight...then I got overconfident and the next time was a near bloodbath hopefully you will be less rash than me and continue to take it nice and easy!

I have only been using it for a few weeks now and every time it feels better and better. My stropping has improved the shave quite a bit and I've now learned all the right places to tug at my skin and am pretty close to BBS with two passes. So maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Great job - congrats and welcome to you and all the new guys that seem to have popped up on this thread to share in the encouragement. Nice to see the enthusiasm! Take it easy and it will continue to get better and better.

Congrats! Keep going and before you know it, you'll hardly even think about it. You'll be more worried about buying more razors and the next soap/cream to buy!