Fellow Straight Razor Enthusiasts,

I just made it through my fifth shave with a straight. It was going so well. I thought I was going to be able to brag about a nick free shave, then ... oops.

Fellow newbies - take it slow and steady. If one pushes the envelope one might ruin what could have been a shave to brag about.

For my first couple of shaves I stopped after the first WTG pass. For the second two I accomplished an XTG pass on my cheeks, but only a WTG pass on my neck. Today, I gave an upward pass on my neck, like Lynn demonstrates on his DVD, a try. That went off without a hitch. I should have stopped there. But, I decided to give an ATG pass on my cheeks a try. On my left cheek, all went well. Part way up my right cheek it felt like I started to gash myself at one point. I pulled the razor away and couldn't see any signs of a cut. I kept kept going, then ended up giving myself another minor nick a little further up my cheek. About that time, the first nick started to bleed a little. Both nicks are minor. It could have been alot worse. Still, I'm happy with my progress so far.