so apparently I suck at the straight, lol

So I got a bitching razor from ShavingShop.com shave ready 6/8 friodur. Horray! I also got custom paduak scales from C Utz and paduak box from ChrisGiraffe. :D

But apprantly I suck at it. It was only my first time but I cut my thumb, cheek, and ear. lol I also managed to no cut the hair on my face. haha I dunno...I guess it was the angle? I tried a number of passes and it sounded like it was cutting? I even took time out to watch some vids on youtube to double check. haha and now my wife is nervouse about it since I cut myself. Also feeling lime some slight razor burn in spots along with with a fair amount of bumps on my neck....so I look like a bum. LOL :D

I want to try some more but I havn't gotten / can't afford my strop yet. O.o

-Damian

Just think of it this way, when you do so bad at first the degree of improvement with each shave will be that much greater.

Use a smooth belt for a strop! Better yet PM me your address and I will send you a strop, provided money is the issue! After you strop the blade properly work on your technique and expect at least two weeks before shaves get easier and things begin to fall into place!

very nice Mark!

Damian, don't worry - you've still got your other 9 fingers plus a hair growing head :)
Light touch is the key, but also you've got to strop.

Hopefully you weren't trying to rush things. Take your time and focus on your technique and not the closeness of your shave the first couple of times. Once your technique is correct the hairs will melt off your face like butter. I think too many times people want the closeness and don't take the time to get proper angle and prep down. You will get it.

I suggest you wait awhile before you attempt shaving commando.
:roflmao :roflmao :roflmao

The proper angle of the blade is to have the spine 30 degrees away from the face, this is about 2 spine widths.

You really do need to strop just before each shave, not the nite before, for about 50 roundtrip laps.

Use light pressure, think in terms of beard reduction with each pass, not beard elimination, that leads to using to much pressure.


Hope this helps,:)

Hey dg.omen, update us please. We want to make sure that you haven't accidentally decapitated or eviscerated yourself!;) Don't want your death on our conscience you know!:rolleyes::D

Don't give up too quick. After some practice you can make it look as easy as this fella' does. Notice how even he backs up the razor when it starts to "hang" on his left cheek.

ok, so the second shave went alot better. I actually removed hair of my face, lol. it was pretty smooth on my cheecks but my neck was like an ok cartridge shave. I cut myself on the jawline, but the blade is so sharp the cuts don't bother me, they numb up instantly. haha

so it is getting better :D

Another possible option for a strop can be newspaper. Fold it so you have a flat strip and place on a flat surface- good strop that's cheap. Many also report using it when traveling.

Someone else posted before GC08 (great crash of 2008) about wrapping the ends of the paper in popsicle sticks to allow it to be used as a home-made hanging strop.

When you are ready to move to a "traditional" strop, Tony Miller's are very highly regarded. Wish I had started with one myself!

http://shop.thewellshavedgentleman.com/main.sc

Good luck!

v/r

Allen

I have little qualification to offer advice, but in my prior experience with using a straight blade you need a few key things. A good slippery soap so the blade glides, a steady hand and alert eyes (no shaving while you can hardly focus on the mirror in the early morning), a light touch and a sharp blade.

If it feels like you cutting whiskers, than your blade is not sharp enough or your angle is wrong. It should simply glide across your face with almost no resistance. Don’t stutter shave, those little jerky movements will get you. Start with small deliberate strokes, maybe only a couple inches at one time in the beginning. Then as you become more comfortable move to full length, fluid strokes. I usually cover the same spot twice, once to cut it down and a second stroke for final crop, and don’t rush.

ok its going much much better now. it went very smoothly and I got a satisfactory shave for the most part. about equal to a normal cartridge shave. no razor bumps at all :D and went alo quicker. I am only doing two north to south passes to get my face used to it, with some touch up across the grain on my lip and chin. my lip and chin are hard but doable. :)

I think the amount of concentration that this takes, is relaxing. like meditation but..shaving? so I really like that aspect. I am still debating if it is for me since I am a stay at home dad during the day and have studies at night....lol my son (2yrs) scared me and I damn near slit my adams apple...since that's what I was shaving at the moment lol.

-Damian