Thread: How painful should it be ?

You should feel no pain. It has been about a month and a half and I am getting good shaves. The test is Bay Rum splash. If it doesn't burn, you are good to go. The DVD is invaluable.

1. When starting out only do one pass. Not the greatest shave, live with it. Get use to the touch and feel for a week or so. I started with a 7/8 and it is harder to maneuver but smoother and easier to get it going,as it were
2. A dull razor is your enemy. You will develop bad habits. You can still shave with a dull razor but when you finally do get a sharp razor you will make your face raw because you will be using to much pressure. Besides a dull razor will shave you but it will leave a lot behind.
3. The angle is very important. The flatter the blade is against your face and still shave the easier it is on you face.
4. Shaving with a sharp razor is easy and it will glide over your face and takes a fairly light touch.

I am new at this also but I have made every mistake in the book and there are some of the top on my list of mistakes.


Well guys where did I go wrong? I know these because they were the mistakes that I made and was to shy to ask about.

Take Care,
Richard

Don't try to take on the entire face until you master the razor. Just start from the sideburn down to the jaw on one said and shave that for a couple of days. Then move over to the cheek. Do the one side of the face then for a couple of days and move on the the other side, neck and chin in progression. As you go, you'll get more comfortable with the razor and the angles until you build up the the entire face. After you have this down, then you can try working cross grain.

Keep us posted,

Lynn

It took my skin a while to get used to a straight razor. I suffered some irritation on my neck when I first started but now have no problems. Also, try a preshave oil or lotion. I find a preshave oil to give me just the right amount of lubrication to allow for a smooth glide of the blade across the skin. Some would say a preshave is not necessary but it works well for me.

Kyle

Everything everyone else said, but also don't shave over the same areas a lot. You can overshave and severely irritate your skin.

Welcome to SRP!

Al, I'm pretty new to this too, my first shave pulled a lot and it was partly my technique and partly a non-shave ready blade. I've sent off the blade, and another new one for Lynn to hone, and I practiced on a Dovo Bismarck that I kept with me on my Belgian yellow stone and Heirloom strop. I must either have been luck, or done a good job with my Bismarck because the shave's have been doing with it over the past three days have all been nice, with minimal pull, and I'm feeling a rapid (steep learning curve) increase in confidence and quality of my passes. I have a very thick and strong beard so I know my hair is a challenge, but I'm patient and I know it's going to be close to a year before I'm "really good" at doing this.

Originally Posted by trewornan

I'm in the habit of lathering before stropping.

+1 on the lathering first. It was probably the single biggest difference next to learning to stretch the skin properly that made the difference in my shave.

Originally Posted by Brad

+1 on the lathering first. It was probably the single biggest difference next to learning to stretch the skin properly that made the difference in my shave.

another one for lathering first, then strop and relather, this really made the difference for me