Thread: first shave with the pakistan razor

eek ,,scary ,, i dont think it was a shave ready blade and i only did the sides just to see what it is like , was ok on the sides of my face but felt like it was ripping them out as i tried around my chin , ,, so will wait till the wapi gets here before i try anymore .
i thought it might be better for me to use my electric razor for the first pass ,, then just a once over with the wapi till i get more used to it ,, what do you think

From what I hear about pakistani razors, they're only good for paper weights. They're certainly not quality shavers! I'd recommend that you forget ever having tried that razor and look forward to the wapi instead. Where did you buy it from? Did you order it shave-ready?

aardys,
Sorry your first experience with a straight wasn't more positive. Don't be too discouraged, it will get better. The general consensus is that there is no such thing as a shave ready Pakistani razor. The steel used simply won't take and hold a sufficiently sharp edge. Your Wapi is a different story altogether, but you will need to make sure that it is properly honed first. You can buy them pre-honed from some of the guys here on the forum or you can send it out to one of the Honemeisters after you get it. A quick search will uncover a bunch of threads on this topic as it is a very common one.

Once you are ready to start shaving (after absorbing the videos available here on SRP as well as YouTube) limit yourself to the sides of your face, at least until you feel confident in your use of the straight. The goatee area is the most frustrating for almost everyone, so you should skip it initially and shave it with whatever means you are using now. No need to preshave before using your new straight. If it's shave ready it will handle a little growth with no problem.

Good luck, and let us know how you are doing.

yes the wapi is coming shave ready the guy that i got it from , hones them before they are shipped out , he also does a honing and repair etc i think ,, he emailed me to say it would be ready as soon as i get it ,, but will need to strop it each time i use it from then on though
,, looking forward to that one .

Sounds like you're good to go, then. Happy shaves!

Sorry, aardys! Like I said in the other thread, you will be very pleased with your Wapi.

BTW, I think on of the guys on here (cannonfodder maybe?) is turning his pakistani razor into a cigar cutter Good idea...

Chris

Originally Posted by aardys

i thought it might be better for me to use my electric razor for the first pass ,, then just a once over with the wapi till i get more used to it ,, what do you think

The electric being what you are used to using, I would finish up the hard to get spots or any missed ones. Do your first pass with the Straight. Many guys find that a couple of days growth shaves better than one days worth with their new straights. It seems like a little longer hair is easier for the blade to get under and cut off, or for the lather to get to stand up or something.

That's the same experienc I had - felt like a row of little hands grabbing hold of the bristles and tugging them out! It got better with proper sharpening, but wouldn't hold an edge for a full shave. A powerful loupe showed some micro-pitting in the newly exposed metal too, indicating problems with the steel-making process. It was handy to practise sharpening on though!

Neil.

Oh - the strop that came with it was pretty useless too - full of surface imperfections like wrinkles.