Another first shave report

Well, I couldn't wait any longer for a real strop, so I stropped my first razor on some newspaper and tried my first straight shave today. There seems to be some mild debate on whether it is easier to go from DE shaving to straight shaving or to jump directly from the multi-bladed monstrosities to the cut-throat. For me, there is no question: my two years spend shaving with my DE was absolutely instrumental in producing a very good first shave with a straight. The knowledge I have gained in skin prep, stretching, and maintaining angles with a DE made my first experience with a straight seem like the most natural thing in the world. I simply lathered up, picked up my straight, and went to work, and about 15 mins later I had a shave that, while not quite as BBS as my DE, was certainly closer and more comfortable than I had any right to expect given my inexperience and the newspaper strop.

I did one pass with the grain, a second pass across the grain (which was new for me), and then because my face still had more stubble than I like, I did a pass directly against the grain, which presented the only difficulty. I had trouble maintaining the proper grip on the ATG pass, so I ended up opening the razor up 180 degrees like a Japanese razor and gripping it more like a pen for that pass.

I can tell that my edge needs work because it was pretty grabby...if this had been a DE I would know it was time to change the blade. I'm sure a lot of that was the newspaper strop...I will definitely be placing an order for Tony Miller's apprentice strop as soon as they become available. But overall, the most surprising thing about the entire shave was, as I said earlier, how utterly natural it felt. I can't believe it took me this long to try this. :cool:

Many thanks to everyone here, and to be fair, at B&B and SMF as well. I did a lot of research, read a lot of posts and guides, and watched a lot of videos before I started, and I'm sure a large part of the confidence I felt came from that.

(Sorry for the length...sometimes enthusiasm begets loquaciousness...) :rolleyes:

It sounds like your on the right path!:) It takes a bit of practice to get all things working together so be patient with yourself. 30-60 shaves would be a reasonable expectation.

Sounds like you kicked butt! If I may suggest when you go XTG do it in both directions E to W and W to E. You will get some really nice shaves without the ATG. ATG can be problematic without a really good sharp blade and getting the blade technique and control just right.


Take Care,
R

Nice work :) Lots more fun to come :tu

James.

Thanks for the kind words, all. Anyone who frequents B&B might notice a new post in the B/S/T forum with 6 DE razors for sale...I think that says it all about how I feel about straight shaving. :D

(Ok, I am keeping one DE to use when I send my straight out for honing...)

BTW, my favorite part of the straight shave, other than feeling like a complete badass :cool:, is how customizable it is. You can make the blade as mild or aggressive as you want with a slight change in angle or pressure.

It's also fun as hell...I'm thinking about investing in Rogaine for my face so I can shave more often.

Congratulation for the first SR shave!

For holding the razor for ATG try this:
Hold the razor normaly with your hand as for WTG shaving ( the edge facing down , the index and the middle finger on the shoulder of the tag, the thumb on the lower side of the tag and the fourth finger on the tail secured with the scales), now rotate the razor with your fingers until the edge faces up,( now you hold the tag with the thumb on one side and the index and middle on the other side and the fourth finger remain secured between tail and scales)

Hope this helps to understand, because my english are primitive.

I wish you best shavings.