Thread: Hello and First shave. Tips?

Hello everybody. Just thought I'd introduce myself and say howdy. I've been forum lurking for about a month now trying to absorb everything I could so I could start smart. And yesterday my first straight edge came in.

I decided I wanted to go with something new and pre-sharpened before I started on the vintage stuff, so I would have a base line, so I got Thiers Issard's Evant Sonnant Extra. Nice blade, cheap scales, which is fine by me. I'm really looking forward to trying my hand at making some custom scales.

In some places, best shave ever, even over my old DE. Specifically the mustach, cheeks, neck (my wife was so excited by my new hobby she wanted to play too, and has claimed sovrenity of every shave from the ears back. Yea, she's awesome). So, the easy stuff.

Overall a good shave, a few nicks, but not bad for a first try.

The throat, chin, and jawline are another story. Still a good deal closer shave than I ever got with a disposable or cartridge, but no matter how many times I went over my chin, it just never seemed to get that nice baby face feel. Admittadly I didn't go against the grain, which I HAD to do with my DE to get it that close. I tried once or twice, but it skipped. My neck also feels pretty torn up, which is honestly pretty common for me, though this was worse in that there were a few nicks this time. So I'm wondering if it is just going to be practice, or if there is another problem. Here's my routine:

Razor: Thiers Issard Evant Sonnant Extra from Classic Shaving (pre-sharpened)
26mm silvertip brush
Taylor of old bond shaving cream

1. long shower, washed and exfoliated face
2. Make a good lather, apply shaving cream for 2 minutes
3. strop razor while lather continues to sit
4. Shave!
5. Rinse with cold water
6. clean up with one of those little white chalky sticks that stings like a mother
7. should probably consider an aftershave. Hmm.

Anyone have any more good tips for a begginer? I'm hoping the hole neck being ripped up thing will subside with time.

One more question: does increasing the angle from 30 to a more agressive, say, 45 or 55 get a closer shave? Or am I just hurting my face.

Anyways, glad to meet you all. I appreciate all the advice and such you have put on this site for begginers, it has really helped.

Course, now I'm in trouble. Those restorationists in the wookshop have their hooks in me, and I've got two old razors waiting for cleaning, sharpening, and scaling. ::sigh:: this could get expensive.

Originally Posted by riplikash

Anyone have any more good tips for a begginer? I'm hoping the hole neck being ripped up thing will subside with time.

One more question: does increasing the angle from 30 to a more agressive, say, 45 or 55 get a closer shave? Or am I just hurting my face.

The best advice I can give you is to be patient . Learning to shave with a straight is a skill that will improve with experience . Keep your blade angle low . I shave with the blade at around 20-25 degree angle , after a while you'll be able to "feel" when the blade is at the proper angle . Shaving at an excessively steep angle will dull your edge faster , give you razor burn , and sooner or later will give you a nasty cut . When I first started shaving with a straight , I used a steep angle to compensate for my lack of experience . After giving myself two nasty cuts during one shave , I came to the conclusion that my blade angle was too steep . After that experience , I kept my angle on the low side , and as my technique got better , my shaves got closer

Suggest that you map the grain of your beard. When I first started shaving, I assumed that north to south was the right way to go for the first pass over the entire face. Through some of the posts here, I learned that I should have mapped my face grain. Shaving N/S on my neck was very near shaving XTG on the first pass leading to irritation. For my beard, I shave from the chin on a diagonal down and back toward the ear line. Below the adam's apple, my beard tends to grow S/N so I take that int account on the first pass.
As always, angle and light pressure are critical. You don't use anywhere near the pressure you might use with a cartridge. Try to make your touch as light as possible. It is a beard reduction game with an extremely sharp object. ;-)

Welcome to SRP and enjoy the straight razor shaving journey!