Full beard/chinstrap touchups... Is this possible?

Sup fellas? I'm a noob with the straight razor experience. I always was curious about shaving with a straight razor every since I was able to shave with a regular Mach 3 razor. I've been scanning stickies and forums about stropping, honing, razors and soaps, ect. So I'm very confident in how I'm about to setup my first experience. Here's the catch.... It's fall here in Georgia, so I usually let my beard grow to chinstrap to start out, then I progress to a full beard as it gets colder. I usually do full shaves during the spring and summer. Enough of the long-windedness! ....my question is am I able to do a bad ass tape job like they do at the barbershop or is this going to become too difficult to do because of the angles? I have attached an example of what I am trying to achieve. These are both from barber shops and I've only seen ppl on youtube do full shaves in the mirror. I've never seen anyone do a real deal touch up like this.... I don't know if there are any folks like me on this forum. But I'm black. If there are other black guys on here trying to use a straight razor let me know! I think I'm the only one that wants to go ols school. Clippers don't get close enough and I'll NEVER use Magic Shave to melt my hair away!

check it out!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lociV0gQHJ0&feature=related

This is also another one! Pls HELP! I want to be a self Straight Razor taping vet!
YouTube - Ms. Tadasha Cutts

I think it will be possible for you to get good lines, but it will mean a lot of practice. If you have a barber that you use pretty faithfully to line you out, get some pointers from him! I see the big hurdle (after learning how to shave properly, make lather, strop etc) being the viewing angles you will need to get dead on line. It might mean multiple mirrors and it will mean lots of practice. As far as the basic stuff goes, I too am in Atlanta and I am always willing to help. Send me a PM if you need live demos of lathermaking, stropping or anything else.

Hope this helps and Good Luck!

-Rob

I think it would be easier to perform precision facial hair...sculpting?...with a straight than a disposable since you can actually see the edge of the blade and where it intersects with your face and you have much more control.

At least it is for me. :shrug:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by joke1176

I think it would be easier to perform precision facial hair...sculpting?...with a straight than a disposable since you can actually see the edge of the blade and where it intersects with your face and you have much more control.

At least it is for me. :shrug:

---

+1

i usually have some sort of facial hair (i look like a child when i'm cleanshaven) and so i have found the straight to be a far better tool for doing odd beardwork than the disposable.

it'll help if you use a short, skinny razor. i have a little 3/8 spike i use for doing intricate beardwork.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jockeys

+1

i usually have some sort of facial hair (i look like a child when i'm cleanshaven) and so i have found the straight to be a far better tool for doing odd beardwork than the disposable.

it'll help if you use a short, skinny razor. i have a little 3/8 spike i use for doing intricate beardwork.

---

Where did you get this 3/8 spike? I think I bought the wrong razor! ...check out my new ebay purchase....
Handsome Germany Straight Razor-Ivory?? Minty! - eBay (item 120298106734 end time Aug-31-08 14:29:27 PDT)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rawbreed2000

Where did you get this 3/8 spike? I think I bought the wrong razor! ...check out my new ebay purchase....
Handsome Germany Straight Razor-Ivory?? Minty! - eBay (item 120298106734 end time Aug-31-08 14:29:27 PDT)

---

er, it started off life as a 4/8 spike that had a rather bad frown... so I taped the spine and got a little over-enthusiastic with a dmt325 grit... :p

I don't see this as being a problem. You are just maintaining an outline that your barber has established for you. Even if you establish the lines yourself, it does not seem like much of a problem. Maybe I am not seeing a complexity here...

It IS very easy to shape your chinstrap with a straight razor. I use a hair shaper to shape mine while shaving the rest of my face with a Merkur Futur DE before I started to go with a full straight razor shave. Trust me....It's a lot easier than you think :)


Andrew

Oh, and BTW, I have always shaped my own myself. No professional barber needed :)


Andrew

Looks like it is universally thought to be pretty easy once you get the hang of the straight. I have no problem keeping my goatee straight, but I haven't ever had to straighten anything on the side of my face. As I said, it sounds like some more experienced folks are chiming in!

Anyone have any idea about that blade? :shrug:

Good luck!

-Rob

I started straight shaving a few months ago and just recently regrew my beard. I've lately been trying to keep it thinner. It takes some learning! Sometimes your blade will block your view and you'll have to figure out new grips, but I've found the hardest part is dealing with the skin stretching. Quite simply put, you'll have to frequently stop and let go in order to see how far you are really trimming the beard. Since you're following a line established by your barber though, it shouldn't be too hard.

you are all going to laugh, but here is an instructive story from my youth.

nowadays, i've been growing peculiar beards for nearly half my life, so i've gotten the hang of getting them mostly straight without a lot of fuss. i find it a lot easier with a straight than a disposable since the razor has a hard edge instead of a blurry zone of blades, if that makes sense. i can see right where the cutting is going on. also, i am pretty familiar with my own face and can feel what's going on. HOWEVER, when i was a lad getting started, i would sometimes do the following:

for a very complicated (or thin lined) beard, i would first grow my whiskers (all of them) about a week. this gave me enough beard so that when i shaved the line would be very well defined. i then got a green (black is hard to see amongst dark hair) magic marker and drew the lines i wanted to have. sometimes i had to wash my face a few times until i got the lines where i wanted them. i frequently used a ruled to keep 'em straight. then it was a simple matter to shave around the lines i had drawn!

laugh all you want, it works rather well

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jockeys

you are all going to laugh, but here is an instructive story from my youth.

nowadays, i've been growing peculiar beards for nearly half my life, so i've gotten the hang of getting them mostly straight without a lot of fuss. i find it a lot easier with a straight than a disposable since the razor has a hard edge instead of a blurry zone of blades, if that makes sense. i can see right where the cutting is going on. also, i am pretty familiar with my own face and can feel what's going on. HOWEVER, when i was a lad getting started, i would sometimes do the following:

for a very complicated (or thin lined) beard, i would first grow my whiskers (all of them) about a week. this gave me enough beard so that when i shaved the line would be very well defined. i then got a green (black is hard to see amongst dark hair) magic marker and drew the lines i wanted to have. sometimes i had to wash my face a few times until i got the lines where i wanted them. i frequently used a ruled to keep 'em straight. then it was a simple matter to shave around the lines i had drawn!

laugh all you want, it works rather well

---

LOL!!! That's hilarious! Actually drawing on your face to shave hair off? I remembered drawing on my face to appear like more hair! lol! ...I think that maybe a bit much. I have an Andis T-Edger and a T-Outliner, so I dont have a problem establishing some lines. I really feel that the straight razor will give the crispest lineup possible. I used to get lined up with a straight edge when I was a kid, but few barbers such as the ones I showed are doing this lost art. Plus I know it would be badass if I could do it myself! Heck I may get so good at it that I could lineup other ppl.