Thread: First Straight Shave Today

Well I had my first straight shave today. Not BBS but better that I expected. The razor started pulling after the third pass. Should I strop between passes when the blade starts pulling? I did expereicne some irriatation as well. A few nicks but nothing aling the lines of Sweeney Todd.

I have been shaving with a DE for the past 6 months and I believe this helped understanding the grain of my beard.

I cant wait for the next shave!!

Satch

If you make more than three passes, you may have to strop in between. Maybe someone else has experienced the same thing?

Congratulations!

I don't think it's unusual to experience some irritation on your fist shave with a straight. As to whether to strop between passes, yeah absolutely - try it and see how it goes. Most of us don't, but it's your shave

I just had my first straight blade shave today as well. I ordered a Dovo Presharpened Classic White shaver off of classic shaving.com. It seemed to pull the hairs a bit, and I also have more irritation than when I use a dull quattro. Is this normal? For instance, it is about 5 hours since I shaved, and when I put some moisturizer on my face, I could still feel it tingling. How easy should the blade glide through the hairs on your face?

All in all the shave went well. I had a couple nicks, but nothing major. I can't wait till tomorrow morning.

Congrats on your shave!
Not unusual to have some irritation on your first.
Some folks with particularly harsh beards have reported the need to strop in the middle of a shave. In addition, holding your blade at not quite the right angle can dull the blade a little faster.

Even a "pre-sharpened" razor isn't really "SHAVE READY". Although sharp,the edge will generally require some polishing. Depending on who honed the blade,some may need more than others. For those new to Str8's-there are many things on your mind. And sometimes adequate stropping isn't the first.

Many of us have our own pre-shave rituals that have been learned by trial and error. IMO,using a PROPER stropping technique, I'd give that blade about 10-15 strokes on linen and then around 50 on the leather.YMMV.

Remember, pre-shave prep is crucial to a good shave. Lynn's shaving DVD is a wealth of knowledge and has other useful info-I'd highly recommend it.

A shave ready blade will NOT pull-but only if proper technique is used. Too much or too little angle will create discomfort.Once the skin is stretched,short deliberate strokes should easily remove all stubble. Remember, if you do need to go back-don't forget to wet the area and add a small amount of lather.As your skill progresses you WILL find the correct angle.

That being said,re-stropping the blade is perfectly acceptable and may bring the edge back to where it needs to be.

In my experience, I found that I would dull perfectly sharp blades by repeatedly touching it to determine sharpness. Once stropped-don't touch the blade to anything other than your face.

You seem to be on the right track. CONGRAT'S on your first shave. Don't get discouraged. Respect-but don't FEAR the razor. Let IT do the work. Best of Luck.

PS: Rich 202: A shave ready blade will easily cut your whisker's in fact some exception razors literally feel like a "velvet" squeegy,wiping the stubble from your face. Unfortunately, NONE of our first shaves were that good and even with alot of experience,there are bad days. Just KEEP AT IT.

I appreciate the tips and encouragement from all you gentlemen. I amd certain that the shave will get better with time and learning. I must say that my past 6 months of DE shaving has helped alot with jumping into a straight razor.

Thank you one and all.

Satch

If you have more than one razor , you can strop two or more razors before you shave , so you won't have to stop mid-shave to strop your razor . I use three razors when I shave . I do the first pass with a 6/8 , the second with a 5/8 , and I use a 4/8 for my upper and lower lip , and for any touch ups after the second pass . I know this may seem a little goofy to some of you , but it works for me .

PS: Rich 202: A shave ready blade will easily cut your whisker's in fact some exception razors literally feel like a "velvet" squeegy,wiping the stubble from your face. Unfortunately, NONE of our first shaves were that good and even with alot of experience,there are bad days. Just KEEP AT IT.

I would love if it were to feel that way. I think it may be the angle at which I am holding the blade, because I can shave my upper face without much irritation at all, but on my neck is where my beard is really coarse, and I may be losing good angle when I shave there.

I have another question. On the strop that I bought (the Dovo XL Russian Leather), one side is a darker red leather, while the other is a lighter and softer tan leather. Which side do I use to strop first? Is the tan leather horsehide? I also wanted to know how you would prepare a new strop for shaving, Is there anything that I need to do with it?

Thanks, for the help.

Rich

Rich,my beard is wire tough. Even with a thorough prep-if the razor isn't SHARP-I get a pulling sensation.This should NOT occur and is a big cause of the razor burn and irritation.

A presharpened blade still needs to be polished and prepped by stropping. Strop material isn't as important as the stropping technique. The strop you have-needs no prep. Either surface will do the job. But don't be afraid to strop 50 times or more. A blunt edge is your worst enemy. The angle of attack is important-but if the razor isn't keen it won't cut the whiskers.

Touching the blade after stropping is enough to dull it and cause a poor shave. After you strop the blade-without touching your SKIN and by "combing" the hairs on your forearm-the hairs should drop right off with very little if any pulling. If the blade does not cut the hair off your arm or will not pass the HHT-it simply isn't sharp enough.

Many of us use pasted strops. There are many roads to the same destination-but in my experience (and some may disagree) NO blade is ready to shave right off the hone. Some may choose to strop on plain leather,some may use a pasted strop with CrOx. I personally use a blasa paddle strop with .5 micron diamond paste prior to stropping a freshly honed blade.

From what you described and for the gear you have, I would recommend you use CORRECT stropping technique and strop the razor ALOT more-but the proof is by SHAVING.

I think it has happened to all of us- but when you experience a TRULY SHARP and properly prepped blade you will have "an awakening"-it may sound melodramatic-but just wait-its true. Good Luck.