My first straight shave......

Morning all,

I had my first straight razor shave on Saturday, with mixed results.

I have been shaving with a DE for about 18 months. I have three DE razors, most recent a Merkur Slant. I have been very very pleased with the results I have been getting with that. So I am comfortable with prep etc.

The first thing I experienced was using a mirror isn't a great guide for blade angle with a straight. I kept having to stop, think about the angle (rather than looking in the mirror) and then take a stroke. It is SO weird. Overall the shave was below average and rather disappointing. I think I have to take myself back to my first DE shave, which was probably worse in terms of number of cuts and nics, so I am going to keep going. The only other thing that bothers me is the time it takes to shave. During the week I have a one and a half hour commute into central London so I am up at 5.30am already, so until I become very proficient at straight shaving it's DE during the week for me.

The other thing I probably did wrong was trying to shave a 5-day beard. I had a rough week last week (we have one-year-old twins!) and didn't get time to shave much last week so by the time Saturday came by beard was quite thick. The other problem I had was blade angle and the fact that my face kept drying out and had very little residual glide so I got a lot of scrape.

Ho hum.

Nick

Hi Nick, welcome to SRP. You have a couple of contradictory things in your life, both time related. The first is the time to shave in the morning prior to leaving for work. I avoid the 1-1/2 hour commute by being at work at 0530. I live in the Washington suburbs of Wash, DC. Yes, understand horrible commutes. It takes me 30-40 minutes for my shave. I take my time and enjoy what I am doing. If you truly want to use the straight razor then you are going to have to get up a little earlier. But, the time to shave will get less because you will have improved your technique to require less going over the same spots to get the places you missed.

And the second is young children. Been there, done that. And wouldn't trade it for the world. Proud of my young ones (now 29 and 27). You'll have to figure that one out with the missus.

Ah yes, the problem with actually being able to see what you are doing in the mirror. Each person has their own technique for being to see effectively. You are going to have to find yours.

If I may make a suggestion. Stay with your DE this week, through Friday. This weekend begin using your straight. Start with the area between the bottom of your sideburns to the jawline (including or excluding the jawline depending on your comfort level), going WTG only. Finish the shave with your DE. Take your time. There is no hurry. The razor isn't going anywhere, nor are we. During the week next week stay with this same routine. Get comfortable with the way the razor feels as you shave. The reason I am suggesting this route is to not frustrate yourself to the point of giving up. Learning to use the straight to get that BBS takes time. Relax and enjoy the feel as you learn. You can start adding more areas of your face, and XG and ATG, as time goes on. Before you know it your razor will be performing that magic for you.

If it makes you feel any better, I have been using the straight for 7 weeks and am just now getting comfortable with ATG. I still use my Merkur twin razor to touch up a few spots. :tu

Hope this helps...

You could also try shaving at night after the kids are asleep.

I also have two young ones (2&4), and find the 30-40 minutes shaving with a straight to be a wlecome respite from the rest of the day's ruch and bustle.

Keep at it, and welcome!

I have also been finding it beneficial to shave at night. That way I can have a little extra sleep time in the morning and I don't have to worry about not getting it done in a certain amount of time or such.

The issue with my commute is more related to public transport than the actual timing. The 'London commute' is more or less a cultural thing here - hardly anyone drives into London for work. It's even worse now with the Congestion Charge. So the earliest train I am willing to get is 6.30am. In fact I think the earliest train going out of my station is something like 6.03am. Driving just isn't an option anyway as we only have one car in the family and my wife uses that every day - we just don't need a second car as I have a 6-7 minute walk to the railway station each day and it saves a lot of money. Plus our village serves us well for most things, which is walking distance from the house. And who need to go shopping when there's the Internet!

I like the sound of using the straight for easy places to begin with - I have no problem with that. So from tomorrow (Tuesday) I might start using the straight for my cheeks down to my jaw-line. I think you are correct, in so much as it takes time to become familiar with holding the razor as it still feels a little strange to me at the moment.

I have tried shaving at night and for some strange reason it just doesn't work for me. Plus my routine just doesn't allow it as I get very tired and would probably lose my concentration. The reason for the early start to the day is so I can get home and spend at least an hour with my boys before they go to bed. After that it's time to cook and tidy the house and prepare to do it all again the next day! Occasionally I also get time to play guitar and go running to get some exercise.

It sounds like I'm making excuses all the time, but I am determined to make this work and enjoy the experience as I do with my DE razor.

Thanks again guys...

In the words of Grig in "The Last Starfighter": "That's the spirit!!"

New York City probably has the best mass transit in our country. DC has some pretty good mass tranit, too. I am fortunate I don't need to go into DC very often. I work out near Dulles airport. My job requires almost daily visits to client sites so I need to have a car. And for the most part our culture was borne out of independent transportation. As much as the politicans moan and whine about the need for mass transit I see 2 things that are contradictory to their whining. The first is the fact that our economy and cultural aren't built for it. There are HOV (high occupancy vehicle lanes which are almost useless because very few people can use them) lanes, but they seem to be more of a revenue source for local governments than practical and serious means of transportation. And second, the one I love the most, I don't ever remember seeing those same politicians riding mass transportation. They seem to think they are far too important and don't have the need to use it. I guess it helps get them elected when they pay lip service to it, but know it's a sham.