Thread: First straight razor shave

I'd been shaving with a Merkur Futur since about June, when I first started wetshaving - great DE, by the way! Anyhow, I was finally overcome by the draw of straight razor shaving and decided to jump in with both feet.
I did some looking around in different forums and poked around on ebay, and finally decided on a restored and shave ready Boker with rosewood scales. Very pretty.



Altogether, not a bad start. Not a great shave, but I decided to allow myself a little time before going ATG. I want to get the basics down before I put my boyish features at too much risk.

During the first pass, I sunk the blade into a couple layers of dermis around my chin area so I figured I'd better play it safe and just do the second pass with the Merkur. I pulled it out of the medicine cabinet and dropped a Derby into it... then I looked over at my new Boker. I put the Merkur back into the cabinet and I did my second pass with the straight. Much better than the first pass.

For now, I guess I'll shave in the evenings so I can take my time. I have a couple of visible cuts on my chin and I really only have BBS on a couple of random areas on my cheeks, but thats without an ATG pass. I figure in a month I'll get it down for the most part once I figure out how to hold the blade properly and get more familiar with the contours of my face.

Anyway, I want to thank everyone for all the advice here. I've lurked here for a few weeks and picked up a lot of great information. I would never have switched from the DE without all the great advice here and on the B&B forum. I can't wait to get really good at this.

Keep at it man, things will only get better from here. Really take your time and focus on the angle of the blade and don't apply much pressure at all. I recommend just focusing on one section of your face, and as you get the hang of it, expand to other areas. Good luck.

I love shaving at night...

Sounds like a great plan. Yep, take all the time you feel you need, focus and enjoy every stroke

Btw, even if it takes you more than a month - don't despair, it WILL be better

Cheers
Ivo

Congrats, sounds like you have the patience for this. Go for a comfy shave and the closeness will come on its own - in time.

Jordan

Well done on your persistence. The 'angle' thing takes some time to get your head around it but keep the blade almost flat and you'll avoid some blood loss, preserve your edge and maybe even get a close shave.
Keep at it & enjoy.
Cool razor btw.

Better results. More confidence with the razor and a matching cut right next to the one I gave myself yesterday... just left of me chin.

Still not a great shave, but better than yesterday's.

Originally Posted by ZMKA

Still not a great shave, but better than yesterday's.

You're making progress, good job.

BTW, I like your Boker.

I shave in the evenings mostly because I have always done that, and now that i have started wetshaving I am signifigantly slower than before. And a long shave routine wouldn't fit into my idea of a good morning before going to play army all day.

Originally Posted by ZMKA

Better results. More confidence with the razor and a matching cut right next to the one I gave myself yesterday... just left of me chin.

Still not a great shave, but better than yesterday's.

Now now, no repeating the same mistakes twice... but more confidence is good

Perseverance is the key! I often find that if i nick myself, i mirror the damned thing on my next shave! The nick is in the same place as the 1st, just on the other side. This is frustrating, but at least provides symetry!
Love the shape of those scales btw.