Thread: First shave less than perfect

90 degrees to your face! Ouch! No wonder you had a bad shave (I'm actually surprised you don't need stiches!). I hadn't mentioned blade angle because you said you watched the Lynn video...Yeah, keep the razor no further way from your cheek than the thickness of the spine...and use VERY light pressure.

Also, read the newbie stickies and the wiki!

Mark

Whoa whoa whoa, perhaps I should clairfy.

I was not shaving at a 90, I was off of 30 in the direction of 90.

It was sort of like driving a standard transmission for the first time; am I letting off the clutch right, am I applying the gas at the right rate, look to the left, the right, the left, oops what about the clutch...and on and on and on.

Just trying to put all the little parts together into one grand act. I think my biggest challenge is seeing my face through my arms and seeing the lay of the blade backwards in the mirror. But like Syslight said practice, practice, practice and (as Maarten pointed out), eventually the hairs will come off.

Allen

No worries, Allen. It takes time, and like anything else that requires work, you'll really appreciate the end result. You're on a journey, so enjoy the ride. Even through failure learning occurs.

Also, here's a mantra that has served me well: Straight razor shaving is about beard reduction in passes, not beard elemination (like the Mock III).

Mark

Where was the razor burn ? All over ?

The trick with razor burn, for me is to first make sure you are cutting with the grain and second, NO pressure on the razor. Let the razor float across your face.

As a newbie, I started with just my sideburns on my good side and my cheeks on my good side. Then when i felt I had that part down, I moved on..

But generally razor burn comes from too much pressure and often that is a result of pushing down too hard to cut hairs in the wrong direction..

I still get razor burn around my adams apple. The hairs grow sideways there. It's not easy going sideways on that part of your face!

But good luck. Take your time.

J

I take it you have a leather strop.

If so, lay the strop flat on a table edge and do the 50 minimum return strops.

You need to press enough to cause a friction and keep the blade flat on the leather, that's all.

Now shave, 30 degrees maximum ie, nearly flat to your skin.

If the cheeks are shaved close with no burn and easy shaving, the rest is just a matter of time and patience.

If the cheeks still feel unshaven, the blade needs to be refreshed by someone who knows what to do.

Don't give up, it's worth the effort.

Don't cut yourself, if the blade is not sharp, you have no chance. It should be as easy as using a gillette throw away as a minimum.

Gentlemen,

I believe that this will take the proper application of patience and Buddy Holly. If its too loud, mamma's too old.

Milton Man,

Big 10-4 on the journey.

Shampoo,

Razor burn was on the fat part of the cheek (no chipmunk jokes). I'll work on the pressure (please see the driving comment below).

English,

I'll try the strop on the table.


I can't thank you guys enough. Looking forward to passing along useful info once I have it.

Here's to keeping the artery intact,

Allen

Where did the grumpy head scratching guy come from?

Those emoticons can sometimes be inadvertently replicated by typing in their HTML command, in this case ": thinking :" (without the spaces).

Otherwise, a wayward mouse click sometimes does that.

Mark