Thread: 3rd shave with a straight

Welcome Matt, it sounds like your doing better than most at this point.

As has been said, the chin is mostly practice. On my second pass (after going N-S on the first) I find it useful to make horizontal strokes across my chin. I reach across and shave in toward the center of my chin. In other words, I'll use my right hand to shave the left "side" of my chin in toward the center. Then use the left hand to do the same on the other side. Make sure the blade is approaching the whiskers at a slight angle (/ like this).

Finally, I shave up S-N. This part can be tricky because you have to adjust the angle of the blade as it moves up and around the curve of the chin. This just takes careful practice. I've been working to perfect this stroke for over a year.

Have fun and enjoy!

Jordan

Thanks for the welcome everyone. To answer Ben, I don't have an actual stop yet, but I do have a belt that I've been using that's pretty close to a real strop. I will be getting an actual strop in the next week or so.

The hardest part so far was convincing the wife that I wasn't going to shave my face off! That, and assuring her my 2 1/2 year old son won't get his hands on the razor and hurt himself.

I also have the Nivea aftershave in my rotation. It's hard to beat for the price. I actually bought it by accident. I didn't even know it was in the cart. I think my son put it in there when we weren't looking. He tends to do that now when we are shopping. I picked up some Every Man Jack aftershave at the same time, and think I like it a little better than the Nivea.

I would go to Tony Millers site and get a strop ASAP. The belt can work, but it depends on how wide it is and what kind of leather it is made out of. I tried a belt when I first started and I actually dulled the edge with it because it was a cheap belt and was too narrow.

When shaving try using almost negative pressure. Less so than a DE, I also used DEs for about 6-8 months and the technique is very different. Also too steep of an angle can cause weepers too, especially on the tip of your chin. I've also found with straights that a combination of angles can work better than just doing the simple WTG, XTG, ATG pattern that you would use with a DE. When going on my first pass I do WTG, but for the later passes a more dynamic approach to angles works well. You also need to keep adjusting the blade agression on your neck, since it is not perfectly flat like a peice of paper. I use a steeper angle, about 40 degrees on my upper neck but then turn to a shallow angle as I get lower.


And remember, NO PRESSURE!

I think the strop will definitely help. You don't want to dull your bevel before your 10th shave.