3rd shave with a straight

Hi Everyone,

New to this board but I've been reading up on straights for a while. I started DE shaving about a year ago, but have always been fascinated with straights. Reading about them on all the wet shaving boards made me want to try them even more.

One day I had some time to kill and was across the street from a local antique mall and went in to take a look.
I found a G. Wostenholm & Son Pipe razor for about $25. It's looks like a full wedge, not sure, and looked like it had hardly been used. Decided it was a sign and bought it. There was a little staining on the blade, but it's in really nice condition.

I sent it out to someone to hone it and do some minor restoration to it. Came back looking brand new.

Mt first shave went fairly well. I only went WTG and still got a decent shave. I think it's all the years testing the sharpness of knives by trying to shave off some arm hair. The best part was there was no blood.

Second shave went fairly well too. I even went ATG this time. Got a better shave. Again, no blood. I was on a roll.

Tonight was my 3rd shave. I got a few weepers tonight and think I was using too much pressure. My face feels pretty irritated. Got a pretty decent shave though.

I do have 2 problem areas. My chin, and my neck. I'm one of the unfortunate ones that has to shave all the way down my neck. It's a little awkward getting that low. And, I can't seem to get my chin very well. It is getting easier each time, and I'm hoping that it will continue to get better, but if anyone has any tips, I would greatly appreciate it.

Mostly I just wanted to share. I think that I'm hooked. I found it easier that DE shaving for some reason. My left hand is a little awkward, but I'm sure that will get better with time. Now I'm just afraid I'm going to spend a small fortune on razors!

Thanks for reading.

Nice one for taking the plunge.

As for the chin, I read some advice on here that has worked for me. I open my mouth wide which effectivly stretches the skin on your chin upwards, so you don't actually have to try and shave on the 'corner' of your chin. It's not a huge movement, but it has helped me out. Might be worth a shot.

Greg

Sounds like you're off to a great start!
The chin is mostly practise. Stretching helps, especially if you can move the skin to a flatter spot.
Weepers are probably down to excessive pressure, but you don't mention a strop. Do you have one? If you're not stropping you will find yourself applying more pressure to remove the stubble. Stropping is essential.
Getting hooked is expensive! Have fun.

Welcome, its not that adictive honest...so what you getting for your next razor?! :)

Welcome on board. It looks like you're of to a good start. Take your time and enjoy.

Welcome to the club Matt. It only gets better from here. Your collection will grow in all things related to shaving. Have fun on the trip.

bj

Good going Matt. And welcome. I'm still a newbie with perhaps only one month on you. The chin terrified me. Amazingly, it takes little time to figure it out enough to approach confidently to get a clean blood-free chin. Sounds like your start was better than mine. No doubt that you'll have it down soon enough. Enjoy. BTW, this is a great place to ask and learn.
Jim

Yep,we've hooked another one.Welcome,Matt.Hold onto your wallet.It's very difficult to NOT buy the things you see and hear about on this board.Then again,buying them is fun and exciting.That chin part will come with practice,just gotta get the rolling motion down as you round the corner.

I've been trying both DE and straight edge for about three weeks now. I can get an amazing BB shave with the DE easily. what I'm doing is making the first pass on both cheeks with the straight - I can feel my coordination improving. And, I think I'm getting slightly closer shaves as time goes on. I strop before and after each shave - and am getting the hang of it. Only slightly nicked the strop - and then not in a way that is hurtful to it. After my "practice" shave with the straight, I then go two or three passes with the DE. Then, to get every last little ornery hair, I finish up with a Mach 3. The sled still works best for my upper lip.

What's also been good has been figuring out what combo of pre and after products to deploy.
I have several really high end balms which were very pricey - but it's the grocery store Nivea that's winning the battle of the balms.

I have a range of bowls of different shapes and depths which I'm messing with to see what supports the best lather. I've also been adding several drops of glycerin which seems to help my skin. My first scuttle is on it's way - I'm looking forward to seeing if they actually work/are an improvement.

All in all a nice way to start and end the day. Feels like I'm spoiling myself.

Bill

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wfr308

I have several really high end balms which were very pricey - but it's the grocery store Nivea that's winning the battle of the balms.

My first scuttle is on it's way.

All in all a nice way to start and end the day. Feels like I'm spoiling myself.

Bill

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Bill, I really agree with the Nivea winning over the expensive balms.

Also, scuttle is a great way to go. Get as many passes of warm lather as I want. Look for the lather making tutorial found somewhere on this site.

Jim

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

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! :D

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.