Thread: First Shave

Well, I just got my razor from Lynn and took it to my face for the first time. I bought all my other shave stuff a few weeks ago, and have been doing a full and proper prep with my mach 5, so I got the hang of that part.

Overall, I did pretty well. I still need to work out holding the razor the most comfortable way. I did my entire face with the grain, and then my cheeks and side burn areas against. I tried the neck a little, but it didn't work that well. Part of that is that I have always had a ton of trouble shaving my neck, and part is obviously that this is the first time I have ever picked up a straight razor. Anyways, no cuts, whatsoever. The chin was a little tough, and so was the upper lip, but it still went fine. The cheeks and the area that I did ATG was awesome, and feels great. I finished up everywhere else with the cartridge.

The only other problem I had is that the razor dragged a little bit. I think this is due to three things. 1) I need to fine tune the angle a whole lot, 2) I might need to strop the razor a little more before my shave next time, and 3) I still need to work on getting my lather thicker so it stays in place on my face better.

All in all, I am very happy, and it went pretty well.

welcome,

yes, work on those and it'll get better quickly

welcome pearcem! seems you are doing great!
Just take it easy and enjoy your shaves..

Maarten

Welcome pearcem. When you get your blade from Lynn you don't need to strop it for your first shave (he even advises this). You will need to strop for all subsequent shaves. Sounds like you should work on your pressures and angles. Just do the area betweeen the sideburn and jaw line at first, and WTG only. Do this until you are comfortable with the blade and the result. Will it be BBS at first? Of course not. But it will come. Add new areas and strokes (XG and ATG) as you gain comfort and confidence. No need to hurry.

Welcome and congrats on the first shave.

As said before me pressure and angle are key. Even now after a year of this I still find myself tweaking the angle to get the best shave.

It sounds like you're right on track. The chin is tricky because you need to constantly adjust the angle but that comes with practice. The upper lip is tough because it's a tight space, just another thing that you'll develope your own routine for in time.

With the lather you want to start with less water than you think you need until you get a good idea about the amounts. Then just add it little by little until you get the thickness you want.

All in all sounds like you're off to a great start. Just imagine when you can do your whole face and have it BBS, it's something amazing.

Well, after three more shaves, things have gotten a lot better. Today was the first time that there was no dragging whatsoever, and while i still got a few nicks and a little bit of burn, I was able to comfortably shave my whole face wtg and part of it ATG and XTG. I realized the problem with my lather was that I was not soaking the brush before shaving, I was simply wetting it. It was unbelievable how much better it was! I think my stopping technique has also gotten a lot better, even though I have put a few nicks in the ends of the strop (oh well, that's what happens I guess, it is still working just fine). I also looked ad the wiki section about different ways to hold the razor, and it helped out a lot too. By the way, my third shave (the one before this one) was bad. My razor is sharp enough that when it cuts me, it usually catches, but isn't painful, but then bleeds a ton. My girlfriend told me it looked like I got in a fight with a cat. whoops.

Another factor to keep in mind is skin stretching.

I'm slowly advancing, trying one technique then another. And, the advice found here can't be beat! I've finally tried the various skin stretching techniques, and they've been a revelation that I couldn't have even imagined.

While I was satisfied with sustaining a few nicks here and there, the proper skin stretching has made a world of difference, in particular on the upper lip.

Also, try to pay attention to grain direction and figuring out just exactly how to get ATG. There's an area on the right side of my Adam's apple that I could not get to BBS. But I've found that the scything techniques work very well for that area. The problem was discovering exactly in what direction the whiskers grew. Once I figured that out, the rest was easy.

Good luck, and enjoy it!

Originally Posted by biffdebris

Another factor to keep in mind is skin stretching.

I'm slowly advancing, trying one technique then another. And, the advice found here can't be beat! I've finally tried the various skin stretching techniques, and they've been a revelation that I couldn't have even imagined.

I will second that. Skin stretching (for me) is a necessity. I just wish that I tried it the first time I used a straight. I almost feel like I wasted that first perfect edge from Lynn.

Originally Posted by a350z4me

I will second that. Skin stretching (for me) is a necessity. I just wish that I tried it the first time I used a straight. I almost feel like I wasted that first perfect edge from Lynn.

I'll 3rd it! I quite often do a pass then stretch the skin a little better and get than knife against toast sound all over again, just from proper stretching, if I didn't those whiskers would escape!

Sounds like you're enjoying your self, and that's half the battle won.