Seems like everybody have an own "learning curve"
What about sharing your own mistakes
funny as well as serious
maybe some stories "never again" :):):)
Seems like everybody have an own "learning curve"
What about sharing your own mistakes
funny as well as serious
maybe some stories "never again" :):):)
Well the 1st one I can think of was cutting my strop. Glad I was using the TM practice.
2nd mistake that took some time to fix was WAY TOO MUCH PRESSURE.
3rd I guess was not making great lather.
As some have said here before, "it all gets better with time"
I am now able to shave my chin in all directions, something I thought would never be possible. Funny thing is, I don't even know why I can do it now.
HAPPY SHAVING, ALL.
Mark
Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make is expecting too much too soon.
complacency, and losing track of a spike point...
gash -- not cut.
I've got a good one... I shaved twice with a zeepk I got as a present:gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah: oh the shame
First mistake: jumping in without reading how to properly do it first.
Second mistake: using wet fingers with a razor and dropping it after my first ever straight razor shave.
Third mistake: sharpening my razor with the sharpening steel that I use for kitchen knives (ok, I'm just joking about that one, but there just HAS to be someone out there that has done that :rofl2:)
Fourth mistake: telling my wife how much this stuff costs (DON'T DO THAT, I'm telling you. The couch is a terrible place to spend the night).
- Read the other forum instead of this one.
- Bought a 4/8 full hollow spike instead of a 6/8 half hollow round point.
- Bought another 4/8 instead of a 6/8.
- Did not read stuff now to be found in the Wiki, especially Beginner's guide to straight razor shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki
- Too much pressure.
- Angles all wrong.
- Not enough skin stretching.
- Horrible stropping technique.
- Bought a 7/8 full hollow spike point instead of a 6/8 half hollow round point.
- Let the wife read the credit card bill.
- Using the same uber-rich lather that I used for DE shaving. I found that I get a much better straight shave if I add a little more water to my lather than I was used to. A DE is very forgiving; straights are not. A lather may be fine for a DE shave but not slick enough for a straight.
- Not paying attention to where the blade is the entire time, or what appendage(s) (i.e. ears or nose) are in the way of that blade before making the swipe :gaah:
- Forgetting where your moles are :eek:
- Too much pressure
- "Nah, this angle isn't too steep"
- Not re-lathering for touch-up. What the hell was I thinking?
Stropping to vigorously was my only real problem. Knocked the edge off a few razors that way. I had been envisioning the shave with a straight razor and practicing with butter knives for weeks in advance so the shave itself all worked out in my favour.
X
:):)Quote:
Originally Posted by xman
I was trying to use my left hand with triple edge disposable
as well as practicing with butter knife
Hehe, I practiced with a butter knife, too.
my frist rozor was a gift in a box of many old things and gathered dust in my shop for 2 years untill one day saw and thought ill clean this thing up. and then sharpened it on a stone spine off the stone like a knife and stroped it on my tormex needless to say my frist adventure into a straight razor shave was less that bbs.:gaah:
Now why didn't I think of that? Got my razor from Kenrup in today but still waiting on the rest of my gear, so I'm using your idea of a butterknife till then! Thanks! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by xman
Shaving with hangover. Nuff said.
I did the same thing once. But it turned out great. Only two units of blood and a d@#$m good plastic surgeon! The next time wasn't much better till I bought a shave ready Dovo from Classic.Quote:
Originally Posted by Del1r1um
heh ...Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian1974
That made me laugh xman!
- practising on my legs: a face is a different thing altogether. Moreover: it made me look ridiculously bald legged.
- having people stand around, anxious to see how my first shave went.
- going for a BBS straight away and ending up red as a beetroot.
Don't have a couple of drinks then shave before you go out Friday night.:nono:
i did way more than 10 mistakes, but i don't think if they're all major
1. dropped my razor promptly upon arrival
2. spent too much time looking at razors - caught a rad
3. left my best and most rare razor in the bathroom when a friend was visiting - found a nick later on which i'm pretty sure he put on it
....
1 Tried to shave in a hurry (with a shavette) before going out.. cut my chin and bled all evening.
2 Tried to learn to hone razors with a wedge..
3 Dinged a razor on a cabinet door
4 Dinged the razor again while honing another razor (left the razor open )
5 and I dinged the razor again...
6 bought a Puma with quite some chips out of it and cracked scales (all worked out fine in the end)
7 bought a loom strop to start with.
8 bought a hanging strop without a canvas/linnen side..
9 thought the back of the hone was slate and not BBW so bought another BBW and than found out I already had one..
10 should have started to shave with a straight at least 15 years ago..all those great shaves wasted...
Horizontal movements on my neck are rather scary. Even tiny, slight moment of concentration lapse, sideways movements. These straight razors are kinda sharp...
:ziplip:
1. Getting my straight razor and not getting is sharpened properly for almost a year. But I was reading and learning on what to do when I start shaving with my SR.
2. Having too much pressure when I started, a bit of razor burn.:cry:
3. Losing my cheap strop somewhere in moy house due to major remodeling work. On the plus side buying a good strop from Tony Miller:o
4. Not stretching my skin enough on occasion causing less the a close shave.:nono:
5. Not being able to shave the hollows of my throat close enough for the BBS feel.
6. Not having a scuttle to keep the later warm.
7. Not rinsing in cold water after the shave, I do that now and boy does it feel great!
8. Not having an after shave balm, I now use Nivea after shave balm.:rolleyes:
9. Not having my Strop at waist level, was beginning to throw me off in my stropping technique. I have since changed that situation and moved the strop to waist level.
10. Using a boar hair professional brush. The brush does produce a good lather but my Casewell-Massey travel badger hair brush produces a better lather. I am in the process of putting together my own handmade brush.
-Jim
Oh yeah, but -15 and +25 for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by mlangstr
The other big one was not buying shave ready. That and not finding this place until I'd bought too much already.
Something that I just experienced about 15 minutes ago...
Just because your last couple of shaves went well, don't become overconfident in your abilities. You really didn't get that much better that fast. Good thing vintage blades threw in a styptic pencil...
On only my second shave, using a shave ready Wapienica, I tapped the faucet and nicked the blade. D'oh! :gaah:
That sure accelerated my plans to learn how to hone. After a couple of days of abusing that poor razor with my green honing skills, I managed to remove the chip and put the razor back to some semblance of shaving readiness.
So, first shave back with the Wapienica everything's going fine and . . . I tap the faucet again! Noooooo!!
I really hadn't planned on learning to hone so soon in my straight shaving endeavors. I managed to get that nick out and hone the razor and use it for a couple of months, not with the best of edges, but certainly usable.
Then, about three months later, while I was focusing intently on touching up my neck, I tapped the Wapienica again! Good Googly Moogly!
That blade has spent nearly as much time on the stones as it has on my face. The good news is, it's made an excellent practice blade for honing and just two days ago I had a super nice, comfy shave with it. Hopefully I've got the faucet tapping out of my system and my other razors don't suffer the same abuse.
1. Bought a bunch of zeepk garbage (don't worry. I replaced it with good stuff from the classifieds)
2. Tried to go BBS my first shave and made neckburger
3. Shaved over the neckburger the next day and made neckburger with special sauce
4. Tried to heat up a drug store boar brush by leaving it a scuttle full of boiling water while I took a shower, and got out of the shower to find a brush handle and a soggy mess of loose boar bristles.
5. Broke 2 out of my first 3 ebay trash blades cleaning them up. (one is repairable, but will require a lot of honing)
6. Asked what hones I should start with (NEVER ask what hones to start with as an open ended question. You'll get sea sick trying to follow the responses)
7. Spent more on shaving swag than I could really afford.
8. Got so excited the first time I got the angles 'just right' on my lower neck that I accidentally sliced my throat open so bad that after 10 days, it's still healing and will probably leave a scar.
9. Spent WAY too long looking at the classified ads.
10. Shaved way too far into my beard, because a well honed straight doesn't stop at a bear line like a disposable does, and ended up looking like I was going for a line bear that was about an inch too low.
I've had some of the same mistakes as others. But here are some of mine that no one else has mentioned.
-Not thinking about the exchange rate when buying razors from the USA and then having to lie to my wife about how much money I spent.
-When showing a razor to a friend I handed it to them and then they dropped it.
-Caught said razor (no damage to me or the razor but my heart rate did momentarily jump up to about 220 bpm)
I was having a mental discussion with MYSELF and made a couple of points with my hand.......
That held the razor while in process of shaving my face........
NOT JUST ONCE....
BUT TWICE
DUH!!!!!
hahahaha
Someone else has got to have done this.....
Please tell me you did....
I am NOT alone
:)
Tom
When I first started shaving with a straight I made a mistake that could have changed my life. We had a rather small bathroom when I was young. The bathroom door when opened just barely cleared the old sink. As I stood in front of the old sink and started my first pass a relative who will remain nameless came busting in with the urgency of a police raid,......well,the bathroom door slams into my elbow,...that telegraphs to the razor and,.............well I still have my ear, thanks to some adrenalin, young reflexes and great deal of luck!
My advice: LOCK the bathroom door!! A tasteful "do not disturb" sign in addition might be advisable, but no substitute for a good lock. Be careful out there fellas.
:chop:
So many to mention...here are my favorites:
* not stropping my razor correctly and dulling the edge.
* reading too much about stropping and continuing to dull the edge.
* skipping the razor across my cheek and into my ear - good times.
* leaving the lather on my face too long, drying out and insisting it was suitable to for shaving.
Biggest mistake of all time;
Thinking that the knife shop at the mall would be able to properly hone my razor. Let me tell you a little something; when you ask the owner if he knows how to sharpen a razor and he answers, "I've got over 25 years experience sharpening knives, scisors, and tools", you should note that he didn't mention razors, and you should take that to mean "no".
I learned a lot about sharpening razors after I got that one back, and I can do it myself now.
Mistake number 2; Stroping. You really do need to roll that blade over it's spine. Trying to do it the way you saw in the movies will result in a lot of nicks and cuts on the strop. Really.
Hi everybody, even I am new here, I am straight razor user for quite some time now. Learning to shave with the straight, it's like learning to drive a car. At the beginning you afraid of everything, than you master a bit, and then, after few days (weeks) you thinking of yourselves like a greatest shaver ever! :gaah: yea right..
Exactly here all the troubles begins. Cuts on a face, trying to do a HHT and cutting fingers, talking when shaving and getting a cut..:gaah: ouch.. :) It is better to take your time and learn right habits from very beginning!
Allen, thanks very much for raising this issue. I've been shaving with a straight for a few months, and it wasn't until this week that I realized my lather was too thick. Like yourself, I switched from DE razors to straights, and I just kept whipping up the same mountains of dense, tapioca-like lather. Sure, it looks great, but as you wrote, it's not slick enough for straight razor shaving. I kept telling myself that huge amounts of thick lather would cushion the blade, but I think a straight just gets bogged down by all the resistance. I even switched from my fancier shave creams back to an old tube of Proraso, and although my new lather is thin, watery, and almost transparent, it's slick like wet leaves on fresh blacktop.Quote:
Originally Posted by Allen
One other "greenhorn" mistake I made was to think that because I have a coarse beard, I needed to use a big wedge to get a good shave. I actually think I did myself a disservice by starting with a heavy blade, because it provided much less feedback -- feedback that is essential to learning a new skill like shaving with a straight -- than a smaller, hollow ground blade. A heavy blade allowed me to just plow through areas that require a gentle touch and careful attention to blade angle. As a result, I cut myself quite a bit at first (I was also applying too much pressure). Granted, I am still very much a beginner, but if a friend asked me to suggest a first razor, I would recommend a hollow grind blade in a manageable size.
I also made the mistake of trying for a BBS shave from the beginning. My facial hair grows in all directions, and I have to be very careful of ingrown hairs. A straight razor is great for minimizing my ingrowns, but only if I skip the against-the-grain pass. If I shave against the grain I will get a close shave, but two days later I'll have ingrowns all over my neck and cheeks. It took me months to realize that just because a straight razor can produce a wicked-close shave, that doesn't mean it's best for me. Now I actually try to shave in such a way that, when I'm done, I'm still able to feels some raspy resistance when I rub my fingers against the grain of my beard.
with a hangover, how about before the hangover...:nono:Quote:
Originally Posted by cybrok
I hear you! Have applied too much pressure and turned the blade around the wrong way on a hanging strop, nicked said strop multiple times left right and (nearly) centre and then stropped the razor right over those nicks. Ouch! Knocked the edge off in the process, of course. New strop is on the way. Will practice with the butter knife on old strop until then... All this on the very first day of my straight-razor life. But: never give up! Shall read this forum religiously from now on.Quote:
Originally Posted by xman