Thread: First Straight shave coming up; what did I miss?

Be confident with your strokes. Be careful, of course; but avoid being too apprehensive with the blade.

It takes a fair lack of judgment (or just simple inattention) to injure yourself with the razor.

I have only cut myself once in my three or four dozen straight razor shaves (and a minor cut at that), and it occurred because I was too shaky and inhibited, thinking more about how I would cut that little patch of stubble instead of, well, actually slicing through it.

That would be my advice.

Be methodical, be focused, but, above all, be deliberate too.

Don't drink and shave...

-Chief

I have one HUGE piece of advice.


Relax.


That's probably the single most important thing. All of us here shave with a straight daily or almost daily, and countless millions of men have shaved with them over the centuries.

I have yet to find a single verifiable report of anyone suffering anything more serious than slicing their earlobe with a spike point while shaving, and since your razor isn't a spike point, you've got nothing to worry about there.

Relax, take your time, don't try to get a perfect shave at first, and keep the blade more flat than you think you need to. You can always increase the angle later.