Thread: Too many movies, or old soul? (2 many movies i say)

Last time, I shaved was nearly 2 months ago, my throat was so sore i couldn't even touch it... The ingrown hairs I was over and thought there must be an easier way... Off to the net i went, and the research begun, Over the next couple of days this thing kept popping up, straight razors, badger brushes... The research deepened...

I decided about a month and a half ago, I wasn't going to shave any longer until I had a straight, I was over the razor burn, ingrown hair and all the normal rubbish that goes with it.

I browsed the web, and picked one of those that looked nice and manly 'starter packs' off of ebay, for $100 Aus (Razor, Strop, Badger Brush)..
While waiting I remembered that an old house mate of mine had received a straight and strop as a gift, and hacked himself up trying to shave and got the ****s and shelved it... I made a call, a deal was struck (2x packed of drum rolled for him) Nice new razor and brand spanking new strop.. when It had arrived, it had an edge but no where near shave ready, I was also getting ready for a trip back to my home town where some 'old school' barber are still active..

Well the ebay special arrived in the meantime, minus the razor... email sent and still waiting (1 month later and still waiting), Spoke to the barber about getting him to hone the razor for me. (Admit tingly it bought back a tear to his eye that people are interested in straights again, and then he hit me with the devastating news he'd thrown all his straight stuff out).

So another few days of phone calls and skowering the net again, when I came across SRP, sign up and read a few forums.. Damn why didn't i notice this place when I was looking earlier... Anyways sent out a few emails in regards to honeimeisters (Thank you to all that replied ) and i found Jimbo, who offered to hone my precious up for me.

Fast for 2 weeks and .... I just received my Dovo 4/8 rounded back from Jimbo today (He honed it up Very nicely for me). The Missus wasn't to impressed when I kept taking her hair for the hair test cut, from the source hehehe and boy is that sharp or what! THANK YOU JIMBO!

So the 1st shave.... Little ones down for her afternoon nap, Missus is out cold too... Arh the afternoon to myself... Showertime, about 15 minutes of a hot shower soaking into the beard (remebering it's pretty thick just over 1.5 months worth of growth). Towel off and cloth the bottom 1/2 easier to continue life missing a toe then any other extremedies if i dropped it.

Lathered up, wasn't too bad a lather all round, deep breath and in i went, wow, no cuts i just kept goin and to be honest it felt natural, almost like I'd been doin it for years, jaw line and all didn't 'feel' unnatural. I even went ATG and was amazed I was using a straight, and I was still alive and no passing out from loss of blood... wasn't as close as I'd of liked so what the hell, I lathered up for a third time and in i went again, this time, I noticed the little blood droplets... the the touch of a sting.. mmm.. finishing up i rubbed the styptic stick over the face, and added some cold water to seal the face up then some aftershave / cologne (only just found out the diffence cause I wasn't sure as I was writing this).

About 30 minutes later I started to notice the razor burn over the face I guess I wasn't a natural as I'd hoped and thought, I'm guessing i'd used the wrong angles, pushed to hard, and to many passes which irritated the skin i'm guessing... no actual cuts though so that's a start for the 1st shave and the cheeks while red are awful smooth

I'll wait a couple of days to let it all settle down and try again Oh one extra +1 i can touch my throat too

here's the setup I'm using so far and thanks again JIMBO

glad to hear your experience with the shave. they do get better
might want a refresher and hit the WIKI here

If you got razor burn then it's usually from a dull razor, too much pressure, or the wrong angle. If you had that razor honed by Jimbo then we can rule out the dull razor, so next time try using a lighter touch and check your angles. Someone said on here once that for your first few shaves you should concentrate on comfort rather than closeness for your shaves.

It sounds like you're enjoying the challenge though!

Originally Posted by dannywonderful

If you got razor burn then it's usually from a dull razor, too much pressure, or the wrong angle. If you had that razor honed by Jimbo then we can rule out the dull razor, so next time try using a lighter touch and check your angles. Someone said on here once that for your first few shaves you should concentrate on comfort rather than closeness for your shaves.

It sounds like you're enjoying the challenge though!

I feel like a kid at Christmas again, I can't wait for a couple of days to try again, if only I could swap out faces to practice on... (any takers )

I would bet going over that much beard made it a bit more difficult. My skin is such that beyond two passes I will get irritation so as you continue you may find that is the same for you or you may not.

Learning the correct blade angle for various parts of the shave and proper stretching techniques will definitely improve the shave as well as the amount of pressure. Then there is proper stropping, preparation, and maintenance.

Stick with it and you'll be appreciating the smooth, close and comfortable shaves you read about on the forums before too long. SRP founder Lynn Abrams recommends reading and following this post here for the first shaves.

lol! Great story Shopi!

The razor gave me a good shave when I tested it, but as I mentioned I find those little 3-4/8 Dovos tricky to shave with - my fingers get in the way a bit and the angle can end up too steep sometimes. Try not to let the angle get over 30 degrees if you can.

And as the others have said, probably two passes is enough initially. Most people I think get irritation for their first few shaves - it is important to give your skin some time to recover before shaving again.

But it sounds like you had a very successful first shave, so my hearty congratulations!! No nicks or cuts, and going against the grain, on your first go is tremendous!

James.