Thread: Mantic Goes Straight?

Well done Mark!

An ambitious first effort. It can only get better.

Originally Posted by mantic

OK, I had my first straight shave over the weekend. It went about as well as I could expect. On the positive side I actually did cut stubble . On the negative side I managed to give myself two nicks (one under the nose and one under the left side of the mouth) and one good slice (right cheek). I can see beard reduction is going to take more time than I thought. One pass straight down, another pass almost straight down (just a bit of an angle to get more reduction), one pass straight up on the neck only. I didn't expect BBS or DFS (though strangly my neck and lower chin are darn near DFS and almost as easy to do as with a DE). Trying to get a handle on blade angle and razor grips (tried both hands but I think I'll stick with my right).

In retrospect it was stupid of me to wait a couple days without shaving before trying the straight; next time will be after a normal day's growth. I'm still also trying to get a handle on stropping: I hung the strop from a hook on the wall so I could get a flat surface and I spent several minutes (after lathering up to get my face well prep'd) slowly going back and forth in an X pattern on each side, but I still don't "know" if it made any difference.

I wiped the razor on a towel during the shave, rinsing once in a while. After the shave I left it out to air dry.

So there you have it. Obviously, this is going to take a while.

--Mark

Congrats! I had the same sentiments as you when I first started but found that getting the hang of everything came pretty quickly. The need to shave without slicing yourself up is a pretty good motivator. After my first dive in, I became more cautious until I got the angles/pressure down.

If you go a few shaves without any significant improvement then film your stropping/shaving technique and ask for some feedback here.

EDIT: What's DFS?

DFS = Darn (or damn) Fine Shave

Mark... the offer still stands buddy

Originally Posted by mantic

Y'know that's actually not a bad idea. I might do that to get input on how it should be shown/presented in a video.

Don't look for this tomorrow though; it will probably be months before I do anything video-wise. My learning curve will be delayed because I'll probably use weekends to practice.

I'll echo everyone else's appreciation for your DE videos. I learned a lot from you when I left the world of cartridges and goo. Thanks

Good luck with the "weekends only" thing.

I only had my first straight shave last Wednesday, so I'm at about the same stage as you. I originally thought I would just practice on the weekends, but I've found that I like using the straight so much, I haven't had a pure DE shave since

You can practice stropping with a butterknife I'm told. That way you don't carve up your strop. The best stroppers do not rotate their hand or wrist.

Originally Posted by mantic

OK, I had my first straight shave over the weekend. It went about as well as I could expect. On the positive side I actually did cut stubble . On the negative side I managed to give myself two nicks (one under the nose and one under the left side of the mouth) and one good slice (right cheek). I can see beard reduction is going to take more time than I thought. One pass straight down, another pass almost straight down (just a bit of an angle to get more reduction), one pass straight up on the neck only.

Mantic,

Congratulations on your first straight shave! For a first shave, that sounds par for the course. I had some good nicks when I was starting as well. I'm still a newbie so you can take the following for what it's worth.

As I recall, Lynn wrote somewhere that it's probably better to start with the cheeks and to clean up with a DE when you first start shaving with a straight. As you get more comfortable, you can include other sections of the face. I forgot the precise progression but the areas with the most curvature such as the mustache and chin were last. Initially, I shaved my entire face as well but fell back to Lynn's method and it probably saved my face a few scars.

Maybe it's my imagination or because my technique improved over time but I think shaving with a straight every day has conditioned my skin. I don't get weepers and if I bleed at all it's due to a proper nick which is thankfully rare now.

Finally, I usually get an excellent shave with only one pass and touch-up. I've never needed to do a full blown WTG/ATG or XTG. One good thing about a straight is that you can ping individual hairs around your recent nick.

Looking forward to your straight shaving videos!

ZE

Yes, I find the easiest way to strop for me is to "pinch" the tang of the razor (between the blade and the scales) between my fore and middle finger and my thumb, with the scales straight out, then just push and pull my thumb (like you're rubbing sap off your fingertips) to flip the razor. I've only got a week's experience on the strop, but that's what seems most natural to me.

Great! You took the first step. Congratulations...as for stropping, this is so very important. You should strop before every shave...remember the spine of the razor leads, hold the tang between your index and thumb and rotate the blade at the end of each lap just like turning the nob of a radio. Do not rotate the blade by rotating the wrist. Keep at it. Let us know about the second shave. Can't wait.

Did you video your first straight shave??? Either way congrats as you know with DEs it will take time and practice. So the best of luck to you!

Originally Posted by sbrouwers

Did you video your first straight shave??? Either way congrats as you know with DEs it will take time and practice. So the best of luck to you!

Lord no, I figured I'd need my full concentration on the shave for a while.