Well, took the first step today...

[Malacoda]

...and, per Lynn's 'Read First' sticky and countless other threads and articles, did the area below my side burn for the first time.

For being little more than a 60 second event it was very educational, exciting, and ironic...

Educational because the blade initially had MUCH more drag due to suction to the lather than I had expected. This lead me to the strong suspicion that I may not have been using enough water in my lathers (although it was my first time using a cut throat, I've been DE shaving for just over two weeks now).

Exciting because it did not feel nearly as uncomfortable or irritating as I expected. In fact, there was no discomfort whatsoever.

And ironic for two reasons:

1. While finish the rest of my face with the DE I got a little careless and nicked my lip. Here I was worried about slicing with the straight and I actually end up with my first little slice from a DE instead...
2. Even after WTG and a XTG passes on the opposite cheek with the DE, the straight cheek was still the closer shave

All in all it was great - so much so that I did the rest of my cheek as well. (Won't be adventuring beyond those two areas for a while though - sharp jaw line and course beard make my neck a difficult enough area with a DE. Definitely don't want to tackle it with a straight until I'm much more practiced.)

This is bad: I've been an every-other-day-shaver ever since I left the military eight years ago. Now I suddenly find my self wanting to shave daily. As much as I hate to give up the extra sleep time, I may soon find myself getting up earlier every day just to have time to wet shave.

[ursus]

Congrats for your first trim. Just keep taking babysteps and you'll get to full-face in no time. Glad that you had an a-ha moment about the lather. Prep is definitely a major factor in pleasant shave.

[rrp1501]

Way to Go! Now you are hooked. I can tell by your last two paragraphs. It sounds like most of us here. Shaving with a straight razor for me has become the most favorite part of my day. You'll always learn something new about your technique every day. I believe that is because we all like it so much! If we didn't really care about what we are doing when we shave, like we all used to be using the 3+ blade monstrosities, all we would do is go through the motions in the morning, just dreading what the day will bring. I seem to be in a better frame of mind most of the time since I started using a straight razor. It's not just a morning act anymore, it has become a way of life!

[Sly712]

As a person pointed out on another forum I belong too....

"Once you go straight, you never go back"

[BHChieftain]

This is bad: I've been an every-other-day-shaver ever since I left the military eight years ago. Now I suddenly find my self wanting to shave daily. As much as I hate to give up the extra sleep time, I may soon find myself getting up earlier every day just to have time to wet shave.

I've found I get such a close shave with a full 3 pass shave (WTG/XTG/ATG), that I can now shave the night before, and still wake up BBS, and if I'm in a hurry, I can even skip the next day and not look too bad. Shaving at night gives me unrushed time and is pretty relaxing.

Welcome aboard,
-Chief

[Malacoda]

I've found I get such a close shave with a full 3 pass shave (WTG/XTG/ATG), that I can now shave the night before, and still wake up BBS, and if I'm in a hurry, I can even skip the next day and not look too bad. Shaving at night gives me unrushed time and is pretty relaxing.

Welcome aboard,
-Chief

May just have to give shaving at night a shot. Typically my beard grows fast enough that I'd have five o'clock shadow by morning. But if I'm getting really close shaves once I've gotten my technique down it just might work.

[zib]

That's the way it should be, Unrushed. This isn't something you want to rush through, It has a Zen like quality to it, As does honing. I work 330p - 1200am by choice, so I never have to rush, or get up early to do it which is nice. I do find myself getting ready earlier from time to time in anticipation of the shave.