Thread: I have a confession

Holy cow, seriously the best shave by far I have gotten so far, and my face is not on fire. Did both cheeks, necks, and tried the lip but that was a little pushing it for me. Adjusted the angle on the WTG and seemed like I had it too low and once adjusted it did much better. Finished off with the disposable, but only one directional and holy cow!!! Here is how it went play by play:

1. Tried building lather 3 different times, figured I had too much water (I think) and built a better lather (at least it looked more frothy and a little thicker).
2. Hot shower
3. Conditioner on face
4. Didn't dry face out of shower.
5. Built lather with soap bjanzen sent, worked great.
6. Applied using Twizzerman brush.
7. Used razor sent by nun2sharp (thanks!) its a boker, not sure what else about it...WTG both cheeks and neck, wiping clean on towel I was standing in (recommended by nun2sharp), attempted XTG after rinsing and relathering, did ok on the cheeks didn't try anywhere else
8. Finished off with disposable.
9. No razor burn, hallelujah, and no nicks or cuts!
10. Put Nivea on face, man that stuff smells great and feels better.
11. Stored razor in open condition in box on night stand away from daughter. Will need to find a more permanent, lockable, solution to this one.


Observations from first shave:
1. You have to be more precise when using a straight, ie, with a disposable anything in its path gets pulled and removed, with a straight you can miss hairs if you don't get the right orientation of the blade.
2. Lather dried out on face, though it did of course take me a while to shave in the first place, not sure problem here, but with time it will adjust as first time SR, first time building lather, first time using a real brush.
3. Straight Razor shaving may build other addictive habits (ie, I saw how great and smooth my face looked and then looked at my dunlop... may need to solve that problem).
4. Loved it, period.

Per nun2sharps recommendation, I will post all the goodies everyone has sent me once they all have arrived, which looks to be just before Christmas as the post office is kind of slow on delivery right now.

Again, thank you sooooooo much everyone, you have made my and my wife's Christmas.

Now to learn to strop....

Sincere gratitude,

JT Fletcher

Congrats Fletcher! Sounds like a great first shave

On the lather drying out, I would recommend adding a few drops of water to teh base of the brush when whipping your lather, literally, a few drops at a time, more than this and you'll end up with suds.

I have to say, it really warmed my heart to see everyone pull together on this, that was really great to watch it all go down. I wish I could have helped, but it just wasn't feasible.

Keep at it Fletcher and let us know how it goes.

Great post! The problem with lather is probably two fold, the time it takes while learning and the other probably too much water in the brush, dont worry about the time it takes to learn, dont be afraid to give the brush a good flick 1 or 2x after soaking it, then LOAD that thing with soap, the more the better and then swirl it around on your face until its gets nice and creamy(not frothy), dont worry if you have to relather later theres no rush. Kudos on a job well done and welcome to the brotherhood!

PS: Dont forget you owe us pics of the goodies, also known as razor porn!

When you start the whole process, the lather usually dries out before you finish, I had this problem too... A good way to counteract it is, until you can get the shaves done faster than the lather dries, lather the sideburns/cheek of one side, then the other, then your neck, then your chin/moustache area... just do them seperately. It works till you can pick up the pace.

Stropping will come to you, just watch videos and listen for the right sound... that's all you need.

Welcome to the addiction. Feel the wallet-burn... It's coming. Oh, Lord have mercy, it's coming.

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

Welcome to the addiction. Feel the wallet-burn... It's coming. Oh, Lord have mercy, it's coming.

Sssshhhh! Ya tryin' to scare him off!

fletcher, one thing i have noticed, being a newbie to this wonderful art we call wet shaving, is that while we could all just slap some lather on our face, and run a cheap a*& disposable razor across it and be done. with using a straight, its all about the mechanics of the process. from the prep to the actual shave, each step has its own little nuances, that when done correctly make then next step easier, and the overall outcome, completely wonderful. When all steps are done correctly, well that is when the mind becomes totally hooked, and at that point, it becomes as addictive as any illegal narcotic, you just want more and more, wishing that the hair would grow faster so you can experience it again.

Originally Posted by wvloony

When all steps are done correctly, well that is when the mind becomes totally hooked, and at that point, it becomes as addictive as any illegal narcotic, you just want more and more, wishing that the hair would grow faster so you can experience it again.

Or you end up doing what I did (Being 18, it doesn't grow that fast >.>)

Don't try shaving stubble when it's too short for anyone of sound mind to notice... Do not let your newly hooked brain say "ah, it didn't burn last time, and I feel a little stubble.... DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT."

Do not listen to that voice... it will hurt you.

Originally Posted by ShavedZombie

Or you end up doing what I did (Being 18, it doesn't grow that fast >.>)

Don't try shaving stubble when it's too short for anyone of sound mind to notice... Do not let your newly hooked brain say "ah, it didn't burn last time, and I feel a little stubble.... DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT."

Do not listen to that voice... it will hurt you.

im 43, and when i shave with a str8, it doesnt grow fast enought either, i have to fight the urge to shave that stubble i feel every other day, to be honest, im fighting it right now, so i have to agree, and chuckle at your post shaved zombie

Haha, I shaved about 7 hours ago, and I know that if I were to shave right now, I could go back over my neck (There's a spot that I NEVER fully get, because of the direction neck hair grows [horizontal grain, not vertical] and I'm a little overweight, so it's not as easy to trace) but I also know that If I went back now, my face would look like it lost a fight with a griddle... and I probably wouldn't even be able to fix that problem spot...

It's a losing battle, but it's better to want to shave and have to resist, than to dread the daily "ugh... disposable face grinder". I'd rather put off a pleasure than put up with a burden. No question

yes and just think, like the smack junkie after the needle does its job, youll sit back with that feeling of nirvana, and it will be even sweeter, knowing you had the willpower to wait till your face was ready, and not before. lolol