Thread: Advice needed for beginner

Howdy...

I'm new to the forums, in fact just signed up, and glad I found this thread.

I started off with a shavette, and after a month or two opted for a straight razor, that was about a year ago, and since then I have had mixed results, but a lot of the time there is quite a bit of irritation, and sometimes it feels like i've hardly shaved anything off, but I am persistant and want to get this, so a few days ago I decided I had to get to the bottom of it lol, I took care to sharpen and strop my blade then I decided not to shave for a day or two and do some research.....

Well I found this thread and reading it I thought about the pressure I put on, and maybe it was too much, so i got set, got my face prepped, lathered up and tried a shave with a feather touch, there's no real irritation which feels good, there is still a little fuzziness, but I did only do one pass, and I think that maybe my angle needs a little work, but im glad there's no irritation, so thanks guys

Geek

Thank you for the insight. I was kinda thinking that the shavette can be a bit unforgiving.
Pete

A quick google of "Zen..." and I think that it would definetly be a read up my alley! Thank you kindly for the advice on all fronts.
Pete

Originally Posted by TheGeek

Howdy...

I'm new to the forums, in fact just signed up, and glad I found this thread.

I started off with a shavette, and after a month or two opted for a straight razor, that was about a year ago, and since then I have had mixed results, but a lot of the time there is quite a bit of irritation, and sometimes it feels like i've hardly shaved anything off, but I am persistant and want to get this, so a few days ago I decided I had to get to the bottom of it lol, I took care to sharpen and strop my blade then I decided not to shave for a day or two and do some research.....

Well I found this thread and reading it I thought about the pressure I put on, and maybe it was too much, so i got set, got my face prepped, lathered up and tried a shave with a feather touch, there's no real irritation which feels good, there is still a little fuzziness, but I did only do one pass, and I think that maybe my angle needs a little work, but im glad there's no irritation, so thanks guys

Geek

Welcome to SRP, Geek. They only get better.

Welcome! I also started (about a year ago) with a handle that uses double edged blades snapped in half. I agree that you should use it for a bit for both economic and spousal reasons. Then you will be in a situation where you can start looking around (on the classifieds here and at local flea markets, antique stores etc) for inexpensive vintage blades (which would be nice gifts that your spouse could also give you in the future). You sound like the kind of person who will probably delve into the world of honing as you progress. There are lots of economical ways to do that too (such as 3M microabrasive sheets and honing compounds, but I digress...)

You can get a very decent shave using a shavette... there are many barbers out there who offer straight razor shaves that are required to use a device such as this in order to meet health regulations ( ie: no sharing of blades between clients).

As for your technique... One of the most helpfull things for me was Chris Moss' guide which is probably on this site somehwere but I haven't found it. I know you can download it for free here: www.shavemyface.com/downloads/The-Straight-Razor-Shave.pdf . I printed this off and have read it over and over and over... I have found it a tremendous instructional guide to all aspects of straight razor shaving and have found him to be just about bang on 100% on everything he says (just my opinion).

Shavettes are very unforgiving. If you use the wrong angle and pressure you would be getting irritation in spades. Straights are more forgiving but either way you have to learn how to use them which takes some time.

the first 2 or three shaves i had my face was pretty razor burnt either from to much pressure bad angles and along with my skin getting used it or all 3 but it gets better with time just dont get in a hurry man and welcome aboard.. there is alot tlo learn here on this site check out the SRP WIKI and also the classifieds if you decide to get a real strait save yourself some money and get a used vintage one thats shave ready