Thread: Tomorrow is the day

Thanks to the USPS my razor arrived after everything else. This is not a bad thing as I have had a couple of days to start breaking in the Omega Boar Brush I am planning to use. It still makes terrible lather from the Mitchel's Wool Fat Soap. If the cheap Boar brush I bought at CVS (for <$4) is any indicator it will take about ten days to break in the Omega. The razor is from the classifieds, from Larry (an excellent buying experience) and is currently coated in mineral oil and sitting in my sock drawer. In the morning I'll be taking a shot at my sideburns. I've read the wiki, Lynn's first time shaving guide, and I am feeling as ready as I think I am going to feel.

I am looking at this lovely, macabre razor (the scales resemble finger bones) and thinking I need some sort of case to keep it knocking around as little as possible. I think a reading glasses case might do the trick. Any one else have any suggestions?

A cedar cigar box works well for me.

Enjoy and welcome!!

welcome to the club!! keep us posted with your results,just take small steps and have fun.

Originally Posted by xman

A cedar cigar box works well for me.

+1. That's exactly what I use.

Freyr,

Relax...You'll do just fine. Just take it slow and easy. Don't get overly amibitious and everything will be okay.

I am concerned that the cigar box would act like a humidor. I take it that hasn't been a problem.

Two nicks, one spot where razor burn is coming through. All from operator error born of enthusiasm. The razor I purchased to learn with has a square tip and so I gouged myself twice both minor and stopped bleeding faster than any time I have cut myself with a gillette.

Letting the razor dry sitting in front of me right now, mineral oil is the next stop.

Observations: A tremendous amount of focus is required to maintain a constant blade angle, even over relatively flat spaces (cheeks, where both my gouges are) With the 5/8ths I'm using the mustache is not bad, the chin is a bitch and I am not prepared. Some razor burn on my neck because I got a little over enthusiastic and tried a second pass across the grain, the other way (my neck grows from both sides into a line just right of center)

My neck, although I took two passes is still pretty stubbly, (is that a word?) I will need to figure out what I am doing there before I take a shot at my chin. Cheeks are great, Jason's 6-1 aftershave (98% aloe) is a good thing and my face feels alright.

Although I am able to produce a ton of lather with the Mitchel's Wool Fat Soap is isn't very slick, am I doing something wrong? Maybe my angle is too steep? It seemed when I went with a closer angle it glided without pulling, and it took off hair, simply not as much as something closer to 30 degrees.

Verdict: I was a little over anxious. I should have stuck to just the side burn instead of moving on to the rest of my face, but it was going so well.

Congratulations. So far you've done better then I did on my first shave. It looked like I had slept on a pillow made of glass the first time. Nicks and burn happen. Go slow and think about what your doing and in no time you'll get better results.

There's three bits of advice I could give which helped me, and might help you. First, try practicing with something other then the razor. A butter knife, a shavette without the blade inserted, anything which will allow you to practice the strokes and passes without the risk of hurting yourself. This really helped me get a better shave, and to incorperate my non dominent hand into the process. I used to practice while watching TV.

Secondly use really light pressure. I didn't beleive it when the reccomendations was passed my way, but the less pressure I use, the closer the shave seems to be. And it makes my skin happy.

Third, it sounds like you might have dry lather. I'm still figuring out how to get a GREAT lather, but I found that if the blade doesn't seem to glide smoothly, adding a bit of water to the foam and reapplying the lather makes for a better shave.

Experiment and have fun learning and playing with the new toys.
Good luck and keep us posted.

oh yeah, and for the razor case, you could try a toothbrush travel case. you might get a snugger fit, and they are water proof.

Originally Posted by Freyr

Two nicks, one spot where razor burn is coming through. All from operator error born of enthusiasm. The razor I purchased to learn with has a square tip and so I gouged myself twice both minor and stopped bleeding faster than any time I have cut myself with a gillette.

Letting the razor dry sitting in front of me right now, mineral oil is the next stop.

Observations: A tremendous amount of focus is required to maintain a constant blade angle, even over relatively flat spaces (cheeks, where both my gouges are) With the 5/8ths I'm using the mustache is not bad, the chin is a bitch and I am not prepared. Some razor burn on my neck because I got a little over enthusiastic and tried a second pass across the grain, the other way (my neck grows from both sides into a line just right of center)

My neck, although I took two passes is still pretty stubbly, (is that a word?) I will need to figure out what I am doing there before I take a shot at my chin. Cheeks are great, Jason's 6-1 aftershave (98% aloe) is a good thing and my face feels alright.

Although I am able to produce a ton of lather with the Mitchel's Wool Fat Soap is isn't very slick, am I doing something wrong? Maybe my angle is too steep? It seemed when I went with a closer angle it glided without pulling, and it took off hair, simply not as much as something closer to 30 degrees.

Verdict: I was a little over anxious. I should have stuck to just the side burn instead of moving on to the rest of my face, but it was going so well.

When I first starting shaving with a str8, I had the same problem with not getting as close anywhere below the jaw line except directly under the center of my chin. I'm pretty sure this is due to the loosness of the skin, at least on my face it is. Try to practice your skin stretching technique. I find it is most difficult below the jaw line. Mainly, because the shaving soap makes my skin so slippery that I have a difficult time getting a grip on it. You can read all you want about shaving with a str8, but everyone's face is different and there's nothing like learing through experience.

As far as your chin, just relax and most importantly, use light pressure. For me, I've learned to section my chin off into 3 sections. The center, left & right. You will see you need to use much shorter strokes on the chin because of the abrupt change of blade angle as your chin curves underneath. You may notice that is seems the blade will want to stop on your chin in the middle of the stroke. Again, this is most probably due to blade angle.

Some advice I would like to give you is to watch out for your fingers. Since last summer, I've read a lot of posts from newcomers who never cut thier face badly but some have had some pretty bad cuts on thier fingers. I think it's from paying such close attention to the blade in reference to the face that it's so easy to not pay attention to where it is in reference to your free hand.

Stick with it and soon you will find yourself getting up in the mornings and actually looking forward to shaving.