Thread: First shave produced more questions...help!

First of all Happy birthday,
I`ve been shaving for a month now and its all finally starting to come naturally to me, i remember my first shave after i lathered i had to put my razor down and take a couple of breaths i was so discoraged.
My main bit of advice to you is HAVE FUN, play with and experiment with your razor and shaving tecnique, its not like some one is marking you on it afterwards, it will all come with time. so just relax and enjoy it.

Originally Posted by spohkh

First, can anyone suggest how to hold one's facial skin taut after it's been oiled and creamed? I was having trouble holding on to my skin. Should I only lather one part of my face at a time?

What i do is on my cheeks, i shave the top half on my right side then do the top half on my left, pulling from the sideburn/temple area. i then do my upper lip. by the time i`ve done all this my right cheek has dried off, and i can pull up from the top half of my cheek to get the bottom half, and my jawline.

Originally Posted by spohkh

I tried shaving my neck, but couldn't maneuver the razor to go with the grain because the hair on my neck grows out toward my ears.

I have a similar problem except my grain gos the opposite direction, i tend to do accross the grain passes on my neck, north to south then south to north, except i try to do it at an angle. so rather than adams apple to chin, i`ll go adams apple to side of mouth, and that seems to work for me


.

Originally Posted by spohkh

I read the instruction paper from Thiers Issard and it said I shouldn't strop the razor until after several shaves. I thought I had read on straight razor place that I should strop before and after. So I tried stropping with a Dovo hanging strop after the shave, I was very afraid of bending the razor and I just felt awkward

Stropping is the one area where i still feel nervous, however practice is the key. I tend to strop only before use, and my recent discovery is that a little pressure is needed when stropping.
When i first started i was putting NO pressure on the razor, and i struggled and the razor seemed to blunt, but i have started using very slight pressure [about the same amount of pressure i use to stick a stamp on a letter] and my stropping has improved greatly, i find it easyer to controll the razor so my strokes are much more even and the razor seems to keep its edge better.


as i said i`m still a newbie but this is what wrks for me.
hoe this helps.

Congrats!!!
Happpy birthday!!!

You will most likely need to get it honed by a pro, the razor itself may be excellent, but making the edge is a specialized thing. The only time youll get a razor shave ready off the production line is if you get it hand made by say Mastro Livi or if you buy it from SRD or from a member here. In the members services, there will be people who can hone her up for you .

With stropping, you must be very very light. I was told that you push down on the strop as hard as you can push a needle onto your arm without it hurting. So it must be just touching. But the feel comes with experience .

Good luck!!!!!!

EDIT:
As you practise, you will get to know how to stretch your skin, and which strokes work well for parts of your face. The best thing you can do is read and practise

Welcome! Happy Birthday!

+1 to all the advise given thus far.

If stropping makes you nervous, try practicing with a butter knife, that way you can get the movements down. Doing the same to get down the strokes on your face can be beneficial as well.

keep at it, and don't be afraid to ask questions. This is a great group of people, all willing to help each other out.