Proper first shave

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03-25-2010, 10:57 PM
ianp1966

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Proper first shave

As my title says i had my 'proper' first shave today with a very nice razor i purchased from mainaman who has been more than helpful.

Oh right nearly forgot the shave bit of the post. Well i'd been of into town to get a few bits and bobs, had a wander around the flea market we have on Thursdays, picked up some Palmolive shave cream from Tesco for £1.25 I thought 'why not give it a try'. I got home made some fairly good lather with shaving soap and cream together had my shower and then got ready for my first straight shave.

Wow a properly honed edge is a thing to be in awe of really when you've been closeted away behind a highly manufactured three blade system you never spend one moment thinking about your shave you just do it almost on autopilot.

Not this time though, mind you my first shave was over quite quickly for me, i was having trouble stopping my hand from shaking so all to soon i had to use the old razor. I will say that yes i do have a bit of trouble at the best of times keeping a steady hand but the tablets help so I'll keep taking them.

I managed to do at best my left, right jawbone, under my chin then faltered at the more sensitive bits. Mind you i did have a go on the rest of my head and the results were a bit more promising. Without being able to see what i was doing I did manage to take of nearly half of my hair (imagine male pattern baldness - i shaved half whats left) that bit was more relaxing too.

So I think I might find myself shaving a bit more often, I'm very lazy and shave only once a week, if the results are as encouraging as today.

thanks for reading :)

ian

oh and a few pics of my new razor thanks once again to mainaman !
03-26-2010, 01:18 AM
gugi

congratulations. i was always taught the proper way to steady one's hand is brandy :)
03-26-2010, 01:39 AM
Alembic

Very nice razor and congrats on your first shave. Even though you can get away shaving once a week, if you are like the rest of us, you will probably end of shaving more often just to practice.:)
03-26-2010, 01:57 AM
Spartan21m

Hey, congrats on the first proper shave! Such an achievement is worth a little celebration :beer2:. I'm a fellow head shaver (losing my hair and decided to own up to it) and I find shaving the head to be the most relaxing part as well. Maybe that's because there are no major blood vessels near by.

Welcome aboard and enjoy
03-26-2010, 02:08 AM
Pabster

Cool Wedge and a good start. Welcome to Straight Shaving.

Pabster
03-26-2010, 12:26 PM
ianp1966

Quote:

congratulations. i was always taught the proper way to steady one's hand is brandy :)

sounds like a good idea although i have a spare diazepam or 2 they should do the trick

Quote:

Very nice razor and congrats on your first shave. Even though you can get away shaving once a week, if you are like the rest of us, you will probably end of shaving more often just to practice.:)

hmmm that's what i was thinking too especially if it doesn't irritate my skin so much

Quote:

I'm a fellow head shaver (losing my hair and decided to own up to it) and I find shaving the head to be the most relaxing part as well. Maybe that's because there are no major blood vessels near by.

i think you can almost do it blindfold testing the level of shave with your spare hand as you go along

Quote:

Cool Wedge and a good start. Welcome to Straight Shaving.

cheers i liked the wedge too the razor looks soooo much better in the steel as i guess they always do :)

ian
03-26-2010, 12:37 PM
Stubear

Congrats on the first shave! It just gets better from here..! :)

Thats a great looking razor you've got there too! Are those micarta scales it has?
03-26-2010, 12:52 PM
ianp1966

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stubear

Congrats on the first shave! It just gets better from here..! :)

Thats a great looking razor you've got there too! Are those micarta scales it has?

Cheers Stu ! i'm going to try shaving more often now for definite i do like the all over shaved look, i should do ive had it for over 15 years now, as for the scales acrylic of some kind mainaman would be the guy to confirm this as i really dont know. Oh and he couldn't have been more helpful if he tried top fella !

I'm just so chuffed with the razor and would highly recommend anyone looking for a razor to check the classifieds first and the postage needent be an issue as from the U.S.A. with no insurance it cost $3.50 to post my razor !

So get with it all you fellas here in the U.K. forget ebay and buy from the guys on here instead i'm saving up for my next one already :)

ian
03-26-2010, 01:34 PM
mainaman

Thanks Ian,
I was very surprised how this razor shaved, too bad it has a bunch of pitting that could not clean up completely because there is not much you can remove from a hollow ground razor.
03-26-2010, 01:42 PM
ianp1966

Quote:

Originally Posted by mainaman

Thanks Ian,
I was very surprised how this razor shaved, too bad it has a bunch of pitting that could not clean up completely because there is not much you can remove from a hollow ground razor.

Well i think its a matter of taste really, although I do like the mirror finish on restored razors, I think its also nice to see that it was once an old razor too.
Plus it does look so much better in the steel, as i keep saying, there's so little pitting remaining I dont think anyone would complain. I own it now and I'm chuffed to bits with it :)

ian
03-26-2010, 03:18 PM
Drubbing

Grab yourself some nice cream or soap - Tabac, L'Occitane Cade or one of the 3 T's - Taylors, Truefitt or Trumpers. It gets much better.
03-26-2010, 06:11 PM
ianp1966

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drubbing

Grab yourself some nice cream or soap - Tabac, L'Occitane Cade or one of the 3 T's - Taylors, Truefitt or Trumpers. It gets much better.

i'm using Palmolive cream with palm extract and Palmolive soap which together do make a decent, and long lasting, lather if not the uberlather some people talk about with great reverence :)

but thanks for the advice all is much appreciated !

ian
03-27-2010, 12:46 AM
Drubbing

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianp1966

i'm using Palmolive cream with palm extract and Palmolive soap which together do make a decent, and long lasting, lather if not the uberlather some people talk about with great reverence :)

but thanks for the advice all is much appreciated !

ian

You might find any of the above will make the Palmolive look a bit ordinary. I found the Palmolive fresh Lemon the worst stuff I ever tried. But had to try it for $3.

A bargain priced cream is Proraso, but might only be able to get it online. There a Gentleman's Shop in Hungerford that is online and they have a big range.
03-27-2010, 02:13 AM
paco

Congrats on first, that's a smart looking razor.
While reading your public profile i took a peek at your fotos.
Think you should change name from housebound to PUB bound.
CHEERS:beer2::beer2::beer1::tu
By theway my mom was from Northamptonshire, anywhere close?
03-27-2010, 10:32 AM
ianp1966

Quote:

Originally Posted by paco

Congrats on first, that's a smart looking razor.
While reading your public profile i took a peek at your fotos.
Think you should change name from housebound to PUB bound.
CHEERS:beer2::beer2::beer1::tu
By theway my mom was from Northamptonshire, anywhere close?

Hi paco interesting fact my school nickname was poco quite similar dont you think :)
Northampton eh 'fraid nowhere near here its halfway down the country lets not forget we live on a smallish island !

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drubbing

You might find any of the above will make the Palmolive look a bit ordinary. I found the Palmolive fresh Lemon the worst stuff I ever tried. But had to try it for $3.

A bargain priced cream is Proraso, but might only be able to get it online. There a Gentleman's Shop in Hungerford that is online and they have a big range.

Palmolive stuff is quite nice considering the price and i cannot see me paying £5-10 for soap or cream that i only use once or twice a week no matter how good it is and seeing as my local supermarket does it it also saves on shipping halving the cost.
I just had a quick look at the site you recommended and yes they do stock what looks like the entire range of creams and soaps still a bit rich for my pocket tho.

cheers all :)

ian
03-27-2010, 10:46 AM
Romac

Quote:

Originally Posted by ianp1966

Well i think its a matter of taste really, although I do like the mirror finish on restored razors, I think its also nice to see that it was once an old razor too.

Couldn't agree more. Although I appreciate a mirror finish for cleaning, and rust prevention, I really love blades (straights or regular knives) with a very shallow pitting and/or patina. To me it's like looking at something with character and depth vs something that's more generic.

Those scales look pretty cool with that vintage blade!
03-27-2010, 10:54 AM
ianp1966

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romac

Couldn't agree more. Although I appreciate a mirror finish for cleaning, and rust prevention, I really love blades (straights or regular knives) with a very shallow pitting and/or patina. To me it's like looking at something with character and depth vs something that's more generic.

Those scales look pretty cool with that vintage blade!

Cheers ! i'm sure mainaman is pleased for the compliment on his work too :)

ian