First Shave! -- (B-)

Hi All,

I recieved my Dovo Ebony, bridle strop and brush from SRD on Friday. Those guys are great! Seems they were down a day or so for Easter and decided to ship my stuff next day. Pretty cool. Then when I got the order, it had the larger SRD #3 brush rather than the #1 I had ordered (which I confirmed was OK with them before opening). Also very cool!

So this morning I've been doing yard work and checking the mail every half hour as the MB soap was due today. Sure enough, when the mailman finally came, there was my order.

I ran to the shower, with my temporary bowl (I'm thinking scuttle for father's day) and my other toys. Hung my strop yesterday and got the bathroom sparkling. My wife accused me of "nesting"!

After my shower I filled the bowl and sink with hot water, dribbled a little on my MB "Northwoods" soap, and dropped the brush in the sink to soak. I dumped the water out and put a splash of distilled water in the bowl (I live in San Antonio, world headquarters of hard water) and set that in the sink full of hot water. I stropped the blade five easy strokes after drying the oil off of it. It passed the HHT with one of my wifes fine hairs. I was ready.

I spent about 10 seconds rubbing the brush on the soap until it began to foam and then went to the bowl. In about 30 seconds I had coolwhip-like foam and set the brusn to my still wet face. Wow!! That was so nice.

I grabbed the razor and set to "shaving"One thing a lot of you have implied is that a couple of days worth of growth is easier to shave then just one, so I haven't shaved since Friday morning. This might have been a mistake. The sideburns were easy, the cheeks a little harder, the goatee area virutually impossible on 2+ days of growth. I chalk that up to a coarser than average beard and being a complete novice with no technique. The razor pulled a fair amount and I got a little over zealous on my right cheek. It burned, but no cuts.

I started with my sideburns and just kept going until I was uncomfortable. I did one WTG pass on my sideburns, cheek and neck. Even shaved my Adam's apple with no cuts. No go on the chin. I ended up with one nick on my right-side cheek and one "mistake".

NEWBIE ALERT!!!: Dear fellow newbies, The straight razor is NEVER meant to go sideways on your neck. Especially near the jugular vein!

I decided to leave well enough alone and clean up my chin and jowls with my mach 3.

I followed this up with a warm water rinse, a cold water rinse, and some Clinique Post Shave Healer. My cut burns, but the rest of my face feels pretty good.

It's not BBS (not expected) and I definitely missed some areas. But I bet tomorrow will be light years better than today. We shall see.

All-in-all, I give myself a B-. Would have been a B+ without the slicing cut to my neck. What a rookie mistake.

I have two questions:

1. Until I get my "shave den" set up, can I safely keep the razor in it's case or does it need to be in the air to dry?

2. Does anybody else use a DE as their backup for days when the beard is too heavy or you just don't have time for the SR shave?

Finally, I think I have soap acquisition disorder. I want to try them all. Oh, and I've started my Kamisori savings fund. Nuts, I know.

--David

He He He soundsa like your going to have fun...

i keep my razor in its box and it was fine, i would wipe the blade with a drop of oil after every use. and made sure there was no water present.

i do still have my mock 3 for when my razor is off getting hones ect, but generaly it straight every day for me

Grats on the shave!

I keep my razors on top of the mantle in the living room. Don't keep them anywhere that moisture seems to collect...ie. the bathroom. If you have kids, keep them away from curious fingers.

I've only picked up a couple DE razors just in case I didn't shave the night before and end up running late in the morning. Other than recently, I've been running straights only no matter what.

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Originally Posted by red96ta

Grats on the shave!

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Thanks!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by red96ta

I've only picked up a couple DE razors just in case I didn't shave the night before and end up running late in the morning.

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That's exactly what I'm thinking. I often look at my alarm clock as only a suggestion of when to get up!

Is it tomorrow, yet???

--David

You done good my friend!

I can't think of anyone I've spoken to that did not say "first shave drew blood".

Just let the razor air dry for a couple of hours before storing in the case. Avoid the dreaded spotting. Also make darn sure the scales are dry inside. I have a thin handled spoon that I wrap a thin towel over the end of the handle and slide it up and down inside the scales.

I always use a DE (my favorite is the Edwin Jager DE89L) as a back-up. I also use the DE as a polishing pass at the and. I have two areas just below my jaw line that the beard grows sideways on. It is not possible for me to do an ATG in that area, so I use the DE at the end. I used to feel like I was cheating or something.:D

Keep at it, you will be amazed!

David

way to go, thanks for sharing... it only gets better from here

Cheers
Dave

Sounds like your doing just fine. Don't worry yourself about the nicks or cut. Be patient and take it slow. Learn to crawl before you walk, and learn to walk before you begin to run with your new str8 razor--figuratively speaking. Start shaving one side of your face. Then add another part of your face, and another, and another over the next several weeks until you are shaving all of your face with the str8. This will give you the time to learn about the various quirks of your face and beard that will make your str8 razor shaving experience more enjoyable over the long-run.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

David,

The 'duelling scars' are part of the rite of passage !

Wear them with pride :)

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

when i started i would use a DE to clean up but now i can get everything witht he straight...the whole alarm clock thing though...sometimes i just have to use a DE because im in a hurry....this may sound odd i dunno but i cut myself more with a DE than a straight

Good start. Take your time and enjoy the journey.

Day Two and things went much better in most places. Lots of burning under my chin, but I chalk that up to technique.

Some random thoughts:

• My grip is good. Not great, but good.
• Surprisingly, I can use my left hand.
• My stretching SUCKS. I found myself shaving sections without stretching at all. Bonehead move.
• You have to do this with intent. You can't just let the weight of the razor do the work. There has to be some input on your part.
• I have declared my goatee area and my neck under it off limits until next weekend. I just don't have the stroke for that yet.
• Due to fear of over-stropping, I think I'm under-stropping.
• Re-lather before you think you need to.
• ATG??!?! You must be joking.
• Warm lather is cool. Pun intended.
• I think dollars spent on a brush are probably dollars well spent.
• 30* is less than you think. I think my face prefers something more like 15*.
• What my Granny taught me about lather -- I used to help my grandmother make pies. She taught me that when you think you have the meringue whipped as much as you need it, you should mark the time and then whip it that long again. That seems to apply to lather too. Today's was even thicker and smoother than yesterday's.
• Stretch, stretch, stretch.
• Beard prep may be a steeper learning curve than I thought.
• The same goes for the post shave process. Witch hazel is on my acquisition list now.
• Did I mention I really like warm lather?
• I went with the 5/8 Ebony. Good choice for me as I can't imagine fitting an even larger blade under my nose.

Thanks to everyone for their words of encouragement and advice. Keep it comeing.

--David