I took the razor to my face for the first time this morning. I did all I could for good prep--hot shower, hot towel, Musago pre-shave oil, and the best lather I could muster with SRD soap. I tried to create lather in a separate mug, but that seemed stupid in a hurry because the lather spread out too much in the mug. From there I just built it in the soap jar. I still think I have a lot to learn about creating a good lather...

I only went over my sideburn and cheek down to the jawline on my dominant side and got past my worries about "blocked vision" in my other post. I have to say I was literally shaking just a little bit when I started, but that's part of the fun!

I'm glad I stopped when I did because I was going so slowly and carefully that the lather was starting to dry at times. I reapplied 1-2 times even just doing the one side of my face to make sure I had protection.

Overall I guess it was about what I expected--a bit difficult. I used very light pressure (thinking about beard "reduction") and kept the angle probably somewhere between 20-30 degrees (or so I think with my limited ability to see the blade angle). I tried to think about getting a little momentum before the blade came into contact with the skin and that seemed to help.

My beard was clearly "reduced" from my 2-day stubble so something went right. No nicks or cuts either!

My biggest challenge was stretching the skin with a wet, lathered face. I rubbed my hand on the alum block, but that didn't help too much. I tried to stretch the skin by contorting my face but when I do that I end up with a pocket on my cheek--almost an indentation (it's just the way my face is). That made it really hard to shave the middle of my cheek. I tried turning the razor more sideways since my beard grows close to sideways on my cheek anyway--that allowed me to see a little better and it cut okay. Thanks to SRD for good honing--clearly this thing was sharp.

I did not strop out of fear of screwing up the edge and I might try another 1-2 shaves without stropping--I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on that if I'm only doing one side of my face.

The plan from here is to keep trying that sideburn/cheek area until I can go more quickly and comfortably and then move on to the other side (still questioning if I'll try it left-handed).

I guess if I had to deem this a success or failure I'd say success. The hair was lessened, no nicks and cuts, and I feel more comfortable now with the blade in my hand than I did before. Looking forward to many more months of "honing" my skill.

When I was done with that side, I finished up quickly with my cartridge razor. A little too quickly, in fact. I nicked my neck pretty good in 2-3 spots. That turned out to be a learning experience too because I got to find out that alum blocks really do sting, and they really do stop the bleeding.

The Thayer's Witch Hazel Toner felt great afterward.

-Stub