First Shave: Good, Bad and Questions?

First, I have learned so much from reading the forum the last week or so. Great people and great advice. Okay, so I just shaved with a SR for the first time. I only did the right side of my face up to my chin including my neck area as well.

The Good: I did not nick myself at all which was good. The razor felt relatively comfortable in my hand. It did get more comfortable from the beginning of the shave to the end. Excited for more.

The Bad: The razor felt like it was pulling the hair a little bit. I got a Dovo "Best" from Vintage Blades honed by Lynn so I'm sure it is sharp. I'm thinking it could be because I had a beard prior to shaving tonight for the first time in 6 months.

I also could not get a good lather on my soap. Not sure if I was not using enough water or my technique was wrong. I will watch the videos again to see what I did wrong. :shrug:

The Questions: Do you think the pulling was caused by my technique or bad lather or both? Could it be the blade?

Since I only shaved one side of my face, do I have to strop before my next shave?

Does the blade have to be oiled after every use or is that only for long term storage?

Thanks for any advice/help/answers in advance.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

First, I have learned so much from reading the forum the last week or so. Great people and great advice. Okay, so I just shaved with a SR for the first time. I only did the right side of my face up to my chin including my neck area as well.

The Good: I did not nick myself at all which was good. The razor felt relatively comfortable in my hand. It did get more comfortable from the beginning of the shave to the end. Excited for more.

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Good job. :tu

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

The Bad: The razor felt like it was pulling the hair a little bit. I got a Dovo "Best" from Vintage Blades honed by Lynn so I'm sure it is sharp. I'm thinking it could be because I had a beard prior to shaving tonight for the first time in 6 months.

I also could not get a good lather on my soap. Not sure if I was not using enough water or my technique was wrong. I will watch the videos again to see what I did wrong. :shrug:

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Smart idea getting a shave ready razor. The rest will come with time.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

The Questions: Do you think the pulling was caused by my technique or bad lather or both? Could it be the blade?

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I doubt it's the blade. For your first shave, I'd say it's technique and that'll improve with time. Even absolutely terrible lather will do something for you. For me, if the lather is a little extra watery it's better than being a little dry.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

Since I only shaved one side of my face, do I have to strop before my next shave?

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Strop before every shave. (Are you walking around with half of your face in a 6 month beard? :rofl2:)

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

Does the blade have to be oiled after every use or is that only for long term storage?

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Long term, but a little oil after every shave won't do anything to it. You will have the extra step before and after every shave though.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

Thanks for any advice/help/answers in advance.

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You're welcome. Invoice is in the mail.

Looks as if the prior post got it, no more to add. Good luck and as they said int the 70's ,I think that's it. Keep on Truck'in.

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You're welcome. Invoice is in the mail.

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I'm sorry but I'm broke from ordering shaving equipment!!!

Not sure if it had anything to do with the "pulling" I was getting, but I just went and practiced making lather after posting my first post. Boy was I off with the amount of water I added the first time. My lather was practically dry. I just practiced and added about a tablespoon of water to my lather bowl and I got a rich, creamy lather.

I guess I should not be afraid to add water! Now I'm truly looking forward to my next shave.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

......snip....
I also could not get a good lather on my soap. Not sure if I was not using enough water or my technique was wrong. I will watch the videos again to see what I did wrong. :shrug:
.....snip....

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This is the easy one to fix.

All it takes is practice.:)
Find a puck of William or van der hagen shave soap
and practice. These soaps only cost about two bucks
but do not let the price deter you they are decent
shave soaps. They are available in many discount
and even grocery stores.

Take an afternoon or an hour a day for part of
a week and just make a lather. Use too much
soap, too much water, too little soap, too little
water, wet brush almost dry brush, add water in
a gush or drip by drip.

Lather in a cup, on your hand, on your face, in a small soup
bowl -- just tinker and practice.

If you do not use all the soap while practicing let it
dry a bit and save it in a plastic bag. It will come in handy
for a lot of things, including more practice in
a month or two.

I've been straight razor shaving for about a month now and am just starting to get rid of that "pulling the whiskers" feeling. The first few times shaving, the pulling was so bad that I asked the forum what I was doing wrong. The answer: patience, your technique will improve.

And it has/is.

I found that it was a combination of a slightly increased angle, slightly more pressure, shorter and quicker strokes, and more moisture! I can't emphasize enough the need for a very moist lather. I ensure that my face is dripping wet before applying lather (I use Proraso).

Lots of questions come to mind.

1. You don't mention stropping. Did you?
2. Best to watch the videos on creating a good lather. It should be the consistency of whipped cream, not meringue.
3. What was your face prep?
4. If all the above were correct it sounds like your angle is too steep. This causes tugging, not cutting. The best angle for WTG is about 30 degrees, or approximately twice the width of the blade shoulder.

Well, I had my third shave last night. I did not strop before my first shave as the "instructions" stated that it was not necessary.

Shave three was much more comfortable than shaves one and two. I did strop before shaves two and three. 40 passes on the canvas and 50 passes on the leather. I have gotten better at making lather now....I was not using nearly enough water the first two times.

While shave three was much more comfortable, the shave was not as close. I had to go back for a second WTG pass and it still did not seem as close as the left side of my face which I did with my Gilette Fusion. I will keep at it and not get discouraged.

Also, I cannot for the life of me figure out how to hold the blade in my left hand????? I feel stupid, but can anyone tell me an easy way to grip the razor in my opposite hand?? :confused:

Glad to hear the good progress!

How do you hold the razor when using your right hand? Are you using one of the standard grips (http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...raight_razor)? I suggest using the exact same grip with your left hand (the mirror image). It may seem odd at first but you will improve with time. I've never tried it myself, but a good amount of men on here suggest practising your left hand technique with a butterknife (while watching tv or whatnot).

I've a relatively new straight razor shaver myself, and still have days where the left side of my face isn't as well shaven as the right. However, I find a WTG pass followed by an XTG pass does the trick more often than not.

I am actually using the grip that Lynn explains in his DVD, so yes, one of the standard grips.

I am just finding it impossible to get the mirror image grip on the left side. It is strange, but I can't figure out where to position the scales. Haha...it is actually starting to frustrate me because I feel like it is such a simple thing to do.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

I am actually using the grip that Lynn explains in his DVD, so yes, one of the standard grips.

I am just finding it impossible to get the mirror image grip on the left side. It is strange, but I can't figure out where to position the scales. Haha...it is actually starting to frustrate me because I feel like it is such a simple thing to do.

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Yeah, I hear you. Try going for the exact mirror opposite. Do a couple strokes with your right hand on your right side of the face and take note of everything.

1. Where is the razor? What direction is it facing?
2. Where are your fingers? Where is your hand/wrist?
3. Where are the scales?
4. Where is your other hand? How is it positioned to pull the skin?
5. How is your face angled wrt to the mirror?

Go for the mirror opposite on the left.... no silver bullet, only practice.

Hold the razor in your right hand. Place the fingertips of your left against those of your right. Transfer razor. Done.

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Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Hold the razor in your right hand. Place the fingertips of your left against those of your right. Transfer razor. Done.

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:roflmao Simple and true.

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Originally Posted by Fbones24

While shave three was much more comfortable, the shave was not as close. I had to go back for a second WTG pass and it still did not seem as close as the left side of my face which I did with my Gilette Fusion. I will keep at it and not get discouraged.

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That's the key. It's different for everyone, but it took me a fair number of months before I was consistently getting better shaves with a straight than with my Mach-3. The straight instantly gave less irritation, but achieving the true BBS shave certainly didn't happen overnight. Once it does, though (and lasts all day), you'll wonder how you ever put up with the cartridge nonsense. Keep at it, practice the angles, use a little less pressure than seems necessary, and the result will come with time. :tu

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Originally Posted by BeBerlin

Hold the razor in your right hand. Place the fingertips of your left against those of your right. Transfer razor. Done.

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Okay, that made it simple and seems to have got me in the right position. Thank you so much for simplifying that for me.

I think the process of shaving with my left hand is so awkward to me right now that I could not even figure out how to grip the blade. I hope this doesn't get ugly.