Thread: First attempt

So the missing piece of my set came today, a beautiful Workman razor from Joed (also thanks to CarrieM for the sample creams). For this shave I used Colleen's unscented soap and my Thaeter brush. Here is the progression of events.

1. Soaked my brush in hot water and poured a little hot water over the soap.
2. Took a shower.
3. Shook out excess water from brush, then built lather in the bowl on top of soap. I had to go back to the cup of water with the brush a few times to get a good lather going. In the end I got an adequate lather on my face.
4. Began a WTG pass on my right cheek with my right hand using a standard grip. There were several things that surprised me: It took me while to figure out how to do it without my hand/scales in the way of my vision, I kept having the scales run into my nose, and the blade was very slippery in my hands. Of course I expected to have a hard time getting the correct angle (which I did), which led to the razor pulling a lot. It didn't help the cause that I couldn't see well.
5. Then did a WTG pass on the right third of my neck. Here it was easier to see, but I still had trouble keeping the scales from hitting my chin.
6. Finished the rest off my with a disposable.
7. Re-lathered my face, but I think I used to much water this time because the lather on my face seemed wet instead of puffy.
8. Repeated steps 4-6 with slightly better results.
9. Lathered a few spots I missed with the straight razor and shaved it off with the disposable.
10. Cleaned and dried everything (left leftover foam on top of soap in the bowl), and put everything away.

All-in-all it was a good learning experience. I knew shaving with a straight was going to be hard but in fact it was harder than what I was imagining (and I haven't even tried stropping yet!), and I came away with an okay shave and a bit or razor burn.

Thanks for reading and if you have any advice please share!

Originally Posted by green351

So the missing piece of my set came today, a beautiful Workman razor from Joed (also thanks to CarrieM for the sample creams). For this shave I used Colleen's unscented soap and my Thaeter brush. Here is the progression of events.

1. Soaked my brush in hot water and poured a little hot water over the soap.
2. Took a shower.
3. Shook out excess water from brush, then built lather in the bowl on top of soap. I had to go back to the cup of water with the brush a few times to get a good lather going. In the end I got an adequate lather on my face.
4. Began a WTG pass on my right cheek with my right hand using a standard grip. There were several things that surprised me: It took me while to figure out how to do it without my hand/scales in the way of my vision, I kept having the scales run into my nose, and the blade was very slippery in my hands. Of course I expected to have a hard time getting the correct angle (which I did), which led to the razor pulling a lot. It didn't help the cause that I couldn't see well.
5. Then did a WTG pass on the right third of my neck. Here it was easier to see, but I still had trouble keeping the scales from hitting my chin.
6. Finished the rest off my with a disposable.
7. Re-lathered my face, but I think I used to much water this time because the lather on my face seemed wet instead of puffy.
8. Repeated steps 4-6 with slightly better results.
9. Lathered a few spots I missed with the straight razor and shaved it off with the disposable.
10. Cleaned and dried everything (left leftover foam on top of soap in the bowl), and put everything away.

All-in-all it was a good learning experience. I knew shaving with a straight was going to be hard but in fact it was harder than what I was imagining (and I haven't even tried stropping yet!), and I came away with an okay shave and a bit or razor burn.

Thanks for reading and if you have any advice please share!

****> Sounds like a good (and common!) first session! Advice: Keep on shaving with it! You will find the positions that work for YOUR face. STRETCH the skin with your 'off' hand. Sounds like you did a good job of beard prep - that is important!
Keep on. It will come!

It sounds like you are making decent progress. Using a straight razor always seems rather awkward at first. The more that you do so, however, the teachnique will become more comfortable/natural to you.

Try turning your face towards the mirror and rely more on your peripheral vision. I found that eliminated "blind" spots when I shaved the sides of my face.

Use a little less water in your lather bowl when shaving next time. Remember, once you've built your lather, a little water--a teasponful or less--goes a long way.

Make certain that your hands are dry, especially the one holding the razor. Use your towel to do so. You wouldn't want it to slip out of your hand while shaving. Remember, the key to safe shaving--as in driving--is to remain in control at all times.

sounds like you did a great job.
from now on it should just keep on going better.
+1 on the advice for keeping you're hands clean.

success, hope you'll love it

regards
Stijn

Well as another novice I'm with you on thinking its trickier than expected, but having had my 2nd shave last night I found it felt a lot less wrong if you can understand that!

It's much trickier than using the cartridge razor I had and takes, oh, five times longer. However, I cannot say I've ever looked forward to shaving prior to buying a straight razor. I hope the novelty never wears off!

Sometimes in the side burn area, my hand or wrist obscures my vision. I like the advice of turning my face a little more toward the mirror! I'll definitely give that a shot next time, that might help. When I was "shaving blind" I'd just double check i had clearance around my ear and just shave blind by the feel of the razor, didn't let it stop moving and it worked out.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by your hand or the scales obscuring your vision while you shave.
When doing sideburns you should (if doing correctly ) be able to see the blade or part of it at least in the mirror as it touches your skin-(I don't remember making any attempt to cut anything without being able to see the blade or most of it when I started.otherwise how can one judge the angle?)
Examine the way you are holding the razor,practice in the mirror and compare it to the videos of shaving in the wiki-this is what i did because I can remember being confused about grip on my first attempts. This may also cure your slippery grip problem apart from making sure your fingers are free from soap or lather prior to picking up the razor.
My technique is different from yours in that I only use my dominant hand to shave but I still hold with the above.
All in all though your experience is in line with making good progress and as your journey continues ,things will soon click into place. Enjoy the learning curve!
Just my twopence worth!
Hope this helps .
Regards

Noggs

Originally Posted by noggs247

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by your hand or the scales obscuring your vision while you shave.
When doing sideburns you should (if doing correctly ) be able to see the blade or part of it at least in the mirror as it touches your skin-(I don't remember making any attempt to cut anything without being able to see the blade or most of it when I started.otherwise how can one judge the angle?)

Well that's sort of what I meant, I'm only shaving with my dominant hand (right) and when I swung it over for the left sideburns the hand would sometimes obscure my vision. I watched the videos, but it looks like both shavers are switching hands between sideburns so I'm not sure if my grip is correct for the left sideburn (with right hand). I'll keep looking.

Hi Chully71,

Originally Posted by chully71

Well that's sort of what I meant, I'm only shaving with my dominant hand (right) and when I swung it over for the left sideburns the hand would sometimes obscure my vision. I watched the videos, but it looks like both shavers are switching hands between sideburns so I'm not sure if my grip is correct for the left sideburn (with right hand). I'll keep looking.

I think I know what is going wrong-when you are shaving your right side in standard grip the scales should be right next to your right eye.When you switch to your left side,keep your grip the same but turn your hand so that the scales are right next to your left ear.your hand should be positioned justl below your left eye and be nowhere near your line of sight to the blade as it touches the sideburn.
Note:-It is too tricky to line the blade up perfectly with the sideburn -so I use the ATG pass to perfect the line.
Hope this helps
Regards

Noggs

Regards

Noggs