Thread: First shave - went well!!

Hi everyone !!

I'm writing this just after finishing my 1st ever straight razor shave which, to my surprise, went VERY well.

I bought a few gold dollar 200 razors, tried to hone one, still looked like crap, sent the others to Lynn (thanks Lynn, they look fantastic now, nothing like saws I sent you. There's a mirror instead of a bevel now !!!)

I got the razors in the mail this afternoon, and since I hadn't shaved today, I thought tonight was the perfect time to try it out. Took a nice long shower to prep the whiskers, stroped for the 1st time ever (I went REAL slow, making sure that the blade was nice and flat before giving a stroke.) I did 40 slow passes on canvas, 40 slow passes on leather.

Then I took out the brush that had been soaking in hot water for a while, lathered up some Proraso & extra glycerin on my face, and brought the blade to my right side burn. Excitement !! This is it, no turning back now ! I took a super light 1" stroke, with a VERY slight scything motion, as explained here on fig.28 & 29: Shaving passes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

result: nothing..... the hair was still there....

So I lathered up some more & did the same thing again, but with a tad more pressure. This time I felt a few the blade did cut some hair, but barely. So I touched the spot where I passed, and to my surprise it was nice & smooth !!

So I continued along the jaw line, did the cheek & called it quits, now wasn't the time to push my luck. No pulling, no nicks. I grabbed my granfather's old gilette & finshed everything off.

I splashed some aftershave, just to see which side stung the most. The straight razor side won, but not by much. Then I rinsed with cold water, rinsed again, and again.

So there you have it !! My first straight razor shave. I'm happy to share it with you, it's because of all of you that I've decided to give this whole new adventure a try, and I'm convinced my 1st experience was a success because of the mountain of info I found just by reading your posts on this forum, and the wiki. I'll move on to other spots on my face soon, as soon as I feel more confortable with the razor.

Have a GREAT day, like the one I just had.
Glenn.

We have hooked another one! There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of learning a new skill, or should I say an old skill that has all but died off! Congrats and welcome to SRP!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

We have hooked another one! There is nothing quite like the satisfaction of learning a new skill, or should I say an old skill that has all but died off! Congrats and welcome to SRP!

Very true. Congrats and a hearty welcome, Glenn

Congrats! Now you see what all the fuss is about..!

Glad you're enjoying it and heres to many more..!