Thread: First couple of shaves

Bought a Dovo best + Badger brush + Mama Bears Glycerin Soap + Red Tiago strop. First couple of shaves have gone well. Still trying to get a feel for two handed versus single handed cross. Little bit of scraping + a few nicks, but nothing terrible. I'd say successful thus far.

Big question. With my fusion I went with grain and then against it and got a smooth shave. I have not attempted against the grain with the staright yet. Instead I pull the fusion out to do a thorough job on the chin and to finish off the neck and cheeks.

Now for the big question......Do most of you get a close enough shave strictly with the grain or are you following up against the grain?

Originally Posted by MrCoffee

Bought a Dovo best + Badger brush + Mama Bears Glycerin Soap + Red Tiago strop. First couple of shaves have gone well. Still trying to get a feel for two handed versus single handed cross. Little bit of scraping + a few nicks, but nothing terrible. I'd say successful thus far.

Big question. With my fusion I went with grain and then against it and got a smooth shave. I have not attempted against the grain with the staright yet. Instead I pull the fusion out to do a thorough job on the chin and to finish off the neck and cheeks.

Now for the big question......Do most of you get a close enough shave strictly with the grain or are you following up against the grain?

I am fairly new also. I do a WTG on my entire face. Relather and go across the grain on my face and chin then against the grain on my neck. I no longer do clean-up with a multi-blade. Some folks do three passes. If I do, I get a burn

MrCoffee,

You've got a nice shaving kit there. Congrats!

As for your question...At this stage be statisfied with WTG. Add XTG as you gain in confidence. Finish up the shave with your Fusion. As you gain in experience and confidence you can go ATG on your neck. I do, on occasion, when I have the time. To do so, however, you need to hold the razor like a knife, fully extended, and slowly shave upward toward your chin and jawline. Lynn demonstrates how to do it in his dvd "World of Straight Razor Shaving."

Most times I am satisfied with a WTG and XTG passes on my face.

I hope this helps. Take care--and continued smooth shaving.

actually one of the member here, if I'm not mistaken, can not apply ATG due sensitive skin, and still get smooth shave...and not everyone's skin can stand ATG as much as I can read.

I'm also fairly new with wetshaving and with solely WTG and XTG, I personally can get smooth shave look and it indeed feel smooth when rub it WTG.

Thanks for the replies. Thats my plan JHenry. Definitely taking my time. I will heed the suggestions and go WTG for a bit.

Originally Posted by MrCoffee

....snip....
Now for the big question......Do most of you get a close enough shave strictly with the grain or are you following up against the grain?

My whiskers run in a lot of directions all at once.
My strategy is to shave systematically and ignore the
grain. I shave with the blade in the most comfortable
grip and use a lot of very short strokes on small surfaces.
So my one pass is a bit more that just one pass.

I then relather a second time and feel my face for missed
or scratchy spots and then fix those as needed.

Same with a DE... more systematic shaving of surfaces
than attention to the grain. I do vary the angle by feel.

By lather it is one and a half.
By another count it is three or four.
A light touch helps....

Hi and congrats on the first shave. You bought well for your kit.

First, remember that this is a different shaving process. With a Fusion, you are just going after straight beard removal. You can do that because of how the cartridge is built.

This is beard reduction. Every pass is designed to reduce the beard more and more. I can't imagine going straight to an ATG if not for the previous passes. My face would look like hamburger.

I personally do a WTG, a XTG L-R and a XTG R-L for my basic everyday shave. Takes about 15 - 20 minutes. When I want extra close, I add an ATG at the end.

So here is the thing. Everyone is going to be different, but it took me 5 months to be able to drop a cleanup with a DE razor, eliminate razor burn, and for these reasons:

1. Skin break in
2. Getting to know my beard growth directions
3. Learning to strop and getting a well sharpened edge
4. Getting the muscle memory in my hands for the passes
5. Learning the right amount of pressure (ideally none)
6. Learning where to scythe cut
7. Learning the direction to stretch the skin
8. Learning to adjust the blade angle to the skin as the pass is made
9. Making good lather

This is a lot of stuff to learn. A LOT of stuff. It does not come overnight, but it does come. And my friend - you will be rewarded for your efforts.

Plan on 5 -6 months of learning and experimentation.

And speaking of experimenting, be prepared to do a lot of it. People here can give you foundational advice, but in the end, you have to learn what works for you. Try not to change too many (ideally no more than 1) variable at a time. You won't know what effect any given change is providing.

Again - good to have you here and keep posting.

David

It sounds like you are off to a good start, congrats!

I never do the ATG pass as it wrecks my face. A master barber at Trumpers also told me never to got ATG for the same reason. I get a great result using WTG, XTG and scythes.

What I do is two XTG passes on my cheeks (one each way), WTG then XTG on my chin and tache area, and then WTG and scythes on my neck. Then I feel around for any areas I've missed and tackle those, and that gets me BBS.

Good luck and keep us posted!