Carried away

I got a little carried away on the first shave. Barbers choice razor, no name badger brush, and col conks lime glycerin shave soap. I was just going to follow the recomendation of just doing the sideburns for the first shave. Was. I got a semi good lather going and my str8 open and suddenly I had to try for everywhere. Single pass WTG all over except for an additional ATG on my neck. Almost smooth everywhere but my chin. I had to hit it with my disposable to get the last of the hair off. Chin got a little sore. No nicks. I was so proud of my self. Next time I'm gonna slow down a little too. Too many years of speeding through a shave with a disposable. I need a non-alcohol based after shave too. Slight ouch.

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Originally Posted by Kratzer001

I got a semi good lather going

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Don't ever do that. Rather, throw it away and start over. Bets are on that the majority of beginners with problems are suffering from Bad Lather Syndrome. Apart from stropping and skin stretching, making good lather is probably the most underrated shaving skill. :)

I agree 100% . Your lather quality is something you can recognize before the razor touches your face. If you continue on with the shave with crappy lather and your face is chewed up afterwords, you'll have a hard time narrowing down the reasons for the less than desirable shave. There are a lot of variables to straight shaving. Softening the whiskers, lathering, stropping, pressure, angle, finding the grain etc. The key to a great shave is mastering each individual variable that is in your control and finding the products that work best for you. I'm glad to hear you were not afraid to jump right in. I was the same. It was as if I just had the knack. Keep at it and you'll be shaving irritation free in no time at all.
Hey and welcome !!!1one :beer1:

-Duke

Hello, Kratzer001:

BeBerlin makes an excellent point about making proper lather. A good lather is imperative. So yes, if you need to start all over again, do so. If you do everything right except the lather, you probably will miss out on a good shave.

Regards,
Obie

Good lather will have the consistency of whipped cream. If it looks more like meringue and starts to break down rather quickly on your face your lather is not correct. I have no idea how the Conk soaps and creams perform so not much advice to give you on those products. Check through the reviews and vendors forums below for suggestions on lathering products. All of the vendors I have dealt with from this site are top notch and their products are beyond question. :beer1:

I'm with ya on the speed issue lol, I used to scream threw the shave before I went to straights. Once I slowed down and learned to enjoy the shave, they got ALLOT better fast :)

I would like to take a poll on how many people went for the whole face after that successful area below the dominant sideburn.:)

Everyone is giving good advice here on the lather. It's like putting water in your engine instead of oil.

I attribute part of the lather problem to innexperience and part to a brand new brush. Bristles were a little stiff. I waited a little too long after my shower too. Sometimes the best way to learn is to make mistakes, and I think I've made a few!

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Originally Posted by Kratzer001

I attribute part of the lather problem to innexperience and part to a brand new brush. Bristles were a little stiff. I waited a little too long after my shower too. Sometimes the best way to learn is to make mistakes, and I think I've made a few!

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Just try not to learn not to lop off your ear the hard way :D

That's funny because I ever so lightly grazed my ear and I almost smacked into the mirror.

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Originally Posted by TheRedlines

Just try not to learn not to lop off your ear the hard way :D

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There's an easy way?

I think I'll avoid either way!

:tameshigiri:

Lather, Lather, where art thou?

No good lather = no good shave.

I agree with Obie and Robin (BeBerlin) here.

For me, I found that prepping the beard is 80% of the battle ;).

Kratzer,

Good for you. Congratulations.

Once you develop your beard prep and lathering skills, the sky's the limit.

Since I'm such a newb myself, I lather for double the time I feel is appropriate just to make sure.

My brush is getting better after a few uses. Found out the soap I have needs a little more water than I used the first time.

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Originally Posted by Alembic

I would like to take a poll on how many people went for the whole face after that successful area below the dominant sideburn.

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I admit it. Guilty!!

I gotta make all the mistakes i can. I learn better that way. Have some Mama Bears shave soap on the way. Gonna see if its good.

I use the Conk soap and it works great for me. At first I messed up the lather a lot, but with patience and good balance between soap and water, now I lather right all the time. Personally I didn't like the lime scent, but the amber and bay rum instead are my favorites. One thing I do no-matter-what, is to add 4 glycerine drops to the soap just before attacking the cake with the wetted (not too much) brush.... Hope this helps and good luck.

I got a mama bears soap an tried it out. I like the bigger container that it comes in. I'm getting the mix to water to soap down much better in my lathers I can really feel a difference. My improvement on stropping helps a lot too. I did a WTG and ATG shave. Almost BBS! Just have a few more patches to work out. Slowed down a little. Up to 25 min with prep. Gotta get a non-alcohol afterhave! Any recomendations?

Good lather is imperative, and the chin is the hardest part to shave for everybody.

IMO you have two real choices for soap. You can drop a soap puck in a coffee mug and work up a good lather with your brush in the mug. Don't use too much pressure, and you'll soon find how much water you have to add to get a nich thick lather. As others have said, if it really sucks just pour it out and start over. Don't rush. I'd say that whipped cream analogy is a good one, and if you take your time you find the lather will build to that consistancy.

The other choice is to use a soap like Proraso which comes in its own plastic tub. Just work your brush over the soap and when the brush is picking up the soap paint it on your face, a section at a time. Then, work up the lather directly on your face using more or less water on the brush to get the consistancy you want. This method actually takes a little less time than working up the lather in a cup.

Sounds like you are off to a good start. You just need to take your time. Let us know how it goes.

+1 on ziggy's advice.

Congratulations as well on your succesfsful entry into the world of straight razor shaving.

Take care--and smooth shaving.

It's all been such great advice. I've been working on getting my soap to water ratio down. I think I've about gotten it. The chin has gotten muh better. My Mach3 always left me with razor burn under my chin. I was pleasantly suprised with my chin not burned after m last str8 shave. Why did people ever give up str8s for disposables?

Try this on your chin: Shave left to right and right to left, swapping hands if you can. Grab the skin on your jaw with the free hand and pull back to stretch the skin. Go slow and take it easy and you should get a good shave around the end of your chin. Then, shave from the lower lip down to your clean chin, and do your neck as usual. I've seen people shave from the lower lip down and completely around the chin. I've seen it but I can't do it.

Good prep and maybe a hot towel can also help around the chin.

As for why people gave up on straights, just read Gillette's history. They sold razors cheap and made thier money on disposible blades. If you stay away from those multiblade razors they sell now, a double edge razor with disposible blades is still a good way to wet shave and not very expensive.

IMO straights are making a comeback more for asthetic and historic reasons, and it also turns your shave into a pleasant ritual. My electric is in a drawer somewhere, and I use a DE when I'm in a hurry. It's just fun smearing lather all over your face. :)

I get a better shave with my str8. The ritual is even better. So much better than the chore that shaving used to be.

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Originally Posted by Kratzer001

I get a better shave with my str8. The ritual is even better. So much better than the chore that shaving used to be.

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Amen brother!