Thread: First Shave - Did not go well

Hello All,

I attempted my first straight razor shave and it did not got well. I purchased a razor from the classifieds and sent it to Lynn for honing so I know the razor was not the problem.

The lather was good, thick and creamy like cool whip.

I fully accepted that I would probably nick myself, and I did, but that wasn't the problem. From the first stroke, on my dominant side, even in the "easy" spots, it was very rough. Pulling, tugging, scraping are the adjectives that come to mind. Sounded like sand paper. I didn't shave at all yesterday, so I had 48 hours of growth, maybe that was a mistake for the first shave.

I know it was my technique, and I assume my angle was off. I tried my best to keep the 30 degree angle, but guess I didn't pull it off.

Oh well...will try again later.

There r alot of variables that could have gone wrong, but the fact that Lynn honed it is a great start. It could definitely be the angle and the strokes( i tend to do short quick strokes) Im sure the more u do it the better it will get Also how is your prep? what did you do for prep?

I, like Matt, wonder what your pre-shave preparation was. It is not clear from the description of your shave. You need to prep your beard, either with a hot shower and/or hair conditioner or a hot towel to soften the whiskers prior to shaving.

You may also want to recheck your blade angle, perhaps reducing it a bit from the 30 degree angle you are holding the blade at. Perhaps 20-25 degrees?

Just my 2 cents

Thank you all for the quick replies. Here was my routine...

1.)Soak badger brush in hot distilled water while I took a shower. I used distilled because my water is so hard here it is hard to lather anything.

2.)Took shower being sure to get my face good a wet

3.)Get out of shower, dry off, just pat dry my face

4.)Build lather using almond sized bit of unscented shaving cream and soaptopia sweet almond soap

5.)Didn't do any other beard prep except to apply lather with brush

6.)Attempt to shave with straight razor, have bad experience, finish with Mach 3.

Pretty much how it went.

It's going to take a few shaves before you get the hang of it. The angle is tricky. If anything, try less of an angle. Two days of growth probably didn't help matters either. Maybe just try the sideburn area first, until you get the hang of it. Like the other guys mentioned, prep is important, Hot Shower, or Hot Towel...Pre shave oil helps, you can even use Olive Oil if you don't have anything else, a few drops goes a long way....Some guys even use hair conditioner in shower on their beard.....

I`ve only been straight shaving for a month. I had loads of tugging on my first few goes aswell. Angle was a big problem for me at first too, I was too shallow. When you eventually get it right (and you will) it`ll be so satifying ! I felt like I`d hit a sweet spot with it, all of a sudden, I got the angle right and it worked really well so stick with it and just take it easy! Eeeeeasy. I caught myself getting a little frustrated a few times and had the good sense to put the razor down before I cut myself and finish up with my M3. My point is, it just takes a while. I`ve gotten to the stage where I can do an acceptable shave (nothing special) most times. I`ve been lucky enough to have ONE amazing shave so far too which was very very encouraging. So dispair not! Only a few steps down the line and you`ll start making progress......

Originally Posted by JSMaxwell

Thank you all for the quick replies. Here was my routine...

1.)Soak badger brush in hot distilled water while I took a shower. I used distilled because my water is so hard here it is hard to lather anything.

2.)Took shower being sure to get my face good a wet

3.)Get out of shower, dry off, just pat dry my face

4.)Build lather using almond sized bit of unscented shaving cream and soaptopia sweet almond soap

5.)Didn't do any other beard prep except to apply lather with brush

6.)Attempt to shave with straight razor, have bad experience, finish with Mach 3.

Pretty much how it went.

The prep u do may be everything you need, and it just may be your angle however if i were u i would try this and see if its better.

1) hot shower , use your hair conditioner as a scrub and scrub your face with it in the shower. also use a hot towel in the shower after the conditioner has had time to sink in and soften your beard.

2) when u r about to get out of the shower wet your face one final time and dont dry it off or pat dry leave it wet.

Then do the rest of your routine, i found that i had to do a lot more prep then what i use to do when i had the mach 3 but it is totally worth it.

If ur still getting tugging, pulling i would bet its your angle

good luck!!

also make sure to steer the lather into your beard for a good minute to further prep your beard

+1 on the blade angle. I think it's easy to use to steep of an angle to start because when using a cartridge razor you really can't tell while shaving what the angle is. Drop the blade angle and you will use less pressure which should improve the shave.

Just curious,did you strop this razor after Lynn honed it?

Originally Posted by aroliver59

Just curious,did you strop this razor after Lynn honed it?

I did not. When the razor came back to me in the mail there was a note saying it had been honed, stropped, shave tested, disinfected, and stropped again. It said no stropping was necessary, that it was ready to shave.