Thread: Too many new things...

All blades demand a sacrafice of blood, and we have all donated to the cause.

Really though, congrats on your first shaves! The first are the most intimidating, after that you realize it isn't as scary or dangerous as you thought it was as long as you pay attention. (You did learn to pay attention right?)

Oh, and ditto on not shaving over it until it is all healed. I did that once, and only once.

@speckey: Thanks, and I've watched (and re-watch) every video I can.

Setup is Dovo Best Quality 5/8, 2" latigo leather strop, Simpson B4 pure badger brush, and unscented shaving soap. It's the kit from SRD.

@nessmuck: Roger that.

@Bazz: nah, it won't scar. I've got some Vitamin E lotion to make sure it doesn't too And yes, VERY exciting.

@markevens: Hopefully that is all the sacrifice required. BTW, your journal is the last one I read before I put blade to face.

Shave this morning was not good. At all. I don't know if yesterday spooked me or what. Hey at least no new blood right?

It will come. How much are you shaving? how much of the face?
You should be doing at most one side. Some of the other members maybe can chime in on their experience suggestions.

No blood is good. One thing the helped me was to do my pre shave and know how the hair falls. I was aware of where the tough spots are. Once my side was done with some skill I moved on. There are still times that I miss something.

Hi Geoffrey,

Congrats on your start. It's quite an accomplishement to shave the right way. Don't get twisted up in your underwear over a small nick, especially in the first week. It will take some time to train your muscles, and your face, to the straight. Continue to take your time while learning. And, I just checked the straight razor rule book and found no entries concerning illegal uses of your previous razor. Remember, it's not a race. Learn at your pace and your face will thank you for it...

Congrats and that is a great story. I understand about wishing to shave twice a day. You can only practice shaving while shaving - but you can practice lather making and stropping anytime.

Keep it up - it only gets better.

@dward:

@Alembic: Yup, I've been practicing the lathering so much that the wife is getting annoyed. "What are you doing in the bathroom AGAIN?"

I skipped yesterday morning to give my face a rest. Took my time and shaved last night. So much better. No cuts OR nicks. Not especially smooth, but good enough. I kinda just wanted to get my confidence back and I did. Feel much better today.

The question I have is: how do you express the joys of wetshaving (especially with a SR) to your coworkers? Any way I come up with it sounds like bragging/boasting. Oh well, I guess I'm not meant to be an evangelical shaver

Originally Posted by TheGiver

@dward:
The question I have is: how do you express the joys of wetshaving (especially with a SR) to your coworkers? Any way I come up with it sounds like bragging/boasting. Oh well, I guess I'm not meant to be an evangelical shaver

You don't. Here is how this conversation goes.

You: I just started using a straight razor to shave with and it's cool.

Them:
1. Why the hell would you want to do that?
2. Watch you don't cut your throat!
3. Watch you don't cut your head off!
4. You must have something against technology, why not just ride a horse?
5. If I can't do the whole thing in 5 minutes - it's not worth it too me.
6. What kind of a testosterone laden tool would shave with a straight razor?

And my personal favorite...
7. I saw Sweeney Todd - what kind of a sociopath would shave with a straight razor?


You actually have to find somebody that wandered over to the watering hole, cuz you surely are not going to convert somebody that did not already have this in them - YMMV.

The cut is fine just let it heal and put something on it to help. I have a scar next to my lip because I took a chunk of flesh out and I saw the skin land in the sink.

now thats a cut!

Geoffrey,

It seems like you are the second person who has posted lately about having problems with dry skin since switching to a straight. If you are wanting to find a solution to this, it would be helpful if you told us a little bit more about your shaving routine since using your straight. Are you using any kind of moisturizer after you shave? How about an Aftershave? Is your skin naturally oily or does it have a tendency to be dry?

Now for my personal opinion. First off, in your first post on this thread you said in reference to the Lush cream. "Never gave me a close shave but certainly my skin felt nice after". I imagine it did. That stuff looks more like a face lotion than anything else. If you have been using that for some time you probably dont realize it basically eliminated the need to re-hydrate your skin after shaving. Shaving isn't so easy on our face after all. Using something to sooth and replenish our skin surface is very important, so if you haven't been doing that since using your soap and brush I'm sure that is the reason your face has been dry. Take the time to find a good after shave product and see how it goes for awhile. Perhaps your skin is reacting to the soap you are using as well.

I dont see a problem with that stuff from Lush. In fact it looks like it has some pretty nice ingredients. I dont see why it would be hard on your razor in any way either.

I'm no expert, but that's my two cents.

Matthew

Originally Posted by Disburden

The cut is fine just let it heal and put something on it to help. I have a scar next to my lip because I took a chunk of flesh out and I saw the skin land in the sink.

now thats a cut!

OK Cap’t Quint.

Japanese submarine slammed two torpedoes into our side, chief. It was comin' back, from the island of Tinian to Leyte, just delivered the bomb. The Hiroshima bomb. Eleven hundred men went into the water. Vessel went down in 12 minutes. Didn't see the first shark for about a half an hour. Tiger. Thirteen-footer. You know, you know that when you're in the water, Chief? You tell by lookin' from the dorsal to the tail. Well, we didn't know, 'cause our bomb mission had been so secret, no distress signal had been sent. Huh-huh. They didn't even list us overdue for a week. Very first light, chief. The sharks come cruisin'. So we formed ourselves into tight groups. You know it's ... kinda like 'ol squares in a battle like a, you see on a calendar, like the Battle of Waterloo. And the idea was, the shark would go for nearest man and then he'd start poundin' and hollerin' and screamin' and sometimes the shark would go away. Sometimes he wouldn't go away. Sometimes that shark, he looks right into you. Right into your eyes. You know the thing about a shark, he's got...lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eye. When he comes at ya, doesn't seem to be livin'. Until he bites ya and those black eyes roll over white. And then, ah then you hear that terrible high-pitch screamin' and the ocean turns red and in spite of all the poundin' and the hollerin' they all come in and rip you to pieces. Y'know by the end of that first dawn, lost 100 men. I don't know how many sharks, maybe 1,000. I don't know how many men, they averaged six an hour. On Thursday mornin', Chief, I bumped into a friend of mine, Herbie Robinson from Cleveland. Baseball player, bo'sun's mate. I thought he was asleep, reached over to wake him up. Bobbed up and down in the water, just like a kinda top. Up ended. Well ... he'd been bitten in half below the waist. Noon the fifth day, Mr. Hooper, a Lockheed Ventura saw us, he swung in low and he saw us. He's a young pilot, a lot younger than Mr. Hooper, anyway he saw us and come in low. And three hours later a big fat PBY comes down and start to pick us up. You know that was the time I was most frightened? Waitin' for my turn. I'll never put on a life jacket again. So, 1,100 men went in the water, 316 men come out, the sharks took the rest, June the 29, 1945. Anyway, we delivered the bomb.

Mike