New Member and First Shave
Hello All,
I am inclined to say "Hello Gentlemen"; however, I understand that there may be ladies present, or do they mind that particular greeting. Either way, good morning.
I have been a member of this forum for about a week now, trying to educate myself as quick as possible by reading a lot of the literature here (great reads I might add). I feel as though I need to tell you all a bit about myself & my history with shaving so that you can see where I'm coming from. My beard hair is dark and thick and when I have about 3 or 4 days growth my moustache hairs poke my wife when we kiss. That really bugs her so I try to shave every 3 days at least. I can’t shave every day, or even every other day because my skin breaks out in a rash and it’s incredibly uncomfortable. This is even with pre-shaves, soap (Wilkenson Sword - not the best, I know), and a Mach 3 or something comparable. I have even tried an electric razor but I find that takes forever and heats up my face too much. Also another issue I have is if the razor is poor quality or too dull I get ingrown hairs (some on my neck and some around my mouth).
About 6 years ago I bought a straight edge razor with disposable blades. The blades were the same kind that you would put into a safety razor but you break them in half and put one half into the razor at a time. I loved it. I was basically self taught, with very minor tips from the barber I bought the razor from; however, it gave me the best shave that I knew - with no ingrown hairs. When I ran out of to barbershop blades I went to Wal-Mart to get more; however, they were not very good. The Barber told me that she couldn’t get anymore blades for my razor, so out of frustration I threw it away. I have been struggling for at least a year with the Gillette Fusion razor but I need to swap blades every 3rd shave and I really wanted to get back into the “real thing”. That’s when I found the SRP website and instantly fell in love, my wife says I’m obsessive… maybe (haha).
So currently I have a DEMON razor, made by Jones Bros & Company Ltd. which happened to be my Grandfather’s razor and it’s possible that it’s from 1914 or around that time. I gave the razor to a local knife shop to hone it; the gents that I spoke with seemed to know what they were doing when it came to sharpening a razor to “shave readiness”. While I was waiting for my Razor I started looking for strops and other razors, because one just isn’t enough hahaha. Anyways once I got my razor back I was excited for my first shave with a real straight edge, and at the same time a bit nervous.
I prepared for my shave by using a hot towel on my face, then I lathered up some of my cheap soap, and began to shave… now I use my right hand for my whole face, should I only use it on my right side? Just checking. I didn’t use a pre-shave because I ran out some time ago, but I did shave WTG and ATG on both sides of my face while only going WTG on my neck. During my shave I noticed a bit of tugging so I really focused on lots of soap and keeping my skin tight. I’m not going to say my technique is perfect but when I compare this razor to the one that had the disposable blades I feel it is not a sharp; however, it could be because it’s a hollow grind and the blade is actually flexing more than I know - just a thought.
What made me really think that the razor was not a sharp as it could be is when I got to my moustache and goatee. There was a lot of pulling and tugging and it didn’t feel right so I stopped and finished that area with my Gillette Fusion. All in all, the end result on my cheeks and neck were good with no nicks and very smooth. I will try another shave, but this time with a nice pre-shave oil and a cream. My strop is soon to come along with my other razor so I will have many new items to play with and try.
I would love some feed back on my first experience to see if your experience can guide me towards a better shave.
Thanks
Dave
+1 on the shave readiness
First things first: Big grats on taking the plunge.
Check the faq & wikis for Thumb pad test - compare the feel of your razor to the feel of a new double-edge blade (gently, carefully). If the DE is way more sharp, don't let the cutlery shop touch your blade again. At this point, I wouldn't bother w/ the hanging hair test. If the razor is as sharp as a DE blade, that pretty well points to technique in beard prep, shaving.
I don't know what area you're in, but there are likely honemeisters nearby. If other forum members are nearby, it might be of tremendous help to ask if any of them would mind your coming by for some tutorial time. It can be invaluable. The learning curve can be steep, but with some determination, can be mastered. Some help by a willing forum member would likely help you scoot through some of the basics, which can be the most daunting. I volunteered for another noob in my area, but haven't heard from them. 'Something to consider.
Update - working on 4th shave
Hey Gents,
It appears there are many others dipping into the straight razor and posting their first shaves, which is awesome.
I am forced to be frugal with my purchases but i do have a desire to aquire alot of nice goodies.
I just got a new strop and used razor to add to my collection, plus some sample of shave soaps from TGQ which i'm excited to try.
For my second shave I used some pre-shave oil from the body shop along with their shave cream. It seemed to be a better shave; however, i still think the razor was dull. So i did some research on some home made strops and came up with a temporary solution. This may sound funny but i used a piece of drywall to strop on for about 30 strokes and then i used my leather belt for the same duration. My third shave was better but i couldn't finish around my chin since the pulling and tugging was too great.
I am hoping that stroping the razor on my new strop will make it better, we'll see. But in the near future i will get my newest "used" razor professionally honed and start with a good shave ready product to use as a baseline.
Eventually i want to get a norton new 4000/8000 hone and a 10,000 - 12,000 used barber's hone and learn to do my own sharpening since i know already that i won't be happy with just 2 razors, hahaha. I am addicted to the razors with wooden scales and i can see myself getting at least 4 or 5 razors.
Thanks for checking out my post, let me know if you have any comments
Dave