First attempt at shaving

Well I just got all my gear and tried it out last night. Needless to say I have some learning to do. What little I actually got accomplished I loved doing. I cant wait to get it down.

My cheeks went ok, it is my chin lip and neck areas that I didnt do so hot on. My stropping is going to need work as well. The razor came shave ready and I dont want to dull it, so I take my time on the strop, already nicked the strop a couple times.

Cant wait to try again tonight, see if I can get a good shave for work tomorrow.

Brian

I felt the same enthusiasm when I began straight razor shaving. I used a DE to finish off the tougher parts for the first two or three weeks before I got to using the straight for all of it exclusively. Here is SRP founder Lynn Abrams advice for the first straight razor shaves. Read my sig line below to avoid nicks and cuts. :gl:

Very good advice from above. It has helped me tremendously.

Happy Shaving

Cool thanks for the advice. I just put it to use. I do have to say, today was a little better, and a lot more productive. Still got a few nicks around the chin area. I think that is going to be my biggest problem area.

It feels so coarse around the chin and I dont want to force it and nick myself. I think I need to ease up on the pressure, my face has a little razor burn. Learning the grip is a trick too.

I cant wait till the next shave to improve some more.

Brian

Good to hear of early success and enthusasim. Keep up the good work. You'll get there before you know it!


Mick

This is great story and nice learning curve. just go slowly you will get there. be careful when you strop. by nicking you are damaging not just your strop ,edge of blade too.gl

Keep working at it. I think the chin is the hardest area by far to get down, I've been shaving for a little over a month now, and am just now getting close shaves in the chin area, and I still do make the occasional mistake there. like most things in life you skill will improve with practice. You definately should work on your stropping, because this does play a huge role in the quality of your shave. It was recommended to me to practice with a butter knife to get used to the stropping motion and develop the muscle memory to strop well. That being said don't get down on yourself for dinging your strop, all honest people here will tell you that they destroyed their first strop. I think my first strop (a cheapy thank goodness) lasted about 2 weeks before it was unusable, but I have yet to nick my second (knock on wood). Keep up the good work and keep practicing and it will get better and more rewarding as you progress.

I tried shaving small bits of my face everyday until I felt comfortable. If you don't feel comfortable doing a area on your face retreat until your skills improve. Stick with it.

Welcome to the right way to shave. No need to hurry, take your time and add new techniques (XG and ATG) and new areas of your face as you gain some skills and confidence. In no time you will get to where you want to go. I just returned from a week long business trip and truly missed my straights and the shaving experience. It's too much hassle to take my kit with me, plus the fear of those items coming up missing after the "TSA look through" of my checked bags. So I take my Merkur twin razor. It doesn't come close to the shave I get with my straights! :beer1:

Congrats on taking the plunge! By combination of fear and total lack of technique, the first shave is the hardest. The ease of shaving and quality of the shave will get better from here, and before you know it you will have the smoothest shave you've ever had, using the most manly of shaving tools!

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Originally Posted by dward

It's too much hassle to take my kit with me, plus the fear of those items coming up missing after the "TSA look through" of my checked bags.

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Has any one ever had any trouble with tsa taking there razors?

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Originally Posted by kd7skx

Has any one ever had any trouble with tsa taking there razors?

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As long as it isn't in your carry-on, you should be fine. If its part of a toiletry kit, I don't see how it would arouse suspicion.

Well third shave attempt tonight,

Lets just say that I need some more practice. Probably the worst of the three so far. I tried experimenting with blade angle and stretching skin and pressure.

My cheeks didnt get much attention so less than par for them. My neck, not the greatest either. My chin and upper lip sucked. Needless to say it has a slight burn right now.

I took it real slow tonight and tried to focus on each part of my face. I am not discouraged, just a little frustrated. I still love shaving with a straight, just need to work on my patience I guess.

Cant wait for the next one. Look foward to every shave still, even if not the best I know eventually I will get it.

Brian

P.S. On stropping. How do I tell if I have dulled the razor. I keep the spine flush with the strop and take it slow and about 30 strokes. Just want to make sure I am getting it right. Thanks

There is a link in my sig on stropping that should be able to asnwer most questions.

The most important things with stropping are to roll over the spine, not the edge; make sure you lead with the spine, not the edge; and that you don't use much pressure at all, just the weight of the razor. The reason for this last one is that the very edge of a razor is so extremely fragile, that it is easy to "roll" the edge if you are pressing down into the leather. This can often make a razor shave rough.

You might want to up your strokes. If you have a canvas/leather combo strop, do 30 on the canvas and 60 on the leather. If you have leather only, just do the 60 on the leather. Don't be too slow about it either. The stroke should be swift, but then slow down on the turn and do that part carefully. You'll be stropping like a pro before you know it.

+1 on what Mark says.

On cutting strops, I'm somewhat surprised that so many do it when learning. I'm a newbie, too, but only nicked my strop once when (due to my crappy eyesight) saw a spot on my strop. At the end of the stroke, I thought, "What's that???" and then inadvertently jerked my hand and nicked the strop.

If you do what Mark says--make your stroke. STOP. Turn the razor on the spline. Slide the razor up the strop. Flip down on the opposite side. Take your next stroke, and then repeat the process, I don't see how it's possible to nick a strop, IMO. I would think it virtually impossible to nick your strop if you do this.

(Unless you're a dufess like me and go "What's That?" Then, you'll nick your strop).

Moreover, if the scales are loose on the pivot point, slow down! At least for me, a loose scale-pivot point means lack of control over the razor, and this could increase the possibility of nicking the strop.

As well, lack of gimping on the tang makes control more difficult, too. On my razors without gimping, I slow down to maintain control.

I know these things wouldn't bother the experienced guys on the board, but for newbies, slow down when the scales are loose, or the tang lacks gimping. If you don't you'll risk cutting your strop, IMO!

Kent

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Originally Posted by klsmsn

+1 on what Mark says.

On cutting strops, I'm somewhat surprised that so many do it when learning. I'm a newbie, too, but only nicked my strop once when (due to my crappy eyesight) saw a spot on my strop. At the end of the stroke, I thought, "What's that???" and then inadvertently jerked my hand and nicked the strop.

Kent

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I nicked my strop twords the top on the first try, didnt have a good grip on the razor, since then I pay close attention to my stropping an havent done it since, cross my fingers.

I havent used the canvas side yet, will give it a go tonight. Thanks

Brian

Well Tonight went much better than the last three tries,

I worked on my stretching and tightening of skin while shaving. Worked a long time on building a good lather. And worked more on my stropping, incorporating the canvas part, 30, and the leather, 60.

Overall a much better shave and experience. Even my chin and under my chin got almost smooth, not bbs, but smooth. I am much more satisfied with how tonight went. Still a little irritation, but that is due to too much in some areas, something to work on next time. But defiantly much more comfortable this time.

I think the key is what every one else says and has told me, take your time. I put more time into lather, stropping and shaving technique tonight. The results were a much happier face and a better shave. Still not perfect, but getting there.

Cant wait till the next shave.

Congrats on taking the plunge. Your progression is going exactly as expected. You are well on your way to becoming a str8 shaving expert. I like your attitude particularly. Don't worry about the occaisional nick. If you don't nick yourself now and then, you're just not trying hard enough.

Well I thought I would share this adventure with not just you guys, but the internet world. Started a blog on my adventures thru shaving, manandhisrazor . A little different detail as I am having fun with it on the blog. Hope you enjoy.

Brian

Well it was shave 5 tonight. I must say this is probably the first relaxing and comfortable shave I have had.

The first 4 were ok, but today I only nicked my face a couple times, mostly opening old nicks. Every thing seemed right tonight. The angle, the lather was awesome, the razor was sharp. I just cant explain it. Even my chin is smooth, not bbs, but the whiskers are gone.

I think the next shave I will stark with different strokes, atg and xtg. Thanks for all the help every one have given me.

I will still post for a while probably, but I cant wait to get fairly proficient at it.

Cant wait till the next shave.
Brian

Shave six was today. Did atg and used balm this time to help calm my face. Turned out ok. Need a lot of practice with atg.

Any one got any tips when going atg? It seemed realy dry when going atg, not a smooth gliding feeling with the razor this time.

Still enjoying it, it gets better each time.

Cant wait till the next one.

Brian

You might need to give the face a rest for a day or two, or your lather may have been a bit too dry this time around...Many factors could be at play here.


Mick

I think it all depends on you face, razor, and lather.

I'm 6 foot tall, and weigh 153 pounds. I have a very angular face, and have hollows in my cheeks and throat. Heavier guys with a fuller face might have an easier time with ATG. I don't.

I have to REALLY stretch the skin, and take swipe about 1.5 inches below my fingers I'm stretching with, and keep moving down my face. This made a BIG difference for me, but YMMV.

I also have to puff my cheeks out like a blow fish to get a smooth surface to shave in the hollow areas. My throat is a lot more difficult because I can't "puff" the areas like I do on my cheeks (hence my propensity these days for smileys).

It also takes me a lot of time to do this (in large part, due to my inexperience). But, the result is my lather has a tendency to dry out. So, I wet my hand, rub it into the next section I'm going to shave, and apply more lather. (I also prefer uber lather in that for me, it seems to stay moist a lot longer than plane soap or cream).

And, the razor needs to be sharp, as well as the angle of the razor had to be correct (which will vary to some degree according to the razor's grind, IMO).

In the end, you need a sharp razor, you need to keep your face moist with a good lather, and IMO, stretch the skin. Beyond that, play with the angle to see what works for you.

Kent

Tried XTG for total of 7 shaves so far. I liked xtg, got closer in other areas. I keep trying new things and improving on the old every time. Cant wait for the day that I get my whole face BBS. This is taking more time than I had originally anticipated, but that isnt a bad thing. I enjoy the time and challenge of learning something new. Something rewarding feeling every time I shave with my straight too.

Brian

That XTG might actually be ATG in those 'Some places'. Have you studied the lay of the land so to speak? Just to find out what parts of the face have the stubble growing in weird and wonderful ways.


Mick

I've found good skin stretching is more important for ATG than WTG or XTG.

Another thing I found to help is that when I do my XTG pass, I do a few buffing strokes and with each stroke adjust the angle to go more atg. So by the end of my XTG, I've actually shaved at about a 45 degree angle ATG.

Restropping before ATG also helps a lot. The blade needs to be at its sharpest for ATG, and is fairly blunted after WTG and XTG.

Lastly, I lay the razor almost flat on my face for ATG.

Well I did the 8th shave today. Had some minor problems with equipment. I nicked the darn blade and thus it scrapped the crap out of my strop.

Other than that the shave was great. Did all three strokes and a lot of stretching. Thank you all for the help in that area, it helped. I even got my chin smooth for the first time.

So while the razor is away, I might play. Thinking of getting another one while it is away getting repaired as I am not ready to hone quite yet.

Cant wait till the next shave even if it will be a while.

Brian

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Originally Posted by kd7skx

So while the razor is away, I might play. Thinking of getting another one while it is away getting repaired as I am not ready to hone quite yet.

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With the free hone for life deal from SRD, there would be no better time.

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Originally Posted by markevens

With the free hone for life deal from SRD, there would be no better time.

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I think it changed. I only have one free hone with a new razor.

Brian

When I shave atg I sometimes actually touch my skin with the razors spine because I'm using such a flat angle - you physically can''t use too flat an angle. Anyway, that's what I think is the key to atg - YMMV.

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Originally Posted by trewornan

When I shave atg I sometimes actually touch my skin with the razors spine because I'm using such a flat angle - you physically can''t use too flat an angle. Anyway, that's what I think is the key to atg - YMMV.

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I will try that next time. I sent it out to get fixed and rehoned after I nicked the blade today. So we will see how she does once the razor gets back home.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kd7skx

I think it changed. I only have one free hone with a new razor.

Brian

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Nope, deal is still on.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/vendo...r-designs.html

You mentioned getting another razor while your current one is off to get freshened up, so I mentioned this awesome deal as something to take advantage of if you were to get a new razor.

Yup you were right about the deal, didnt know about it being a holiday special. I put it too good use and got the Black Micarta Dovo. Just got it in the mail today.

I will say not shaving for a few days I lost a little technique. I had a bit of a blood bath going on after the shave. I think I didnt do enough stretching and too much pressure. Over all thought I felt that is cut thru the whiskers better than my other razor.

So I will do some more practice with the new razor and will report back.

Brian

Well shave 11 and 12 were very productive. Thank you all for your help. With stretching and pressure watching I have gotten a decent shave with minimal discomfort.

I did try buffeting a little bit and it seemed to really help out on my neck and chin. Very close shave on my chin tonight.

I forgot about pressure on the 12th shave a bit, but not too much razor burn as a result.

Thanks again. I feel much better after these last shaves, had fun for once.

Brian

Good on ya Brian, sounds like you're getting there. And the clan of the razor is starting to grow too huh?!:)


Mick

Well I think things are getting more consistant. This week marks the first month of straight shaving. Had shave 13 today with pretty much the same results as last time. Came out nice and smooth.

The big difference this time was, time. I took almost a half hour on the actual shave. There was zero burn, only a small couple blood spots on my chin, and the aftershave didnt kick my butt.

So I think I am going to stop posting on this thread as it has been a good run, but has served its purpose.

I will just be using my blog for my shaving experience thus forth.

You guys are the best, been very helpful in getting me started on what I hope to be a life long shaving experience.

Now to start working on perfecting the every day shave.

Thanks again.

Brian

It was great reading about your learning adventure. I too found that after my first dozen shaves, the learning curve leveled off some. Things still get better, but not at the same pace as your first few shaves.

I've been following your blog and will continue to do so.



Mick