Thread: What is the first thing you did?

It's all overwhelming when you start, just like the first day when you bring home your iPhone when you have only used StarTaks before. After a week, you are a pro.

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

I shaved in the shower with a Straight razor once.......ONCE!!!!

lol

I too first shaved in the shower...more than once. Came off the DE in the shower using hair conditioner for 'lather'. Figured same speedy routine with the straight would be fine still. Like most, I think, slowed it down, and have made it a more traditional routine since.

Thanks for the stories. I'm happy to say I have my razor and even have 3 shaves under my belt. Yup I have nicked my strop in my quest to learn how to do it properly. I have nicked my face, but overall I have enjoyed the learning process and have found a new hobby.

No shaving naked in the shower stories for me though, I went down to my bathroom, wrapped a hot towel around my head, fiddled with the soap (yet another art) and shaved. Much to the pleasure of my wife who was sick of the beard.

Keep the stories coming if you got em, they are fun to read.

I jumped right in with the full face. Lots of razor burn, nicked each ear lobe, rolled the edge on my first razor. I put a horizontal slice into my cheek bone. I gotta say...I love that scar. It looks bad ass. About two weeks in with a professionally honed razor...I realized that I didn't need all the pressure. Shaves have gone much better since then. I also improved my techniques in that time.

I went on a rampage purchasing about 30 plus razors. I only have 8 that are usable at this point. Instead of purchasing more...I've been hand sanding/polishing the blades I do have. I'm going to send out a couple to get re-scaled. This will be my approach from this point forward. There are many razors I want to add to the collection. I'm getting pretty good at honing. I've made two of my razors shave ready and they shave great. I purchased many of the most popular brands in an attempt to figure out which work the best for me.

I love this hobby! I love all the intricate parts that come with this hobby. I get bored with something after I mastered it. There is so much to learn that this hobby will keep me going for years!

Fantastic.

I'm finding out I really need to (a) take more time (b) learn to strop. As I mentioned previously I watched just about every video on this site but without something to practice with it was just theory. Well I just cut my brand new stop pretty good the other night, I just can't seem to get the hang of it. The X pattern is just not coming naturally. Shaving is ok as I'm only doing one pass of WTG for the time being. Its all very overwhelming, something like making your soap is made to look so simple in the video's and I get this white mess at the bottom of my shaving mug instead.

Ah live and learn, at least I didn't try and shave in the shower.

I started with straight razors long before i knew about SRP or i didn't even knew if somebody else would used straights. All i knew was that i had seen some of my long gone family members shaving with straight many years ago so i knew it is no miracle thing but the question of learning curve.
So the first thing i did was just jump in and try what it feels like (this is how i usually do with many other things as well). Wasn't much of a shave i have to say. With all the cuts and all my face looked like a map of France. So i just went back to hones, stropped with a belt, tried shaving again, went back to hones etc and little by little my shaves got ok.

Even if you had the sharpest, most classiest, most expensive and best razor there ever is, your first shave wouldn't probably be as comfortable as those you get later with practice, patience and time. Just hang in there and things will sooner or later go ok.
If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth of it.

The first thing I did with my new razor? I used it to carve up the little instruction sheet that came with it.

Yup, it was sharp enough to cut paper. And yes, I was that stupid.

In my defense this was done at a time when all I knew about razors was what I picked up from watching old westerns and the Three Stooges.

Mine was a long and bloody learning curve. I envy you kids today with your interwebs and youtubes.

Semper circa,
LG Roy

I spent a month wondering why on earth I couldn't get a shave that was halfway as decent as the Sensor-Excel I had been using the previous ten years...

Sometime later I found SRP and discovered all the things I was doing wrong!