Thread: Another First Timer

I've got a razor just like that and seems more prone to water spots than most of my others. Like everyone else said wipe it off completely and strop it lightly afterwards.

Welcome to SRP. Like many things, the younger you start, the better.

Thanks for sharing!

Hahahaha loony, that had me cracking up. My brother just reached that point, and when he asked me about it I said, "Just go for it, at least then people might think you could grow hair if you wanted." And RAD is just about closing her grip on me, but I haven't caved yet.

Mark, I have been stropping before and after. I'm just not sure if last time I used the linen side. Today I did after reading your post, and I think it worked. I'll recheck later but I guess the leather just wasn't getting to it.

Found out I'm going out to dinner tonight, so I had an unexpected shave to clean up. Completely unnecessary but now I'm looking for every reason to shave. It went better than shave #2, but not as well as #1. I think #1 was a completely adreneline fueled fluke, and now I've fallen into the proper learning curve. Today I think I got better with my angles, both the angle of the blade and the angle of attack for certain spots on my neck. Without as much growth I felt like it was easier to keep a light touch. For a back to back shave there wasn't nearly as much razor burn or redness as I thought there'd be. Hopefully my skin is starting to adjust already. Also, I'm pretty sure the only nicks I saw were ones that I reopened from yesterday. These past 2 shaves I've gotten a very smooth result in the WTG and XTG directions, and only a tiny little stubble ATG. Definitely need to work on that 3rd pass some more, but I'm completely satisfied anyway. I love the ritual of it all. I'm a night shower guy anyway so time's not a concern. Stropping and lathering up is so relaxing, and then those moments when the razor's in your hand and you're putting it to your skin. Its a rush for me, like the moment before twisting the throttle on my bike wide open. You know you're going to do it, but you know anything can happen.


Now its time for some beers and steaks Hope you guys enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Welcome to SRP!

You haven't said... did you shave your beard?

I shaved my winter pelt after buying a new razor at an antique store. It was just such a nice shaver that I had to clear my face for it.

It's great that you're starting as young as you are. Good luck with the RAD. And beware, HAD is soon to follow.

Originally Posted by Andrew530

And linacman, to clear up my earlier question: Do you use the toe of the blade running along your lines to touch up, or do you put the legnth of the blade along the line?

Thanks for the encouragement guys.

-Andrew

Andrew, I do both. When I shave I do 3 passes in this order: WTG,XTG, and ATG. On the WGT the heel of the blade is running along the lateral line of the hairs joining stache & goat. I don't get overly concerned if I totally get the whiskers right at the line on this pass as it is hard to know exactly where the heel edge is in relation to the hairs. On the XTG pass the length of the blade starts right at this line and the blade sweeps laterally towards my ears. On the ATG blade, the toe of the blade defines this line. It's a little awkward because I do the right side w/ my right hand and the left side w/ my left hand. I just go slow with an incredibly light touch - the least pressure and you'll nick yourself. I'm really careful to keep the angle of the blade flat - definitely < 30 degrees.

You may ask why I don't do toe to the line on the WTG pass, but unfortunately I don't have an answer. I just started doing it that way and it just works for me

As for defining the bottom of my goat immediately below the jawline I put the length of the blade along the line for both WTG and at the end of my ATG sweep (ATG on my neck is inferior to superior direction).

Hope this helps. Have fun!

Now I gotcha linac, thanks. Was a little confused before. The first time I shaved I didn't really use the heel of the blade either, but yesterday I made an effort to try it out. In some spots it helped out a lot, and for others the toe still seemed better. Think its just a personal preference thing.

Rough, I haven't gotten rid of my beard yet. Its the first time I've grown out a full one and I'm pretty attached to it. Eventually it'll go though, can't see myself sweating through the summer heat with this thing. And I can't even imagine the money I'm going to spend once I start learning to hone. I'm going to try and hold off my next razor purchase until I get my first hone. That way I can try to retouch my current blade while I have a pro honed one to compare it to.

I'm happy to say that last night I got my first compliment. A girl I've been seeing on and off said everything was much neater looking and felt much smoother. I'm a hairy guy, and cartridges always left a stubbly look even when it was semi smooth. It felt pretty bad ass to say I shave with a straight, that was the first time I've told anybody

Originally Posted by Andrew530

Now I gotcha linac, thanks.

Keep after it Andrew - it keeps getting better with time.

Greg

Thanks for the update Andrew. I'm glad things are going great for you and that you're enjoying the journey.

Greg

Hey Andrew,

I'm glad you're having such success--it's really fun to read and feel your enthusiasm.

That is a kickass looking bowl, too.