First shave today

I took the plunge today and used the new Boker King Cutter I bought. I re-watched Lynn's instructions and wisely decided to follow his advice about not trying to do the whole face the first time out. No problem with the sides and cheeks. I did the neck north to south - pretty easy. I took out my new DE with a brand new blade to do my chin and under the nose. Damned if I didn't nick myself twice with that thing, once under the nose and once on the chin. Styptic HURTS! I wouldn't call the cheeks BBS, but I just did one pass and didn't try anything fancy. I figured that all DE razors would work the same so bought an inexpensive DE from Classic Shaving (not a butterfly design). I've got a lot of experimenting to do, but it's pretty scary putting that sharp blade to the face for the first time.

congrats, learning by doing-every day.

Congrats! It definitely gets better with time.

Well done! Keep going and heed Lynn's advice. Don't push too fast. There is no problem with finishing up with a DE.

Congrats on your first shave, and welcome to the club! You'll find it only get better from here :D

I find that the scariness of the blade waxes and wanes. Concentration is key, and 49 out of 50 days it's a perfect shave. Then on that one day, there's a good knick. Back to day one of scariness again, paying extra close attention to absolutely everything!

Regardless, IMO it's possibly the coolest feeling to mention during a conversation that you shave with a straight razor. Most people look at me like I'm crazy, but then they don't really understand how great my mornings are and my shaves are.

I love this hobby. Congrats on the shave, and enjoy the process.

Maxi

Congrats on starting the journey.. I had similar experience with a DE. I tried that route before I got into str8s and abandon it after just a few shaves. I even wondered if I'd be able to handle str8s because the DE was such a bad experience for me. But honestly, from the very first shave with a straight razor, I knew I was never going back. It was the first comfortable shave of my life. I'd never ran any blade across my face with out some level of discomfort until that day. Sure, nicks come and learning a good routine has been challenging at times but its been well worth it. Just don't be afraid to jump on here and ask questions. SRP and the guys on here have made all the difference for me.

Congrats! Go slow with those DEs too, eh?

Welcome to straights,

It gets better, just hit the one month mark and am getting some solid shaves in.

Watch that pressure, causes a lot of the cuts and nicks. Had my fair share, trust me still doing it. Styptic is a stinger, but it is nice that it helps.

Good luck

Brian

Great job! I told you it was addicting.

I would not suggest backing up your beginning Straight Shave with the DE unless you were already using it before. Back up your straight with what you are used to....

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice. I picked up a razor on ebay that was made by the Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Company out of Wisconsin. It came almost shave ready, so I touched it up and had a nice shave (not the whole face yet). I'm still awkward with my left hand and am trying to get the right hold for the chin area. No way am I going under the nose yet. I still get some use out of my lips.

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Originally Posted by maineeagle

Thanks for all the encouragement and advice. I picked up a razor on ebay that was made by the Aerial Cutlery Manufacturing Company out of Wisconsin. It came almost shave ready, so I touched it up and had a nice shave (not the whole face yet). I'm still awkward with my left hand and am trying to get the right hold for the chin area. No way am I going under the nose yet. I still get some use out of my lips.

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You should send it off toe be honed by a pro. Check for someone near you in the member services section of the classifieds. I seriously doubt the razor is in shave ready condition. You will be surprised at what a difference having a true shave ready razor makes.

Thanks. I already have a "shave ready" razor from SRD, (a new Boker King Cutter) at least they said it's shave ready. I tried the hanging hair test on it, but it didn't cut the hair. I stropped it, and it still didn't cut it. It seemed to shave OK, but I have nothing to compare it to. When I got the one from ebay, it seemed so sharp, that all I did was strop it with white paste, then stropped it on leather. I didn't see any difference between that and the new SRD razor. Then again, it wouldn't pass the HHT either. (see - I'm learning what the initials mean - some of the posts that use them are confusing to noobies). Is it possible the one from SRD wasn't really shave ready? How do you tell if you've never shaved with a straight before?

Maineagle,

If it came from SRD it IS shave ready. You can trust that Lynn put an awesome edge on your Boker. Straight out of the box from Lynn and straight to your face it can be used as a gold standard.

I've literally never done a HHT and don't ever plan to do one. Lynn taught me the thumb pad test - it helped me gain an understanding of what a good edge feels like.

Thanks. That's comforting to know.

Very cool. I've just started too (with a Dovo 5/8 from SRD) and have have been gradually working up to more of my face for a couple of weeks.Although I don't always have the time to straight razor shave everyday, I really like the feeling afterward and have found that the straight razor shave lasts (even with my uneven novice skills) and makes the "regular" cartridge shave closer on the days I'm pressed for time.

Good luck.

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Originally Posted by maineeagle

Thanks. I already have a "shave ready" razor from SRD, (a new Boker King Cutter) at least they said it's shave ready. I tried the hanging hair test on it, but it didn't cut the hair. I stropped it, and it still didn't cut it. It seemed to shave OK, but I have nothing to compare it to. When I got the one from ebay, it seemed so sharp, that all I did was strop it with white paste, then stropped it on leather. I didn't see any difference between that and the new SRD razor. Then again, it wouldn't pass the HHT either. (see - I'm learning what the initials mean - some of the posts that use them are confusing to noobies). Is it possible the one from SRD wasn't really shave ready? How do you tell if you've never shaved with a straight before?

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Hey Maineeagle,

If you post the question "Why doesn't my razor pass the HHT," just about the first reply you'll get will be someone asking "But how does it shave?" Thing is, some people's hair just won't catch on a razor, even if it's perfectly shave-ready. Check out Larry Andreasson's starter manual for straight shaving for a good diagram of how the HHT works--it's on page 13.

So if your razors are shaving well, you're in luck! You can always get someone else's hair.

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Originally Posted by maineeagle

Thanks. That's comforting to know.

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I don't do the HHT test anymore. Half the time I get no result, but know it's a good edge. I should have honed that Geneva Cutlery before I gave it to you.

I bought it here from JoshEarl, and he said he'd hone it for me a few times for free. I never took him up on that. He was great to deal with. I'll see if I can find time to lap my hone. If you bring it, I'll try to find time to hone it.