my first official straight razor shave

alrighty. i'm going to get right to it. i used my newly acquired mk31, along with my tony miller learners strop. for a preshave, i used lather. i read about it on here. i used lather, let it sit, worked it in, and washed it off with a hot towel. i used my own combo of CADE soap, with a dollop of proshave brushless shave cream. man oh man. fantastic, and that was without any additional glycerin. i did the four pass shave. being as i'm used to the disposable straight, i just went all out. the length of the razor has to be double what i'm used to, but i adjusted quickly. i have been dreaming about the feel of the razor sharp, highly polished edge on my face and it didn't disappoint. there was one nick that i gave myself and i decided to use my new styptic pencil on it. those things are like magic wands, it just sealed my cut right up. so, i finished my shave, washed my face, and applied the alum. it was time to bust out my new lucky tiger menthol vanishing cream. unbelievable. no razor bumps anywhere and my face was smooth as could be. counting down till my next shave... good day.

Congrats! ...sound like it'll be a fun ride from here...

very nice, i hope you enjoy straight shaving from now on!

Styptic pencil is my best friend:)

Congrats!

Do you feel it was better to start with the disposables, or do you wish you had made the jump right into straights?

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Originally Posted by markevens

Congrats!

Do you feel it was better to start with the disposables, or do you wish you had made the jump right into straights?

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i'm glad that i started with the disposable, but i wish that i had gotten a different, nicer one than the one that i have. i recently went to a barber wholesaler and saw some of the disposable straights that he had, oh man. noe were shavettes, they were all "full sized". one took injector blades, one was Russian made and had some real heft to it. i now have a full hollow, a half hollow, and a smiling near wedge. thanks.

I started with disposable straights and it was nice that I could just focus on straight shaving and knowing what a good performing blade should feel like. This experience went a long way to adapting to a traditional straight razor and getting a good preformance from it.

Pabster

Sounds like you're off to a fantastic start. Congrats!

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Originally Posted by Ahzraiel

i'm glad that i started with the disposable, but i wish that i had gotten a different, nicer one than the one that i have. i recently went to a barber wholesaler and saw some of the disposable straights that he had, oh man. noe were shavettes, they were all "full sized". one took injector blades, one was Russian made and had some real heft to it. i now have a full hollow, a half hollow, and a smiling near wedge. thanks.

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What is a good one? Is it still worth having one for comparison?
--Shoki

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Originally Posted by Shoki

What is a good one? Is it still worth having one for comparison?
--Shoki

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the monsieur charles seemed nice. the blade is held a lot more secure than the one i have. mine has the slide out insert that you put the blades into. so, while i was shaving, i would have to be mindful of the insert sliding out of the handle. it wasn't a big, but it's a bonus when it becomes one of those things that you don't have to worry about.

The real straight is easier to use, but the disposeable is good to start cause you don't have to worry about stropping, so it's either way really. I use a dovo shavette and the blades stay locked in as long as you get them in good. Dont push them into the insert too deep though or you can't get a good shave angle.

Well it's good to know that I wasn't the only one that started with a disposable. Still trying to find the right blade, I've seen so many good reviews on so many razors it's hard to choose, I found a good one in the classified I'm gonna pick up. Any tips on the transition from disposable to solid blade. The build up in anticipation to the shave with a solid blade must be awesome, sounds like u had a great time, and did a great job. Congrats.

I've recently gone from a Merkur HD to the Shavette in anticipation of moving on to genuine straights, but have hit a bit of a roadblock. After learning to use the HD and applying no pressure, the Shavette was a surprise because it is so darn light. It doesn't have enough weight to allow a really "no pressure" pass. Using just its own weight results in skipping. I'm not sure that learning to apply pressure with it is going to be helpful when I eventually get a proper, heavier straight.

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Originally Posted by ace

I've recently gone from a Merkur HD to the Shavette in anticipation of moving on to genuine straights, but have hit a bit of a roadblock. After learning to use the HD and applying no pressure, the Shavette was a surprise because it is so darn light. It doesn't have enough weight to allow a really "no pressure" pass. Using just its own weight results in skipping. I'm not sure that learning to apply pressure with it is going to be helpful when I eventually get a proper, heavier straight.

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i am still working on that. i actually find that i don't allow the straight to take over. i am not gliding over the skin yet, there is still a wee bit too much pressure than i'd like. i am less than a month in with the straights, i'll get better. i am wondering what grind would be closest to what we experience with a straight...a frameback maybe.

its not too bad of a transition. took ma about a week to really get used to the extra weight and after that its all smooth. Much easier to go AGT too cause you can get a uch lower angle out of the straight than the disposeable.

i am loving the straight. first off, the feel of the blade seems superior to even new disposable blades that i have used. i'm sure that there will be some to dispute this, but that's the way that it seems to me. tonight, i had my third official straight razor shave with my new dovo best quality 5/8 half hollow. i did about 50 passes on the vinyl side of my illinois 827, then i did about 30 passes on my tony miller beginners strop. not going fancy, i used a williams/bigelow superlather, that was cooling and refreshing. i actually lathered up as a preshave. i let it sit while i stropped and then worked it in and washed it with wet face cloth. four passes shaving, three nicks cutting, two alum swipes, and one hell of a shave. after a dab of the lucky tiger disappearing cream, i was good to go. i actually used a spoon to remove my dab, worked it into my hands and applied it to my face. after reading about germs and bacteria getting into tubs, i'm going to use the spoon and then close the tube howard hughes style. good shaving guys.

I got a piece of advice on here a while back that orks really well: lather and while it sits do 25 on the fabric, relather do 25 on the leather, relather another 25 leather, then lather and shave. When I have time it's the way to go. It's good to strop on the leather between passes too, especially for ATG. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Lane

I got a piece of advice on here a while back that orks really well: lather and while it sits do 25 on the fabric, relather do 25 on the leather, relather another 25 leather, then lather and shave. When I have time it's the way to go. It's good to strop on the leather between passes too, especially for ATG. Good luck!

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i think that that might turn out to be invaluable advice, especially the bit about sropping for the ATG. thank you lane.

I just ordered a wider dovo to expirament with. Time to bleed!