Thread: first shave, not what I hoped for.

Just stick with it man and go slow. I think I started about this time last year and it was a rough start for me too but it ain't hard no more. I'm no expert, not even close, but I can get a good shave. I don't go fast but I don't really want to.

I know exactly where you are coming from scutler. I had the same experience starting, looked like a horror movie, and if that wasnt enough i work in the military where everyone sees everyone so needless to say people noticed. I've come a ways. Focus on gentle touch and stretch the skin... i cant stress that enough. Take your time, and if it feels like your getting the hang of it, and shaving with the same speed and glide of a disposable...STOP! THat means you're going to fast, too long, and too hard. Most cases aside from shaving that wouldnt be bad. But when it comes to a sharp blade on your face and throat, its all about double thinking and paying attention. Hope this helps.

Thanks! Looking for two spine widths from the skin seems easier than trying to guess an angle. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I will undoubtably be her stud whenI figure this out.

Originally Posted by Scutler

Thanks! Looking for two spine widths from the skin seems easier than trying to guess an angle. My wife thinks I'm crazy, but I will undoubtably be her stud whenI figure this out.

There are pics of some razor maker's instructions (Torrey,Boker & Kropp IIRC) floating around & they all use near identical wording. "Lay the razor virtually as flat as possible"
The worst thing that can happen is it doesn't shave close. You then adjust upwards a tad & find the sweet spot.

Thanks onimaru, will try that. I stropped this morning and seemed to lose a little edge. Was trying to be careful to keep blade flat, and only turning on the spine, but my razor now fails the hair test. The strop is from vintage blades, new, and they said no break-in needed. My question is, do I need to send the blade off for honing again?

Originally Posted by Scutler

Thanks onimaru, will try that. I stropped this morning and seemed to lose a little edge. Was trying to be careful to keep blade flat, and only turning on the spine, but my razor now fails the hair test. The strop is from vintage blades, new, and they said no break-in needed. My question is, do I need to send the blade off for honing again?

No. The hanging hair test is not reliable as there are many factors that play a roll in it. As long as you are careful to strop spine leading only, your razor shouldn't need to be honed for a few months.

Originally Posted by Scutler

Thanks onimaru, will try that. I stropped this morning and seemed to lose a little edge. Was trying to be careful to keep blade flat, and only turning on the spine, but my razor now fails the hair test. The strop is from vintage blades, new, and they said no break-in needed. My question is, do I need to send the blade off for honing again?

With stropping, 90% of newbs strop too heavily & roll the edge by lifting the spine the other 10% strop too lightly & roll the edge by lifting the spine Those statistics are purely fictional
If you can't restore the razor to its former glory by stropping it may well need a hone or maybe simply 'correct stropping' but see how it shaves first.
Stropping is one of the most difficult things to learn because of its kinaesthetic nature yet most of the instruction you get is visual & aural. In the past guys have posted videos of themselves stropping for critique. You could consider that or see if someone local could show you the ropes.

I have vivid and very painful memories of my first straight shave. I thought it would be 1,2,3 easy as pie. Boy was I wrong.

If you've done your homework and researched all the facets of shaving on this site and you think you have everything down knowledge wise it's just a matter of gaining experience and putting into practice what you know and have read. That just takes time which varies from person to person.

If things don't improve over the short term then you need to start examining just what you are doing.

Your story takes us all back to when we started. I had a red face, weepers, and my hand was nervously shaking the whole time. Doing it all over again, I would just start with small sections, using small repeating strokes and building off of that with each successive shave. Use whatever razor works for you now to finish up the job.

I sounds like you have every thing else working for you, so you will just continue moving up the learning curve and someday, voila! - a BBS shave that you will rave about on SRP!

Keep the faith and don't give up.

Pabster

Try to imagine what angle the blades on your safety razors hit your face and mimic that.