first straight shave... great success!

This morning I went ahead and got in my first ever straight razor shave. It went well, all things considered.

My razor is a new Dovo Bergischer Löwe 5/8 that I purchased from Royal Shave. I used Mitchell's Wool Fat shave soap with a best badger brush. Prior to shaving I stropped the razor slowly 20 times each on linen and leather, paying attention to blade angle to try to keep myself from rolling the edge.

I used some Anthony Logistics pre-shave oil, then lathered, and started WTG on the right side of my face. I went slow, tried to keep the blade angle down, and made short strokes to start with.

Overall my cheeks and neck went very well, and I only gave myself one nick on the left side when I was having trouble with how to hold and position the blade. The only spot that really gave me any trouble was my chin, which I gather is to be expected for a new shaver. It took me a couple passes to get everything clean.

My face is, while not BBS, at LEAST as smooth as it ever was using my Fusion. I didn't do much of an ATG pass since I didn't want to push my luck. I used some witch hazel-based after shave balm but still have a little burning, which I would probably attribute to either my technique or not getting the lather just right. In any event, no ER visits necessary and a pretty good shave. I really like the detailed, focused aspect of the process. It's almost like a little bit of zen.

I'm going to give my face a few days of rest and once I've got some good growth I'll go at it again and see if I can't figure out how to handle my chin...

http://i676.photobucket.com/albums/v...image194-1.gif

Nice job, and this is very zen stuff to say the least.

The road ahead just will get better and better for you.

enjoy.

Congrats!

It just gets better from here...! :) The pre shave prep is what really makes a difference I find and the better your prep is then the better your shave will be. Try a hot towel as I find these really make a difference!

Well done. Sounds a lot better than my first shave. You are right to go slowly and also about a Zen moment. Straight shaving is the most calming thing during my day - a moment of peace and tranquility.

Congrats! That sounds like a very successful first shave. I also use MWF soap and love it.

Congrats and well done. Starting the day with the straight razor shave really gets the day off to a great start. Some people go and pay for this experience for special occations. We get it every day.

'Big Grats Mac!

You had alot less blood than I did. You started w/ premium stuff - but that doesn't help much. Your attention to the shave paid off.

I can only chime in that it gets better - A LOT better from here. Keep posting. 'Will be good to hear from ya.

Sounds like a great start for sure.
I actually started out with the very same razor, and you seem to have done a much better job than I :)
Keep at it, it will only get better!

Oh, well, sure, if you're going to use a Dovo Bergischer Löwe 5/8, your going to get a nice shave. That is practically cheating in the newbie world. :)

You're supposed to buy a Chinese knockoff because you wanted to save money. :confused: