WOOOO!!! I'M STILL ALIVE!!!

Gents,

I'm full of joy! Last night, I had my very first Straight Razor Shave with my first ever straight razor that I purchased from the great people at SRD. I didn't receive the badger brush in my package, (perhaps they where out of stock?)but in my lack of patience and eagerness to shave with my new razor I went ahead and shaved. This is my experience:

So there I was, shiny new beautiful razor in hand... Gazing at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes drift down to the "barbaric" instrument gently clutched in my hand, thinking, perhaps this was the last time I would ever look into a mirror, the last time I may take a breath... The cold hard reality of the fact that I now held the sharpest thing I have ever held in my life and that I would have to put it to my face and throat, having never attempted such a feat, I swallowed, took a deep breath, and decided that I COULD do it.

Unfortunately, I did not have a shave brush. That probably would have deterred most people. Not I. I lack the patience to wait another few days for my package to arrive. In no hurry, I decided to use some shave cream from a can, mixed with a little shampoo and conditioner and plenty of water on my face. I thought to myself, "what am I thinking? my first straight shave and I'm starting off all wrong!". "what the hell?!" I said. So I lathered up and dried my hands, ignoring the ever so slight uneasiness in my confidence.

With blade in hand, I looked in the mirror and thought, dam, I sure look bad ass with this blade about to shave like a real man! I struck a pose, looking like so many old pictures of men shaving that I have seen throughout the years. Now, I'm finally going to be part of this tradition. I angle the blade to my face and without touching my face, attempt a couple of "practice" strokes. Ok, I can do this...

I start at my sideburns, check my angle, light touch, no side to side motion.... I can do it, I say to my self. I gently start my first pass. To my horror! I feel the blade stick!!! It didn't go down!! The sound, the feeling, the pulling of my hairs, all screaming to my senses that THIS THING IS SHARP!!! Perhaps I was too gentle, perhaps my angle was greater than 30 degrees? I try again, little more umph this time. I DID IT, THE HAIRS JUST SEEMED TO MELT RIGHT OFF MY FACE!! I continued and decided I could do my left side. My confidence grew and so did my respect for the blade. Did I mention this sucker is sharp? So far so good, I think I'll try my neck and throat. It went so well, I think I got the hang of it so far. No nicks, cuts or even any irritation at all!! The shave is pretty dam close, and still better than the cartridge razors I have been using! Wow beginners luck?

I can honestly say that all the information I found on this site lead me to visualize my first proper shave before I even had it in my possession.
Thank you all!

Congrats! It's an amazing feeling that first shave with a straight and it sounds like yours went well. Thanks for sharing your experience and it will only get better. Welcome to the club!

Congratulations. keep it going you will be very happy.gl

Well done. It's a very different kind of stroke with a different need in pressure, tension, and angle.

Thanks guys!

Today I had my second shave and it went well, however, it felt like the blade was not as sharp because it seemed to pull ever so slightly more than my first experience. I figure it could be I just didn't find that sweet spot in angle and pressure. My beard was not as long as my previous shave as well. I think I got the hang of stropping for the most part, I keep it light and tight. Its amazing how dynamic this art of shaving is, there are all these variables and I'm sure with time, it should all come together in a nice orchestration of all these variables. No nicks or cuts or irritation! Good enough shave with only 2 passes, and I am still alive!

Good day gentlemen.

VladimirVernadsky,

If you don’t author books for a living, you should. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a beginner describe their first str8 shave with such flare! LOL! You definitely have a way with words and can keep a reader’s attention by making them curious as to what they will read next.

Congratulations! It’s good to hear you had such a great experience on your first and second shaves. If I remember correctly, my second complete shave didn’t seem to be as smooth as the second one either.

I don’t know why, but shaving always seemed to be somewhat of a chore to me before I got into straight razor shaving. I’ve been at this for a year and a half now and still enjoy it.

Good luck and keep us posted!

I felt like I was just reading a novel! The way you described how your shave went was really detailed, unlike any I've seen before.

By the way, Good Job! I'm glad you're having success right away. You're starting off better than I did. Congrats!

VV--welcome and congrats on such a good start. My own early shaves waxed and waned in closeness, as I learned better stropping technique and as my confidence grew. Funny thing about confidence, it can help and it can hinder. When I've gotten too confident, the razor has humbled me.

I can tell you're having fun. Keep it up!