First Shave..Semi-Successful

So I had my first shave this morning..I was using my first straight, an S.R. Droescher "Karbono" Special Steel that I purchased shave ready off the classifieds here.

My prep was a hot shower, followed by proraso pre-shave cream.
Just for fun, I made an uberlather (why not, right?)..

Proraso soap + maca root shave cream+ glycerin..made a pretty decent lather IMO.

I only shaved the upper part of my cheeks and neck since I'm currently sporting a beard. I only did one side.

Basically, it was wierd. Half the time it was pulling, but at other times it was shaving nicely. I'm attributing this to my unsteady hands and inexperience leading to an inconsistent technique.

I finished up with a cartridge razor, and used maca root razor relief for my ASB.

So basically, I have a lot to learn lol.

I'm kinda dissapointed though, because after stropping, I looked at the edge with a magnifying glass and there's two tiny tiny nicks in the blade :(

Looks like I'm gonna have to get into honing sooner than i thought :(

Sounds like your typical first shave. Your smooth shave, then tugging pulling shave is probably due to your blade angle..focus on that and it'll get better :) The nicks in the blade weren't there before? I'd be concerned then about something on your strop or your stropping technique...:hmmm:

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Originally Posted by canuckblade

I only shaved the upper part of my cheeks and neck since I'm currently sporting a beard. I only did one side.

Basically, it was wierd. Half the time it was pulling, but at other times it was shaving nicely. I'm attributing this to my unsteady hands and inexperience leading to an inconsistent technique.

I finished up with a cartridge razor, and used maca root razor relief for my ASB.

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You definitely did a couple things right that a lot of eager newbs avoid: you only tried shaving a portion of yor face, and finished off with your `normal` razor. And yes, unsteady hands and inexperience will cause the pulling sensation with a sharp razor.

Congrats, sounds like it went fine for your first time out. As for those chips maybe post some pics and we can tell you where to go from there.

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Originally Posted by canuckblade

So I had my first shave this morning..I was using my first straight, an S.R. Droescher "Karbono" Special Steel that I purchased shave ready off the classifieds here.

My prep was a hot shower, followed by proraso pre-shave cream.
Just for fun, I made an uberlather (why not, right?)..

Proraso soap + maca root shave cream+ glycerin..made a pretty decent lather IMO.

I only shaved the upper part of my cheeks and neck since I'm currently sporting a beard. I only did one side.

Basically, it was wierd. Half the time it was pulling, but at other times it was shaving nicely. I'm attributing this to my unsteady hands and inexperience leading to an inconsistent technique.

I finished up with a cartridge razor, and used maca root razor relief for my ASB.

So basically, I have a lot to learn lol.

I'm kinda dissapointed though, because after stropping, I looked at the edge with a magnifying glass and there's two tiny tiny nicks in the blade :(

Looks like I'm gonna have to get into honing sooner than i thought :(

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Do the tiny nicks look like missing teeth? I get them all the time. The more I shave, the more nicks I get. They are visible to the naked eye, but I only get it honed if I get too many. A few tiny nicks are even visable after professional honing. I guess the edge is so fine that little bits of metal do break off. I don't find a few small nicks to affect my shaving.

I'm sure the seasoned vets can elaborate.

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Originally Posted by vikingfan

Do the tiny nicks look like missing teeth? I get them all the time. The more I shave, the more nicks I get. They are visible to the naked eye, but I only get it honed if I get too many. A few tiny nicks are even visable after professional honing. I guess the edge is so fine that little bits of metal do break off. I don't find a few small nicks to affect my shaving.

I'm sure the seasoned vets can elaborate.

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Well its like 2 really really small..i thought it was just a speck of dirt on the edge, but when it wouldn't rub away, I took the magnifying glass to have a better look, and there's a couple of nicks/dings in the blade..

I never really inspected the razor under a magnifying glass when I got it, I bought it shave ready off the classifieds here and I trust the member who sold it to me, I just have no idea where they came from :(

Ill see if I can post some pics later.

Do you think If i get a barber hone it can take them out?

here's a pic of the nicks..It's as good as I could get with my current equipment.

The one on the left is a lot smaller than the one on the right. Are these nothing, or should I be concerned?

Sounds alot better than my first str8 shave. See my post "I must be nuts". Was a horror movie. I learned alot though that first shave and I guess you could say either you learn or your ugly lol.

Congrats on your first, Im getting ready for my third on Wed. It should be better as Ive gotten some great advice form the people here. Im also going to try the glycerin and the uber-lather. Every time I try something new so far its been better than expected.

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Originally Posted by Biggie77

Sounds alot better than my first str8 shave. See my post "I must be nuts". Was a horror movie. I learned alot though that first shave and I guess you could say either you learn or your ugly lol.

Congrats on your first, Im getting ready for my third on Wed. It should be better as Ive gotten some great advice form the people here. Im also going to try the glycerin and the uber-lather. Every time I try something new so far its been better than expected.

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Yea the uberlather makes a big difference IMO, Ive been using the maca root cream for years now with my cartridge razor..just quickly lathering on my face but after I started taking the time to actually whip up a nice Uberlather, theres no comparison.

I definitely saw rays of hope, there were strokes where it cut nicely.

Practice makes perfect for sure. Looking foreward to my next shave.

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Originally Posted by canuckblade

Yea the uberlather makes a big difference IMO, Ive been using the maca root cream for years now with my cartridge razor..just quickly lathering on my face but after I started taking the time to actually whip up a nice Uberlather, theres no comparison.

I definitely saw rays of hope, there were strokes where it cut nicely.

Practice makes perfect for sure. Looking foreward to my next shave.

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Maca root cream, Ill have to try that. So many products out there to try you keep trying new stuff til you get a collection of what you like best.

Sorry to be a shameless bumper guys :p

After doing some more research, I've discovered a phenomenon called microchipping, which can occur with regular use of the razor.

I'm sure I didn't bump it on anything, and they're really small chips, they look like black dots when inspecting with the eye.

Are those microchips possibly? Or are they chips which I have to be concerned about?

sounds to me like you may have been crossing grain boundaries
perhaps missing the wtg and jumping into a cross grain or atg too early

i'v found that i get a pulling feeling if i go atg before a wtg and across grain pas

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Originally Posted by wyldr

sounds to me like you may have been crossing grain boundaries
perhaps missing the wtg and jumping into a cross grain or atg too early

i'v found that i get a pulling feeling if i go atg before a wtg and across grain pas

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hmm its possible, I might have to inspect my growth patterns more carefully..:banghead:

I'm sporting a partial beard as well and found some of the same. For me, it felt like the blade was sticking to my face. This usually happened on the fist couple of strokes and after that it smoothed out. At first I thought it was nerves, but at one point I was adjusting my angle and watching in the mirror and noticed getting a little lather on the back of the blade (between the blade and my cheek). This seemed to make it feel slicker and made me feel a lot less nervous. I was also experimenting with glycerin in the lather and maybe this was the solution, still not sure. Anyway, the second thing I noticed was on the top part of my cheek, I was using the heel of the blade much more than the center or toe.

Good shaving!

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Originally Posted by canuckblade

Well its like 2 really really small..i thought it was just a speck of dirt on the edge, but when it wouldn't rub away, I took the magnifying glass to have a better look, and there's a couple of nicks/dings in the blade..

I never really inspected the razor under a magnifying glass when I got it, I bought it shave ready off the classifieds here and I trust the member who sold it to me, I just have no idea where they came from :(

Ill see if I can post some pics later.

Do you think If i get a barber hone it can take them out?

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Those tiny nicks look like the ones I get all the time. It looks like a tiny square piece chipped off the edge. Even when I get a professionally hones razor back, there may be one or two still visable. They really don't seem to affect my shaves. After a while, a few more nicks form, so I will send it out for honing. As long as it still shaves well, there should be no problem. I guess that is why I get it honed every 4-6 months.:gl:

I wouldn't be too concerned about it. When it gets to the point

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Originally Posted by vikingfan

Those tiny nicks look like the ones I get all the time. It looks like a tiny square piece chipped off the edge. Even when I get a professionally hones razor back, there may be one or two still visable. They really don't seem to affect my shaves. After a while, a few more nicks form, so I will send it out for honing. As long as it still shaves well, there should be no problem. I guess that is why I get it honed every 4-6 months.:gl:

I wouldn't be too concerned about it. When it gets to the point

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Phew thanks!

Do you think a few swipes on a barber hone help it out ?

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Originally Posted by canuckblade

Phew thanks!

Do you think a few swipes on a barber hone help it out ?

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I don't know the grit of a barber hone. If it is a very high grit, it may take a very long time to get them out.

I just decided to try my hand at honing again (my first attempt a few months ago made my razor more dull) and I used a 3000 grit hone followed by a 8000 grit hone. The chips became smaller. I suppose if I did a few more passes on the 3000 grit hone, most of the chips will disappear.

If I was you, I would not hone it if the shaves are good. I think after 4 or 5 months of daily shaving, my razor probably had about 10 visable chips. It wasn't until I read your post that I decided to look at my razor's edge and try honing. So, if it still shaves well, leave it alone.

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Originally Posted by vikingfan

I don't know the grit of a barber hone. If it is a very high grit, it may take a very long time to get them out.

I just decided to try my hand at honing again (my first attempt a few months ago made my razor more dull) and I used a 3000 grit hone followed by a 8000 grit hone. The chips became smaller. I suppose if I did a few more passes on the 3000 grit hone, most of the chips will disappear.

If I was you, I would not hone it if the shaves are good. I think after 4 or 5 months of daily shaving, my razor probably had about 10 visable chips. It wasn't until I read your post that I decided to look at my razor's edge and try honing. So, if it still shaves well, leave it alone.

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Had my second shave today, and it was a little better than my first one. I still probably don't know what a truly amazing shave feels like, I'm still learning. But the shaves are relatively good for my skill level.

I probably have about 3 tiny microchips on the edge now, but it just seems counter-intuitive, like the chips would dig in and scratch my face.

But let me tell you, it's a huge sigh of relief when a more experienced member tells me they have the same thing :)

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by canuckblade

Had my second shave today, and it was a little better than my first one. I still probably don't know what a truly amazing shave feels like, I'm still learning. But the shaves are relatively good for my skill level.

I probably have about 3 tiny microchips on the edge now, but it just seems counter-intuitive, like the chips would dig in and scratch my face.

But let me tell you, it's a huge sigh of relief when a more experienced member tells me they have the same thing :)

Thanks!

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I would think the chips would not dig in, since the space is above the skin. The chips in your photo seem normal to me. When you get too many chips, you might have to hone it.

I just finished my first shave as well, and also experinced a LOT of pulling! Hopefully it is just our technique and will get smoother with time...

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Originally Posted by joben

I just finished my first shave as well, and also experinced a LOT of pulling! Hopefully it is just our technique and will get smoother with time...

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Assuming your razor is shave-ready, pay attention to the blade angle. Keep it to about 20 to 30 degrees and keep the area you are shaving taught.