Three or four partial shaves, then whoops

After much review of this and other online sites, I bought my first straight razor from the classifieds here about a month ago. Joe was as helpful as anyone I have ever come accross on the internet and even happened to have an extra strop he was willing to sell me as well. I rounded out the set with an Art of Shaving set I had already purchased at Nordstrom with the brush, soap, oil, and after shave. The blade is a Blyde & Co. Sheffield and came ready to go, very sharp, and completely as advertised.

I have been very cautious with this whole procees since cuts and so forth will not work with my clients. Following the advice of SRP and Whipped Dog I did the first four or so shaves just doing my cheeks. Other than minor burn, no cuts, no nicks and a reasonable shave. Then I would get every where else with the Mach multiblade (which I despise).

With the confidence of these first attempts, this past weekend I went for a little more. Although my shave angles were conservative, and I did not get that great of a shave, I was able to venture down to the neck areas so I was feeling really good. Then I came across my chin and doh! Full on cut over an inch long. Bleeding ensued. Luckily, it was very clean and I applied the styptic pencil with haste all over the cut. As advertised, the bleeding stopped almost immediately.

Shaken, but not stirred, I ended the whole shave and decided to wait until the next morning to clean up the mess that was my partially shaven face. I could not help feeling like an idiot for even getting into the straight razor thing, and I was also concerned that I had now permanently scarred my otherwise perfect facial skin.

Today is Friday, five days after the incident. I looked in the mirror and to my amazement and delight, the cut is completely healed with no scar. I am super excited to get the straight out and try again tonight. I keep reading about others who have perfect shaves the first or second time through, and I am hoping there are at least some folks out there who have endured similar issues and are feeling good about the decision to continue on the learning curve despite a few hiccups.

Welcome to the world of straight razor shaving and SRP.

It sounds like you are off to a great start, cut and all. You've got a good attitude about getting back into the game. Go slow and keep up the good work.

Have you considered adding a safety razor to your line up? In my profession, I have to be clean shaven every day. On days when I'm rushed, or to finish off some difficult places, I pull out the DE. I'm guessing that my DE will stay a regular in my line up for years to come. I still get to enjoy my pre and post shave routine with the DE.

Give it a thought.

Dont feel too bad. I've been at it for a few months (I dont shave very often though) and still have trouble with my chin. Often I'll do a pass with the straight on my chin and then do a pass with a double edge razor to make it smoother.

Thank you for the kind words.

Interesting. I have been wondering what DE stands for. Why "DE"?

What kind of safety razor are you using? That seems like a great idea.

Hello and welcome to SRP
As mentioned earlier, it looks like you've gotten off to a good start. 3 or 4 shaves then whoops, I was more whoops, whoops, whoops then shave. DE, I believe stands for double edge, but as I dont have one I cannot pass on any advice on buying/using although there is a DE forum on SRP, I think? Ryan

They are called Double Edge/DE because the razors used within them are sharp on both sides of the blade. I switched to safety razors a couple years ago and they acted as my gateway drug to straight razors :)

I switched to them because of the cost difference for blades, and I felt I got a better shave.

I have a new Merkur safety razor (Futur model), and a couple old Gillette ones. One is a Gillette slim, the other I'm not sure. Typically, I use one of these razors when I have less time for shaving and just want to be done quickly. If I have more time and want to take it slow I'll use one of my straights.

There are a ton of different safety razors out there and just like straight razors personal preference plays a big part in what you like. I havent tried many different kinds so I may not be the best to recommend one to you. But personally, I have been just as happy with my older ones which were much cheaper than my new Merkur.

Just keep at it with the straight, you will get the hang of it. And unless you do a really bad job, that rough you feel will only be known extensively to you or who ever is that close to you. It will just make you have to shave again later that day or the next and well over time you will get better at it.

It is also wonderful how well a knick or cut will heal when it is from a sharp single blade.

UWPete,
Welcome to SRP. I think you're doing great. I've been using the str8s since December and with only a couple of exceptions, I'm still trying to get a great shave. However, each time usually get's a little better--anyway, don't get discouraged and keep at it.

There may be people who get great shaves right away, but I haven't been one of them. Perhaps I was spoiled by Pro Fusions and my Merkur HD, but I wasn't getting what I considered a decent shave for weeks, although I was making improvement. Now I'm 60 or so shaves in, and the shaves are improving. When I'm rushed I whip out the Merkur or the Pro Fusion. Nicks and cuts happen, as does razor burn. They just are reminders of what you need to work on.

Ace--++++1 dude. You said it perfectly!

@ UWPete, this WILL get better. My first two weeks or so, my face looked like a rare standing rib roast. It was not pretty. I've been at it about three months now, and only occasionally cause significant damage. Usually, just a minor nick here and there, which the alum block will handle. The learning curve is great, but so is the satisfaction

i have been using a shavette for awhile till i get my s.r. honing and stropping down. i use a regular s.r. when i go to the barber. ive been giong to him sinc before short pants and i talked him into a little help and to let me do it myself. i get small cuts now and then, but they dont bother me much.im 41 and if a small facial scar is my worst worry i think im doin pretty good. as i get older i find many things on my person have changed. and it seems since i quit worring about getting cut,i get cut far less. i guess its because im more relaxed. i just know i like the idea of a s.r. compared to the others. and my shaves are better on a bad s.r. day then on alot of cartridge good days. and after ive used it for awhile now i can shave pretty quick with a shavettee when im in a hurry. so mabey if you try not to worry so much about the whoops it wont happen as much.,,,willy

Hello there. I'm glad to hear that your cut healed up so neatly. May i ask what you used on the cut for/during the healing process?

I literally just popped my cherry with my first straight razor cut. Same length an place. 1 inch on my chin and as stated with yourself, the pencil literally stopped the bleeding after being religiously applied. The cut itself does not need stitches, but is deep enough to have all the potential to scar. I immediately cleaned the area and applied triple antibiotic with a butterfly band-aid. I have no scars on my face and would hope this will not be my first, especially in such an obvious spot. Like the way you felt, i have lost a little bit of faith in my straight razor. Although i will admit with this first profound cut i have a new respect for my SR blade. I will never underestimate it again seeing as tonight i may have gotten a little ****y with my chin area. (i am still all too new also, i come from the DE world myself)

With this minor setback i will not give up on my SR. I will only continue to educate myself. In the mean time though, any recommendations on the best way to prevent a scar? :)

Thanks gentlemen and best of luck to you!

Yeah, it's certainly not a good feeling after cutting yourself. It should make you feel better to note that I did nothing other than the styptic pencil. I mean, I washed my whole face of the remaining cream and thus cleaned the wound, but the styptic pencil worked so well, I didn't even put a bandage on. I was amazed. If I had had some steri-strips, I would certainly have used them.

I think the real issue ultimately with the healing was that that cut was so clean. I think if it was any other blade, or edge, I would have gone in for a stitch or two.

I have some dry flaking on the wound right now, so I have still not dared to shave around the area. I am wishing I had taken pictures of the before and after, but the verdict is not out on whether I am completely scar free, so far it looks very good if not unnoticeable.

I hope you fare the same.

Quote:

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Like the way you felt, i have lost a little bit of faith in my straight razor.

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The _razor_ is working perfectly. It's the _hand_ that's at fault.<g>

Charles

PS -- if the razor is dull, and you put pressure on it to force it to cut hairs, _those_ cuts are brutal. So far, I haven't cut myself badly enough to need a butterfly, but "butterfly" seems to be the standard fixup.

While I'm pretty luck and get pretty good shaves off the bat, I do tend to get tiny nicks on the point of my chin and around the jaw line. And a half inch long cut just under each of my sideburns. Keep your chin up and keep trying.

_________________________

Devilpup

Thank you everyone for your good words of encouragement. I got back on the horse today and everything went smoothly. I was less aggressive with the territory I tried to cover, but I still got a lot done with the SR relative to my initial cheeks only runs.

Most encouraging is that the quality of the shave, at least in the areas I get two with the grain passes at (the cheeks) is improving dramatically.

There is hope for this process yet, though I have to admit, I was close to being done with the whole thing after that cut.

well when i do get a cut i just usually use gillette gel aftershave. that usually does the trick. if it does continue to bleed i just use a cold washcloth on it with a bit of pressure and it always seems to stop it then a little more gel aftershave on it and thats about it.

Oh and don't worry if you get a scar, chicks dig scars. Trust me I've got a nice bold half inch one on upper, quarter inch just below my lower lip, and to many to count on the jaw line of my chin.

Keep trying. I first got a Dovo 5/8 on a whim about ten years ago because I hated the way the Mach 3's clog as soon as you start shaving. I knew nothing about straight razors or sharpening at the time. I tried shaving with my factory sharpened Dovo razor with very disappointing results. I went back to cartridges but kept the Dovo, vowing to give it a shot in the future. After getting serious about woodworking and learning to sharpen chisels, I figured I would try to sharpen my old Dovo on my Norton stones and try straight shaving again. A couple of weeks ago, I finally got it to work. But the shaves were still pretty uncomfortable. I found this site online and found a lot of good advice. Today was my fifth shave, and it was great. Much better that my Mach 3, and still just shaving with the grain.
I think what has helped me progress so quickly was my experience with sharpening other types of blades, and I was able to carry that experience over to my razor. Sharpening and stropping really does take a lot of practice, as they explain on this site, so keep practicing. If you've never successfully sharpened anything before you might want to get a cheapo razor to practice on, as they suggest.
Also, pay careful attention to the advice on this site. I think my greatest improvements this week came from using a good strop (I just got my 3" strop from SRD, and already I can tell a big difference in how sharp my razor is), proper stropping technique (watch the videos and diagrams carefully), and it is very important to get a really good soap/cream. I tried a few that dried instantly on my face (Herban Cowboy is horrible. I cut my face and got bad razor burn using that stuff, but it's what's available in my supermarket). Last, make sure you pay attention to the direction that the hair grows. Shave with the grain first, and make sure you pull the skin tight (before you lay the blade to the skin!).
You might also want to try different blades. After my second shave with a 5/8 I got a Dovo Bismark 6/8, that I find very easy to handle. I was afraid that it's wider blade would be more difficult to maneuver, but the opposite is the case. It has a shorter, shoulderless blade, which I find makes it more easy to use.
Now I'm hooked. Keep working with it, invest in good products, and you will have good results.

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