Quote Originally Posted by Lynn View Post
Very nice going on the first shave. You might try a little less pressure and short little strokes as you get used to the razor. You can do a little longer strokes for clean up.

Keep up the good work!

Lynn
Lynn - Thanks for watching the video. I agree 100%. One of the reasons I filmed my shave was so I could take comments like yours, and then re-watch the video to see exactly where I need improvement.

I'm not sure if you made it all the way to the end of the video, but there was an "ah-ha moment" in there where the shave became a little smoother when I pulled in a new direction to get my lower neck. I think it's going to take a few of these "ah-ha moments" to get me where I feel really confident in my shaving.

Next shave will be in a couple days, and I will definitely take your advice (along with everyone else) to heart. Thanks for being there for me in my journey!

BTW - The horrible stropping video I filmed was really all the stropping I've ever done in that blade. Given the horrible technique but low frequency of stroking, could you reassure me that I couldn't have done major damage to the blade? You see, in the mind of a beginner, even the slightest thing we do wrong is amplified in our head, and we think, "Oh great! That razor is now RUINED and I can never get a close shave! I mind as well been stropping on concrete because of the damage I've caused."

In reality, I maybe stropped 15 bad passes before stopping the filming. LOL My plan now (and hopefully someone here can stop me if it's a bad idea) is to lay my strop on a flat table surface and strop the blade in that position. That way, I am not occupying my one hand to hold the thing taught, since it should remain pretty straight on the table, right? I figured that would allow me to focus 100% attention on the blade and not lifting the spine.