Hooked.

Hi all,
A few days ago, after much deliberation, I ordered my first straight. I bought it on the classifieds here, thankfully (I'm sure I saved myself a world of trouble and a few bucks over a new one). I had a good feeling about sr shaving to begin with and now I couldn't be more pleased; with both myself and my little square point boker.
At first I was planning on just doing the single swipe (probably not the best word) wtg on my sideburn, to get a 'feel' for gliding a razor sharp blade around my visage. With that single stroke I learned two very important things.
1) This is THE way to shave.
and
2) This is THE way for ME to shave.

I lathered up some more (haven't gotten a brush yet so fingers had to suffice) and proceeded to shave my left cheek. Upon finishing the wtg pass, I rinsed and eagerly pawed at my face to feel... a tiny bit of stubble. More lather, more shaving, xtg this time. Less stubble. I was getting noticibly excited (enough for my girlfriend to give me a puzzled look). One more pass atg, after, of course, more lather and voila: the closest shave my cheek had ever gotten. I asked my gf to test my cheek, she smiled and politely consented. Of course she moved her hand wtg, immediately I protested. 'No baby, the other way.' I said with a smile. She again consented and as she did thusly I could see the surprise in her face.

After my little show-and-tell break, I lathered the up the rest o' me and proceeded to glide away the remainder of the hair on my face, save for a goatee.

I did nick myself once. The last area I was doing was my moustache and upper lip. The razor bit me a tad on the lip, however I was more proud of this 'battle' wound than any other I have sustained.

Having completed my most satisfying shave to date, I cleaned and dryed my cutting tool then made a bed of honor for it in my medicine cabinet with and old linen napkin. I used a bit of water displacement formula 40 to keep my bad boy (or girl, I think I prefer to think of my razor as a female for whatever reason) in as pristine condition as possible. Wherein lies a question, since wd-40 can cause skin irritation, what would be the best type of oil to keep a razor rust-free? I'm hoping the answer isn't going to be incredibly specialized. Mayhap after posting this I shall scan the forums for an answer myself.

I really wanted to thank everyone that has posted on this site (expecially to all who post new sr user stories). You guys definitely helped me to make a good decision. One that I shant regret.

Once again, Thank you StraightRazorPlace.com :rock:

Congratulations
you made first step.
Just keep it going .
don't hurry up takes time .
you can use mineral oil or Oil SRD SELLS will work.
gl

Baby oil works well to protect the blade. Plus it can be used as a pre-shave oil.

Welcome to SRP and congratulations on achieving a very positive first experience. Much better than my first.

This is truly an enjoyable addiction.

Welcome indeed. I enjoyed reading your post. The good thing is that the enthusiasm wanes very little. I am still excited by a good SR shave even after 2+ years of nothing but.

Best

or tea seed oil

Nice post! Love reading your experience! I just finished my third shave today, and I think I will tackle the upper lip next, keeping the goatee as you have done. Keep it up!

Mikhal, I couldn't have said it better myself. It is an amazing feeling after you get done shaving that first time. And even better after 4 times. If you haven't got a strop yet, I suggest buying one from

Leather and Hemp webbing Strop - Straight Razor Place Classifieds

I just got mine yesterday I couldn't be more please with the results.

Congratulations. Welcome to the club and the forums. The best advice I can think of to give you would just be to take the time to learn to do it right. It is an awsome feeling, though.

Thanks for the great oil info and greetings. Conveniently I had some baby oil in my bathroom. Didn't even cross my mind to use it.