Thread: First Shave with a Straight Razor

Yesterday received my new straight razor and strop from SRD. A Dovo Best Quality 5/8 and a 3" latigo strop. Razor was (as expected from SRD) shave ready. Thank you Mr Lynn Abrams!!! I also received Mr Abrams DVD. What a great value.

I couldn't wait for my first shave.

Pre-shave prep was great, Hot towel, lather, hot towel lather and shave just like Mr Abrams DVD).

I was a bit nervous, but after reading this forum till my eyes were blurry my first shave went very well.

First shave was WTG. The razor was smooth and cut whiskers very smoothly. Only one small cut on point of my chin (was to be expected.) Styptic pencil stung a little but did its job. Finished up with cold water, Nivea after shave balm, and some grat Bay rum. Seriously, I never thought I would enjoy a shave so much. It took about twenty minutes and several re-latherings but was well worth it. Very luxurious experience. I didn't even have to use my Mach 3 to finish. I felt like a new man.

I was surprised that my first shave did better that my old Mach 3.

Great thanks to everyone on Straighrazorplace for all their advice. This site made my first shave easy and memorable. I am definitely hooked.

Also, thanks to SRD for their great service and the shave ready razor I received. My order shipped incredibly fast and any question I had were answered almost immediately. I will definitely order from them again. Thank and best regards to all,

Johan

Congratulations on a great start, certainly better than mine. Welcome aboard and here's to many good shaves to come.

Welcome aboard! You're off to a great start. You did your homework and were rewarded with a great shave.

Thanks.

It is senior members like you who have helped me in this endeavor. I would never have tried this if it wasn't four you encouragement and support.

Thanks again

I just had my first shave too! With a Dovo Ivory Micarta.

Not quite as clean as I liked, but I prefer gradual improvement over nicks and cuts!

Tried the WTG and AcrossTG, too scared to use AgainstTG.

Not as dangerous to use as I thought, but after a few passes in a hard to shave setion under my chin, started feeling the razor was burning me with too many passes so I stopped.

Any remedies to hard to shave spots without razor burn?

Originally Posted by drgreen

Any remedies to hard to shave spots without razor burn?

• Practice,
• applying a layer of soap under the lather,
• good extra long prep,
• double up on shaving lather after a moment of waiting for it to soak,
• good stropping,
• applying water just before the pass,
• lowering the angle of the stroke,
• stretching the skin before to pass,
• holding the razor lightly so it flexes with the whisker and skin,
• realizing that the shave will feel smoother after your face dries,
• applying cold water immediately after your strokes,
• applying witch hazel when done.

The reading definitely paid-off. My first shave was a disaster because I only had pictures to use as a guide and was unawares of the importance of pulling the skin taunt & the importance of holding the blade at the proper angle.

Great tips Davis thanks. I think my angle especially I need to be aware of, not exactly used to shaving with my left hand (when I'm onto my left face), let alone a straight razor!

What do you mean applying water just before the pass? won't the lather come off?

I will try applying cold water immediately after the stroke, what does that do, close the pores immediately? What about if you need to make a few passes, wouldnt you want to keep the pores open until you're finished that area?

I have a much to learn, but enjoying the experience.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

• Practice,
• applying a layer of soap under the lather,
• good extra long prep,
• double up on shaving lather after a moment of waiting for it to soak,
• good stropping,
• applying water just before the pass,
• lowering the angle of the stroke,
• stretching the skin before to pass,
• holding the razor lightly so it flexes with the whisker and skin,
• realizing that the shave will feel smoother after your face dries,
• applying cold water immediately after your strokes,
• applying witch hazel when done.

Great tips Davis thanks. I think my angle especially I need to be aware of, not exactly used to shaving with my left hand (when I'm onto my left face), let alone a straight razor!

What do you mean applying water just before the pass? won't the lather come off?

I will try applying cold water immediately after the stroke, what does that do, close the pores immediately? What about if you need to make a few passes, wouldnt you want to keep the pores open until you're finished that area?

I have a much to learn, but enjoying the experience. And yes the shave does feel smoother after the face is dried! (touching it now lol)

Sometimes, without you really noticing the lather dries a bit and that is what really causes the burn.

The water does a lot of work, the lather holds the water.

Yes, do a few strokes, if needed (but these can also be the cause of razor burn) and then cool the area quickly with cool water. If you create razor burn, it's similar to any other burn, the longer you wait to treat it the worse it gets.

So, lots of guys use cool water when they get done shaving, but by then a lot of the damage is already done.

Once you learn to shave all these tricks will become useless by the way. A straight razor is the smoothest shave on the planet (once you get it down).