First shave by newbie from NY

Had my first shave tonight with a Michigan Farmer that I ordered from Bob Keyes at bobsrazors.com. The wife went out shopping and I had the house to myself. Really tried to take my time. I was a little shaky and felt clumsy at times holding the razor as it should be held. Off hand was even uglier. But I got through with only one small nick and some razor burn. I took Lynns advice and only shaved my cheeks down to the jaw line, then finished up with my Atra. A little styptic on the cut, followed up with some witch hazel and a dash of Ogallala Bay Rum AS. Stropped the straight after and saw at once that this is not going to be as easy as it looks in the videos. I hope I didn't mess the blade up because after stropping it wouldn't come close to passing the cut hair test described here. Any advice on stropping, anyone? Maybe I should get a clunker razor to practice on so I don"t mess this one up. I don't want to make the blade worse trying to become proficient at this, I know there is a learning curve but I'd like to keep that curve as short as possible.

Congratulations, you are on your way. When I first began shaving I dulled my razors more times than I care to admit, whether you do it on stropping, honning or even dropping a razor. I would not hesitate having someone hone it for you as soon as you start feeling the pulling sensation. Good luck, it only gets better!

The learning curve is long because there is so much to learn and to know. There is the preparation, getting the angle correct, stropping properly, and knowing what strokes to attempt where. All this requires patience, persistence and lots of practice. Give it the time it requires, and it will come, but it won't come quickly.

What I found hard my first few times was the angle of attack, especially looking at it thought your reflection.

With a straight you adjust your own angle of attack unlike commercial razors which have some sort of suspension. You can try pulling your skin or steepening your angle depending on the application.

Also another member told me that wiping cold water on the part you passed immediately will help alleviate razor burn, not washing your face altogether afterwards.

I tried it and it works. With experience, you won't have razor burns anymore so this is just a little trick while you are learning.

Hope it helps and welcome buddy