Thread: First Shave with a Straight

So my straight came in the mail yesterday from SRD ( 5/8 dovo best quality). I didn't get around to shaving till this morning, I went through my usual pre-shave routine that I have established over the past month or so shaving with a DE, Shower, build lather, face lather it on, let it sit for a few minutes then on to the shaving. I as far as a first shave I think I've done fairly well. One pass WTG with the straight and even though I fully expected that I was up for a old fashioned blood letting, much to my surprise I didn't nick myself, not even any razor burn. That said this was far from the perfect shave, although my cheeks and neck turned out fairly smooth (I employed the DE for a quick pass after everything was done to clean it all up) some of the more difficult areas (chin, upper lip, jaw line) where left with only marginally less hair then when I started, which I'm assuming is a angle issue and well as using a little too much "no pressure". As well and just before a get into this part I want to make it clear I am not blaming the blade, it kinda felt like I was shaving with a kitchen knife, allow me to explain I could literally feel every hair being cut, a far cry from what I've seen in videos what the hair just seems to fall of the face, where am I going wrong is the angle, prep (whiskers not soft enough, I'm using a soap from Crabtree and Evelyn that worked beautifully with the DE) am I just not committing to the blade too tentative? Just wondering if anyone had any thoughts.

Cheers
-Omid

I believe that was a pretty good first attempt actually!
Most, if not all, have described similar results their first time out.
It sounds as if your DE experience has helped you a bit. Since you didn't draw blood or get any razor burn.

Keep working on the angles, and I guess you should always look for ways to improve your prep.
What I did was to, after the shower, lather up, let it sit for a bit, then add a hot towel to my face.
This will naturally kill the lather you put on, but just add lather again and see what difference it makes. It helped me!
And keep up the good work with the low pressure! Don't get tempted to try to add any. Once your angles, prep, and hand/eye adjusts to this new way of shaving, I'm sure you will do great.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress

You've made a reasonable start. Don't expect too much at first. It takes time to get things right. Give yourself some time and keep at it.

Congrats...It takes time to master. Follow the Wiki and go slow and you'll be fine. Soon enough you'll have a really great shave.

well the second shave was much less thrilling and significantly more bloody than the first. For the majority of my face it was very similar to the first shave, save for the fact that I cut my upper lip, like actually cut it less than 1 mm deep but around 25 mm long. As you can imagine it was all over before I even knew I was cutting my self, what I think happened is I was trying to reposition the blade, and instead of lifting the blade off my face I slid it over to where I wanted it to be and then ouch. Any who I think I've finally stopped bleeding from under the toilet paper so it off to make dinner
cheers
-Omid

I've found that the longer my facial hair is, as a new straight shaver, the harder it is. Much more resistance.
And my facial hair grows at SO many different angles that I spend more time trying to figure out how to get a small area shaved then anything else.
I've also found that when doing a wtg pass, just going up and down doesnt cut it. I have to add a slicing motion to it. It's scary at first, but then you see just how much more hair you're getting and its a bit easier.
Today on my 3rd straight shave, I actually shaved the scab off from my first shave.
Don't pull your skin as much either. I've found pulling my skin to where I think it's taut, then letting it off a bit from there, to work well.

For badly bleeding cuts, I can't say enough: styptic pencil! it's a life saver.

Don't let a crappy shave deter you from progressing on your straight razor journey. It's easy to get psyched out after an early bad experience, but the blade respects a steady hand, and bites the one that is shaky. Just remember: stretch the skin, use shorter strokes and be aware of blade position at all times during the shave. And if you do feel yourself getting flustered it is probably best to call it a draw and finish with your regular razor.

The first two shaves here are much better than my first two straight shaves. Try not to rush it or progress too fast. Use the DE to finish up like Ryan82 suggested and know when to call it off. You will always have more to shave later, thus more future attempts to build upon.

Straight shaving with multiday growth is heaven!

Enjoy!

Pabster