Thread: Like Chalk and Cheese

Hi All,
I feel the need to share my first 'real' straight shave experience with the group.
I started with a GD that was nowhere near shave ready (as I now know) and a couple of cr#p 'titanium' blades and a strop that were a waste of time and money.
I then found this forum and began my study of how to do it right.
Following the advice of so many of the members here, I chose to buy a real, shave ready razor from the classifieds so as to be assured of the quality.
I purchased an 11/16 Oxford from Johnmrson (I hope I can mention his name here) and he made sure that it was honed and stropped to perfection so that I could have a 'baseline' to compare other razors/shaves with. I really must endorse his service as, knowing that I was a newbie, he took great care to give me the best edge he could and offered sound advice as to my selection of razor to start with.
My razor arrived on Friday and I was as happy as a dog with two tails but resisted the urge to rush into the bathroom and start shaving.
Come Saturday morning and I filled the sink with hot water and put the hot towel on my face while I made my lather.
I did as instructed and ran the razor under hot water, carefully wiped the oil from the blade, lathered up and began, paying particular attention to the angle of the blade and repeating 'light touch' over and over in my head.
WOW!!! What a beautiful feeling. The blade glided through the whiskers and lather, removing both of them with ease and leaving an incredibly smooth path behind.
It was then that I had a BFO - this is what a straight razor is supposed to do!!
I was then that SWMBO walked into the bathroom and commented "That sounds better than the other ones".
Seeing that I had started shaving my whole face before reading the beginners tips, I though I might as well continue doing it that way, however, I figured I'd try and give this two handed shaving a go.
I spent some time getting the feel of the razor in my left hand and thought 'how very strange'. It felt kinda weird 'cause I am pretty useless with my left hand normally.
I managed to use my left hand for the entire left hand side of my face both WTG and XTG but baulked at trying it for the ATG pass on my upper lip 'cause I wanted to keep my nose....hehehe
I finished my first real shave with no blood and with a hot towel and marvelled at what a shave ready razor can feel like.
To keep everything 'like new' I rinsed my new razor under hot water, dried it carefully and oiled the blade, as instructed.
SWMBO was suitably impressed.
I cannot thank the members here enough for the encouragement and support that they freely give to all the newbies that choose to post and ask questions.
As I gain more experience, I can't wait to continue the tradition.
Cheers,
Geoff

Well said. It's amazing what a proper razor can do.

It is great to hear success stories like yours. It puts lie to the feeling that everyone should have an ambulance waiting outside when they try their first straight razor shave.

Congratulations on your success and just think, it only gets better and better!

Happy Shaving!

Awesome!!!
I'm glad it worked out for you. I have never used johnmrson, but I am happy that he helped you out.
At this point just continue your mantra and focus until it starts to become second nature. Then you can revisit on occasion.
From here you will have good days and bad, don't let the bad one's get you down; it happens to the best of us.
Thanks for posting.

Well done,
When we adequately address each individual aspect of the shave, it really has no choice but to work for us, after all it was the only way to shave for generations...

Nice! I'm having trouble getting with the left-handed part. I do a bit every shave, but I lose my nerve after a few minutes. I'm going to give it another go, because I'm pretty sure it'll get better with time. I haven't been around here all that long, so don't know who johnmrson is, but I'll definitely go find out...