1 shave down

I had my first shave tonight. I started with the side of my face and felt so confutable that I want to the other side. Then I tried a little of the neck and even went ATF. Stayed away from chin and under the noise. Finished with my DE I have a long way to go but it was fun. The razor felt like it was skipping across my face. Do I do long strokes or short little ones. The razor was bought shave ready from whipped dog and I didn't strop it. So the razor was ready. I did have a two day beard. So I'll try again tommorow

Congratulations on your first shave. No one's first straight shave goes particularly well, so don't stop practising. At least initially, I would suggest perhaps shorter strokes over longer ones. Lock your elbow and let the razor move from the wrist. It is a bit safer that way, I think.

The skipping sounds like one of those common issues with first shaves - most likely the angle of the razor to the face wasn't quite where it needed to be. Also, make sure you stretch your skin with your other hand so the straight razor is moving over as taut a surface as possible. As you progress you will find the best way to stretch and the best angle for your beard.

Good luck!

James.

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Originally Posted by Goingst8

I had my first shave tonight. I started with the side of my face and felt so confutable that I want to the other side. Then I tried a little of the neck and even went ATF. Stayed away from chin and under the noise. Finished with my DE I have a long way to go but it was fun. The razor felt like it was skipping across my face. Do I do long strokes or short little ones. The razor was bought shave ready from whipped dog and I didn't strop it. So the razor was ready. I did have a two day beard. So I'll try again tommorow

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Hi, Tonight I had my third shave and I had the same problems that you had on your first, my razor skipped, etc... The razor was professionally honed and I assumed that I didn't need to strop it much so I only did a few passes on the strop, I now know that stropping is very important but I think your issue was the same as mine, I had too much of an angle, Tonight I got my best shave with no skipping or burn all I did was lay the spine on my face and raised it very slightly (without knowing I was using a angle much greater than 30 degrees, I now watch closely until this becomes second nature.) Good luck with your future shaves, it will only get better I just read forum topics and try new things, I think the next thing I will try is a cold shave.

Laying the blade flat during the first WTG pass is often a winning technique. Be aware, though, that doing so might actually increase the resistance you feel during the pass. This can be interpreted as the razor being dull, and might be described as pulling. Nonetheless, the razor will be moving parallel or close to parallel to your skin and there should be no problem with razor burn.

[QUOTE=LarryAndro;835437]Laying the blade flat during the first WTG pass is often a winning technique. Be aware, though, that doing so might actually increase the resistance you feel during the pass. This can be interpreted as the razor being dull, and might be described as pulling. Nonetheless, the razor will be moving parallel or close to parallel to your skin and there should be no problem with razor burn.[/QUOTE. The razor was sharp. I will try again tonight. Thanks all around Larry