Dovo Bismark, First shave ever!
WOW!! I just received my very first straight razor, a Dovo Bismark. I was could hardly wait to open it and have a look. What a phenomenal feeling razor! I was extremely impressed already!
Of course, I couldn't just look at it, so off I went to try my hand at stropping. I'm not sure if what I did helped, or hindered my shave. I guess it'll come with time.
I've been waiting for 3 weeks for this razor to arrive, obsessively combing through the 1000s of articles and "how to's" on this site. (Excellent resource by the way, I can not thank everyone enough for the tremendous amount of work and dedication displayed here. )
So, of course I couldn't wait to try it out! I had a hot shower and began my new favorite ritual. Nice wet face, I used Poraso shaving cream and got a great lather. Everything went on smooth and felt great so far. Now the moment of truth!
Just like all the instructions said here, I just shaved my right sideburn and cheek....it felt great! No pulling, no blood, and the sound of the blade cutting the hair was intoxicating!
Well, that went too well to stop there, so I figured I would switch hands :D and try my left sideburn. I was pretty nervous here, I'm not very coordinated and I was anticipating some blood for sure, but nothing!
Now the dilemma, should I just leave 'well enough' alone? Of course not!, so I dove right into shaving my chin, neck and upper lip (All wtg). Not even a scratch!
Well, that was a great shave I thought to myself.........I wonder if I can shave XTG....so I did. Hesitant at first, but quickly gained some confidence and had no problem. I pondered for a few mins, should I really try an ATG shave??? Nah, not today. But soon.
Now, after finally having my first full straight shave under my belt, I can really start to learn the art of shaving. This was already the most enjoyable shave I've ever had, and I cant wait until tomorrow when I get to do it all over again.
Thanks again to everybody on this site that has passed on their knowledge, experience and encouragement to us noobs. It made the experience a whole lot more pleasant and dispelled a great deal of the anxiety that I certainly would have been feeling today.
I already know that I'll be doing this for the rest of my life, or until I cut my arms off in a freak shaving accident.
Cheers
Matt.