Thread: Quite a difference already

gotten the brush and soaps and have been using that for a few days now instead of the canned foam usually at my disposal and I have to say it's so much better a shave now.

I can hardly wait until I get my straight razor to try with, my shaves with the M3 have been improved quite a lot already by using a brush and soap/mug.

Just great.

It really is remarkable what a difference a good soap/cream and a brush do for the shave!

Now, you may see a decline in shave quality when you first start using the straight razor. That's normal, so don't let it frustrate or discourage you. You're gonna be re-learning how to shave, so give it time to get good.

Like Lynn always says, "have fun!"

that's ok, my first goal will be to shave as much as possible without cutting myself or getting too much irritation, so at first I expect to still finish/do large parts with my M3 razor

ya it takes a while. i think for myself it went something like this

week 1:

-straight shave right cheek / left cheek down to jaw line only. this allowed me to learn how to hold the razor, what angles to hold the razor against my face, what angles to hold the razor so it fit onto my face without one end or the other hitting areas i wasn't trying to shave . and the introduction of your LEFT hand when shaving, and starting to allow your skin to adapt to the straight razor. at first it felt like i was going to have terrible razor burn by the way my skin felt as i shaved but i never had any and as my skin adapted its no problem now.
- used gilette to do my neck and my chin/lip plus touch ups on spots i missed

week2:
- started working my complete jaw line now. its a tad difficult to get the angle and the roll of the blade the first few times. so make sure you are pulling up your skin on your cheek as you are doing it. and i started doing my lip/chin at this stage also. you will find what hand you do it with. for me i do my lip/chin with my dominant hand. it was never too bad for me, other says its very hard. however it is DEFINITELY very sensitive and this is the area you will cut yourself more then any other place. the angles aren't 30% here, getting up under your nose you have to go almost 70%+ for a second. its tricky so go slow and figure out the angles.
- still used gilette to do my neck. thats my most sensitive spot and where i get the most razor burn. plus touch ups on chin/jawline that i missed
- you may need to have your razor touched up on a pasted paddle or finishing hone at this point or very soon. its becuase you have dulled it learning to strop over the past 2 weeks. yes you did, stop denying it and pull that strop tighter when you use it and learn to roll the razor on its spine don't pick it up off the leather . if your shaves start to pull then touch up the razor. it makes the experience so much nicer and less irritation. sharp razor makes a huge difference in the quality and safety of the shave. dull = push harder = more pulling = more irritation = cuts = BAD TIME.

week3:
- by now you should have the holding the razor either hand, how to do the chin and what angles to use on your face. also you should have figured out that you can do your jawline and actually a bit down the start of your neck if you pull your skin so that you don't have to invert the razor under your jaw. so now you start on your neck. split it right hand right..left hand left. go slow, at the start i had to do more short strokes as my skin and i adapted to the new area. don't push hard as that increases razor burn.
- gilette to do touch ups on face and neck

week 4:
- i was getting faster now. using longer strokes with the razor. cheeks / jawline were down pat. chin was down, lip was improving fast. my neck was adjusted (i had to give myself a day off here or there to allow my skin to heal for the first two weeks of doing my neck /chin. it will adjust just allow it to heal by not shaving it constantly. especially your chin as that skin is just plain thin.
- dind't use the gilette much, maybe a tade here or there on my neck if i missed a spot under my jawline or by the jugular

week 5:

- i threw out my gilette and bought more creams. bought Thayer's witchhazel to use after cold splace to tighten my skin and stop small bleeds. stuff works fantastic!! bought more razors so i could rotate and not need to touch up hone them as often

it only get better and better. shaves get closer and smoother. its a grand ol' time.

ok, so that was my experience with it. hope that helps. i found out i like my lather a tad thicker then watery. you can make a TON of lather from a small amount of soap but that doesn't mean its GOOD LATHER. use a bit more cream/soap and the qualities will be smoother and more enjoyable.

~J

Originally Posted by jscott

ya it takes a while. i think for myself it went something like this

week 1:

-straight shave right cheek / left cheek down to jaw line only. this allowed me to learn how to hold the razor, what angles to hold the razor against my face, what angles to hold the razor so it fit onto my face without one end or the other hitting areas i wasn't trying to shave . and the introduction of your LEFT hand when shaving, and starting to allow your skin to adapt to the straight razor. at first it felt like i was going to have terrible razor burn by the way my skin felt as i shaved but i never had any and as my skin adapted its no problem now.
- used gilette to do my neck and my chin/lip plus touch ups on spots i missed

This makes a lot of sense to me. I'll try the same method when I get started next week unless it happens to go well enough that I don't want to stop at the jawline.

Dave