Thread: Finally!!!

Reading this thread has gotten me really looking forward to tomorrow morning's first shave! I will post all about it tomorrow evening. I came home today to find a package from Larry at the Whipped Dog which contained my "sight unseen" razor (I will be posting about this excellent experience as well!) and I am now the proud owner of that razor and of the ebay Allentown razor which I will be sending to Larry for honing.

One thing about straight razor shaving that I have become aware of even during the equipment gathering and research phase that I think is important to keep in mind. It is something that shouldn't be rushed because you can (a) inflict some serious damage and (b) ruin the experience! While I was waiting for all the stuff to arrive, I figured it would be prudent to also stock up on a good DE setup for those days that there isnt time to do the whole "zen" SE shave.

I have to say, that 5 dollar Gillette is amazing! I found a Gillette DE from I guess around the 50's or 60s and threw a blade I got from Walgreens in it just to try it out and see how it shaved. I used the brush to lather and did it right after a hot shower. At first I thought I was doing something wrong because I didn't feel any "cutting action" like I'm used to with my Fusion. It felt like (this is a little hard to describe) as if I was just passing a smooth rounded piece of stainless across my face. I figured, I must have the angle wrong, not getting the blade to my skin...until I felt the spot I had made the pass over! Unreal! It was a closer shave than I had ever gotten with the Fusion...in one pass!

So, long story a little longer, get a DE for those days you just don't have the time! Your face and your wallet (Fusion blades are seriously expensive) will thank you!

Well, this seems to be the thread for it. I'm a newbie to straights, too; been shaving this way for about a month now.

It's taking me a while, but I feel like I'm making some progress, too. Last night, I had my first really good shave. I'm not BBS everywhere on my face, but my shave was finally what I might call presentable, even after 8 hours. As a newbie, things just have to come together at once.

For me, one of my major mistakes was in not maintaining my blade angle at thirty degrees. I was holding the razor correctly and was comfortable with both hands but I found I had kept the blade angle around ten degrees. I thought this might help to cut the hair even better. Obviously this isn't true; the last few days I've really been concentrating on that thirty degree angle and I can't believe what a difference that has made. My shaves are now much better than I ever was able to get out of cartridges, and I still see room for improvement.

The longer you try straight shaving and read the comments on this site, the more you start to put two and two together and get all the proper techniques working in harmony in making a great shave happen.

So now I can see where I need improvement in my technique, but I'm not driving so blind anymore; I can actually see where I need to improve for a better shave.

10 degrees is not a bad angle the lower the angle the less problems with cuts and burns. The only problem is the a razor has to be very keen to be able to do it's work at a lower angle. If a 30 degrees angle is absolutely necessary to get a decent shave your razor needs some work. For me, personally, I shave with the blade very flat and some have called this "riding the edge". This is where the edge is almost not touching the skin but is able to do its work.

Take Care,
Richard

I usually only use low angles like that when going ATG and with plenty of lather to help it glide