Thread: First Shave with a Straight

So I got my Whipped Dog order arrived yesterday and I went for a shave this morning.

The Razor
She's not pretty, but she will do fine. She's a Special No 715 by Edlis Barber S. Co. Pittsburgh. PA. Made in Germany.
Gillette Slim Boy with IP Blade to finish off

The Lather
Palmolive Stick ground into a bowl (its not the EU version, so no tallow, but its a performer for me)
Body Shop Synthetic Brush

The Post Shave
Dickinson Witch Hazel
Nivea Sensitive AS Lotion


I soaked my brush in normal water (because it's so hot at the moment here) then went to shower. I whipped up nice thick and rich lather, then I wiped the oil off the blade with a paper towel.

Then I got curious about TPT and HHT and tried them. For other beginners out there, I recommend doing the two test (if you are planning to hone your own razor) on a shave ready blade to know how them should feel like when you're honing down the line.

Okay, back to the shave. I tried to keep the angle 30 degrees or less as much as I can, and very light almost no pressure. I was planning to be conservative as advised by people in the forum. However as I don't have much facial hair on the jaw or cheek (I'm asian, go figure), I finished the whole face WTG or more N2S pass. Then as I felt some irritation I finished off with the Gillette for the second pass. Then I washed up, wh, and nivea as. No burning as the wh is pretty weak in alcohol, but I'm sure if I had used alum, it would have burned. I then tried stropping about 20 pass with the poor man strop. I think I went OK as I practised flipping the razor, but I definitely need more practice.

I found few problems though:
1. starting out with the side burn, I couldn't find the right angle to the mirror, I couldn't see the razor going against my face (all I saw was my hand and ear and a bit of the blade tip)
2. moustache area is tricky, I don't know how to approach / start from under the nose. There is no way the razor can go 30 degrees under the nose?
3. also under the chin near neck area got rather irritated, I'm not sure why.

Advise are more than welcome.

Cheers,
Sy

All those problems are going to go away the more you just practice with the razor. To be honest, it sounds like you had a fantastic first time out

The mustache is touch area, and I generally use a light scooping motion there. I haven't had any problems with it, but perhaps someone else will have a better procedure.

As for under the chin, it's just a tough place to learn angles. They'll come to you. Also, under the chin and neck is where a lot of people have some funky beard growth directions, so it might help to really map out which way your hair is growing down there in order to figure out which way you need to move the razor.

Good luck! Things will keep getting better as long as you're patient.

Even though you cannot see the blade, you can see the scales. The scales show the angle.

Originally Posted by tlittle

The mustache is touch area, and I generally use a light scooping motion there.

When you say scooping motion did you mean more than 30 degrees and then move to 30 degrees with arm motion similar to turning a screwdriver?

I heard it's good to learn scything motion early on. How do I do this?

Oh yeah, forgot to say. I kept forgetting to stretch the skin, and when that happens the blade tugs. Is that normal?

Originally Posted by gnoils

When you say scooping motion did you mean more than 30 degrees and then move to 30 degrees with arm motion similar to turning a screwdriver?

Yep, I start with a steep angle near the nose and then shallow it out as soon as it's physically possible. Works great for me, but you need to remember to use a very light touch.

Check out the wiki for a good explanation of the scything motion:

Shaving passes - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Skin stretching is also very important, as it can help stand hairs up (making it easier to slice them off) as well as smooth out the area that your straight is traveling over.