First Shave: bit off a little more than I could chew

Hello,
This is my first post and thought I'd share my first SR shaving experience for your enjoyment, and also to hopefully get tips for how to do better next time.

I just got my first straight razor in the mail today and as you can probably imagine I couldn't wait till after my shower tonight to try it out. I may have gotten a little too excited though. After getting out of my shower I applied a lather to my face and used a warm soaked towel against my face to prep. After this I applied another lather. I started by shaving WTG in the side burn and cheeks area as suggested. However, after this small area and short wonderful experience I was left hungry for more of it. Greedily, I moved down to parts of my neck. Now, having been given my first pocketknife at the age of 5 I felt pretty comfortable with a blade. I didn't think that straight razor shaving would be such a different beast but sure enough my lack of experience started showing, and it has a color, red. Yet, even after having nicked myself multiple times, I decided to venture further to try shaving XTG. It was a poor decision but I can't exactly say I regret it. Overall, despite the mild discomfort, it was an awesome experience and I can't wait for hair to grow back in order to give it another try.

Places I think I went wrong

• Trying to shave more than just my cheeks the first time. I got to excited and definitely don't have the technique down yet.
• Not waiting for my shaving soap to come in. I couldn't wait to try, so i just used what I have which is Old Spice shaving cream in a can that you would use with any cartridge razor.
• May not have done a great job stropping. For now I am using an old pair of jeans and didn't feel as if laying the blade flat gave the right tension so I elevated the angle.
• Again, not having the technique or the experience.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure that with more practice and less eagerness I will become better but it wouldn't hurt to hear it from others as encouragement.
Thanks for reading.

The stroping on jeans my have been the biggest problem jeans are pretty course and when stroping you don't need any pressure let the blade glide across it all your doing with stroping is smoothing out. As far as the shaving cream you can use it but you will get a more comfortable shave with soap and brush ith helps to prep the hair for shaving. Just read up on here and slow down just a little and you will get learn it and enjoy the experience. That being said I believe the excitement gets all of us as sometime. Congratulations on your first str8 shave and it will get better the more you do it.

take it slow. I jumped right in and my first shave was a horrible experience. Then I found SRP, and went through the process of learning how to shave they way every one here suggests. Going slow one small area then moving on as I got more comfortable. Wait for your soap to come in, It helps. A strop is a good purchase. I know it is tough to wait and take it step by step. I am the same way, and red is not a good color on me either. Congrats on your new hobby

As the first two posts say:

. . . WAIT FOR THE STROP !!!

You don't say what kind of razor, or who honed it. But your description of how the shave felt is typical for a dull edge. Stropping at a high angle, on canvas, will give that result.

When your (leather, I hope!) strop arrives, give the razor 100 laps _flat_. Don't raise the spine off the strop, and don't use much pressure on the edge.

See if things improve on your next shave.

There are a bunch of stropping videos, and this good piece in the Wiki:

Razor stropping - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Charles

More details please, what kind of razor, and was it shave-ready for real? Where did you buy it?

Welcome to SRP.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bamasmelley

The stroping on jeans my have been the biggest problem jeans are pretty course and when stroping you don't need any pressure let the blade glide across it all your doing with stroping is smoothing out. As far as the shaving cream you can use it but you will get a more comfortable shave with soap and brush ith helps to prep the hair for shaving. Just read up on here and slow down just a little and you will get learn it and enjoy the experience. That being said I believe the excitement gets all of us as sometime. Congratulations on your first str8 shave and it will get better the more you do it.

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+1 I would def stay away from the jeans. I don't think many get good shaves form the canned stuff because you cannot get it to soak into the wiskers in order to get full saturation which is crutial with straight razor shaving. Don't worry about the perfect shave, just worry about technique. Remember you can always touch up with a DE or cart on the spot you missed or didn't come out to your standards.

Good Luck and welcome to the "Brotherhood"

Welcome to srp. I know the excitement and discomfort myself. Before you know it you'll be an old pro at shaving with one. As Blix said, was the str8 shave-ready and where did you get it and what kind? You'll see that even new str8's might need a little tweaking even when they come from the factory.

Don't get discouraged and take it slow. Wait for your strop or get a piece of smooth leather and strop it. I wouldn't recommend jean material, that be like stropping on canvas and going directly to a shave, the leather is the ticket. I have a feeling you'll be on your way to having RAD like everyone else on here, just by the tone of your post.

There's an overwhelming amount of info on this site, my advice is to read as much as you can, watch as many video's as you can and find what works for you. This is a learning process. You can make it as hard as you want or you can keep as simple as you want. It's all up to you. But the ultimate goal should be getting a close comfortable shave, the method you take to get there is up to you.

The last thing you want to do is end up with a face that looks like a tomato from razor burn, you won't be shaving for a few days after that, you'll be putting cold packs on your face and lots of aloe.

Speaking from experience, go ahead and get yourself a good strop with both a linen or canvas side as well as leather. I started out with a leather hanging strop and wasn't really up to snuff. I was given a paddle strop by another forum member, and it helped a lot. However, the best shaves I've had yet have come off an old Certifyd strop I found in an antique store. Some say that you can do without the canvas side, but I find that it helps a lot. As always, YMMV....

When you get your strop (assuming that's on its way with your shaving soap), practice stropping using a butter knife. Focus on keeping the razor flat and the spine on the leather, do not add any additional pressure, just the natural pressure of the butter knife's weight and later (when you are ready), the razor's natural weight. Start slow, build up your technique, you are not in a race, and focus on quality. The speed will come later.

As for shaving, slow down a bit, take the time to get more of a feel for the razor on your face.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lethies91

Hello,
This is my first post and thought I'd share my first SR shaving experience for your enjoyment, and also to hopefully get tips for how to do better next time.

I just got my first straight razor in the mail today and as you can probably imagine I couldn't wait till after my shower tonight to try it out. I may have gotten a little too excited though. After getting out of my shower I applied a lather to my face and used a warm soaked towel against my face to prep. After this I applied another lather. I started by shaving WTG in the side burn and cheeks area as suggested. However, after this small area and short wonderful experience I was left hungry for more of it. Greedily, I moved down to parts of my neck. Now, having been given my first pocketknife at the age of 5 I felt pretty comfortable with a blade. I didn't think that straight razor shaving would be such a different beast but sure enough my lack of experience started showing, and it has a color, red. Yet, even after having nicked myself multiple times, I decided to venture further to try shaving XTG. It was a poor decision but I can't exactly say I regret it. Overall, despite the mild discomfort, it was an awesome experience and I can't wait for hair to grow back in order to give it another try.

Places I think I went wrong

• Trying to shave more than just my cheeks the first time. I got to excited and definitely don't have the technique down yet.
• Not waiting for my shaving soap to come in. I couldn't wait to try, so i just used what I have which is Old Spice shaving cream in a can that you would use with any cartridge razor.
• May not have done a great job stropping. For now I am using an old pair of jeans and didn't feel as if laying the blade flat gave the right tension so I elevated the angle.
• Again, not having the technique or the experience.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure that with more practice and less eagerness I will become better but it wouldn't hurt to hear it from others as encouragement.
Thanks for reading.

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Advice from my wife!!
The 1st time I tried a straight edge I didn't know when to stop. Cut myself up pretty good.

Her only advice: Don't Try That Again Unless Someone's At Home With You!!

good advice.

Thank y'all for your input.
I purchased my straight razor from the classifieds here. It is a Flaschner and the man it bought it from had it in shaving condition and had tested it himself. My shave soap came in and i tried again just my cheeks last night and it went a lot better. Does anyone have suggestions for a good strop. I know there are lots of reviews and some people will like one and others will dislike the same one so it's hard to know what a good strop is that won't cost an arm and a leg.

Straight Razor Designs has some nice strops; they are made of high quality Latigo leather. Whatever strop you decide on, I suggest you get a 3" wide because it covers most straight razors well when stropping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lethies91

Thank y'all for your input.
I purchased my straight razor from the classifieds here. It is a Flaschner and the man it bought it from had it in shaving condition and had tested it himself. My shave soap came in and i tried again just my cheeks last night and it went a lot better. Does anyone have suggestions for a good strop. I know there are lots of reviews and some people will like one and others will dislike the same one so it's hard to know what a good strop is that won't cost an arm and a leg.

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Welcome and congrats on your first shaves. I myself dove in deep. I tried to do a three pass shave my first time, with a razor I had honed myself. It was barely sharp enough to remove hair. It was a disaster.

I have a 2.5 inch strop, and I wish it was bigger. The only down side to investing in a nice strop in the beginning is that you will nick it, but some contact cement will fix that. Good Luck!

I just finished my first month of shaves with a straight razor, and I still am getting some nicks and a scrape or two.

Here's what I think the biggest thing is: stretch your skin as much as you can before you start to move the razor. I shaved with a DE for 40 years (started on them, never changed, except when using cartridge types on trips), and the way the DE is made it does the stretching for you.

Another tough thing to get used to is stretching skin that's just been shaved. There's still a film of soap on your skin, so what I've started to do is use the corner of a damp washcloth to wipe the soap off my earlobes, cheekbones, etc. so I can get a better grip. Then really stretch you skin and hold it tight while you move the razor ever so slowly to your cheek and get the "range" as to where the two will meet. Then use a series of very small moves with the razor, all the while holding your skin.

Move your jaw down & hold your mouth open when you're doing your chin/moustache area. On the throat/neck, point your chin up to the ceiling and stretch your neck, plus pull down on your neck's skin with the other hand.

Once I started to do this, I had far fewer nicks and much closer shaves.

I wake up in the morning actually looking forward to shaving because it's a great challenge to learn this new skill. I like to learn new things. Plus, think of the elite fraternity you're now a member of: We all do something that would cause most men to reel back in horror. My wife says she can't even watch me shave because it makes her too scared. Oh, well...

[QUOTE=lethies91;928480].......... and didn't feel as if laying the blade flat gave the right tension so I elevated the angle.
[/QUOTE
And there lies the crux of your problem . If you lift the spine of the razor while you are stropping it , you will destroy the fine edge that was honed on it . IMHO you need to have it re-honed .

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dave5225

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lethies91

.......... and didn't feel as if laying the blade flat gave the right tension so I elevated the angle.

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And there lies the crux of your problem . If you lift the spine of the razor while you are stropping it , you will destroy the fine edge that was honed on it . IMHO you need to have it re-honed .

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Yup, BIG mistake right there.

Well said, sir, well said!

I enjoy my morning SR shaving ritual, the smell of the cream, the feel of my face after I'm finished, the feel of the cold water on my face for the post-shave rinse, the wipe down with Thayers, and the smell and feel of the aftershave!! MAN I LOVE THIS HOBBY!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thirdman47

I just finished my first month of shaves with a straight razor, and I still am getting some nicks and a scrape or two.

Here's what I think the biggest thing is: stretch your skin as much as you can before you start to move the razor. I shaved with a DE for 40 years (started on them, never changed, except when using cartridge types on trips), and the way the DE is made it does the stretching for you.

Another tough thing to get used to is stretching skin that's just been shaved. There's still a film of soap on your skin, so what I've started to do is use the corner of a damp washcloth to wipe the soap off my earlobes, cheekbones, etc. so I can get a better grip. Then really stretch you skin and hold it tight while you move the razor ever so slowly to your cheek and get the "range" as to where the two will meet. Then use a series of very small moves with the razor, all the while holding your skin.

Move your jaw down & hold your mouth open when you're doing your chin/moustache area. On the throat/neck, point your chin up to the ceiling and stretch your neck, plus pull down on your neck's skin with the other hand.

Once I started to do this, I had far fewer nicks and much closer shaves.

I wake up in the morning actually looking forward to shaving because it's a great challenge to learn this new skill. I like to learn new things. Plus, think of the elite fraternity you're now a member of: We all do something that would cause most men to reel back in horror. My wife says she can't even watch me shave because it makes her too scared. Oh, well...

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