Well I finally did it and had a go at my first straight shave. The results were, I feel, fairly good for a first attempt as I managed to shave both sides of my face as well as lip and chin area which to be frank was more than I set out to do.

I spent almost an hour trying things out, re-lathering and such along the way and was setback halfway through by my lather as it seemed to go thin. This had the effect of making the last part of the shave a bit painful as it left me with razor burn due to too many repeated strokes over the same area, though it wasn't too bad.

Thank heavens for Trumpers skin food is all I can say. It really gets to work quickly though I can't say I like the smell of the coral that much .. maybe I should try their limes version at some point. A splash of tabac fixed that though.

The damage report was just two very small nicks, one on my lip just beneath my left nostril, and one on my right cheek near my mouth. In both cases it was caused by me holding the blade at the incorrect angle to my face, so I think I will have to get to know my face a bit better before my next attempt in a few days time.

My chin area has always been notoriously difficult for me to shave well despite repeated strokes (with, against and across) with my Quattro (soon to be re-assigned as a backup/cleanup razor). The straight however did a fantastic job, with just a single downward pass. It is the first time I can recall where my chin actually feels pretty smooth still almost 14 hours later - fantastic!

The only issue I have is actually with the razor itself, and perhaps someone can offer a little advice.

I finished my shave and thoroughly rinsed my razor, patted it dry with a cloth, and then left it open for a few minutes to let it dry out completely.

When I went to put the razor back in the case, I noticed a little brown discolouration on the blade in two small patches. The blade was bright and shiny before I used it, so I am guessing that my razor maintenance is missing a process somewhere!

I have read that some people use rubbing alcohol to clean their blade, but I have not read anything definitive yet on it, so perhaps someone could steer me in the right direction.

One thing is for certain, I am not going back to the Quattro in a big hurry, that shave was great!

Thanks for the help and best wishes.