Thread: First Week with a Straight

Well, thats my first week of using a Straight.

And whaddya know, it gets better

I followed the advice of Iwan in my earlier thread, where he said take one pass with my existing razor, then a pass with the straight. At first I thought this was cheating a bit, but I found:

1. It gets me use to handling the razor - at first I looked like I was swordfencing with the invisible man, as I was waving the thing all over the place to get the angle on my face right.

2. It gets me used to the contours of my face - a cartridge razor sure makes you lazy in this regard.

3. It gives me the closest shaves yet - the sides of my face are glass-like smooth.

I shall give it another week with this routine, then start using two passes with the straight on the 'easy' parts of my face.

I'm still waiting for my DVD to arrive from Lynn, so that should give me even more instruction!

Great stuff, I'm glad you're feeling a little more positive about it now.

I had a similar issue when I was first starting, I found that if I had very light stubble it was easier to learn the right angles, and how much pressure to use, without the blade snagging on heavy stubble. Once you get the feel of it, you'll be able to tackle the heavier stuff much more easily.

One of the barbers at Trumpers in London was trying to sell me a Dovo Shavette which uses replacable blades, his reasoning was that you start by doing a week of shaves without a blade fitted - basically using the Shavette to wipe off the lather without cutting anything. I could certainly see the logic in this, as it gets you used to handling the razor without the danger of the sharp bit. Obviously you can't do this with a real straight, so it makes sense to make life easy for yourself in other ways to begin with. I found Lynn's DVD was the most helpful thing when I was learning, more so than the shaving lesson at Trumpers in fact.

Keep up the good work.

cool

Same here, every shave it gets better as my 'feel' for the razor improves

Originally Posted by Iwan

One of the barbers at Trumpers in London was trying to sell me a Dovo Shavette which uses replacable blades, his reasoning was that you start by doing a week of shaves without a blade fitted - basically using the Shavette to wipe off the lather without cutting anything. I could certainly see the logic in this, as it gets you used to handling the razor without the danger of the sharp bit.

This is also a good way to learn sloppy razor handling habits. You should be afraid of the razor when you start, keeps you careful.

Originally Posted by mparker762

This is also a good way to learn sloppy razor handling habits. You should be afraid of the razor when you start, keeps you careful.

After finishing our transaction, the bloke I bought my first razor from asked me if I had any ballons at home. Strange question, I thought. He explained that before I used the razor on my face, I ought to lather up an inflated ballon and shave it off with the straight. I thought this was just an old cliche, but did it anyway. Popped a couple of balloons (and sprayed the bathroom with lather) before I got the hang of it, but it definitely made me respect the razor a whole lot more. Turned out to be excellent advice.

James.

Fortunately human skin is a lot tougher than a balloon :-)

Originally Posted by mparker762

Fortunately human skin is a lot tougher than a balloon :-)

Very fortunate. I'm also glad it doesn't pop when you nick it!

James.

though it might have explained why I feel so inflated at times