Thread: How close should my shave be?

I'm about 18 months into straight shaving and still learning something with every shave. I got passably close shaves after 3 months, much better shaves after 6 months and felt I was really hitting my stride with a straight after 9 months. Maybe I'm a "slow learner", but I find that I'm still learning every day. At this point, I am finding that I can get closer shaves with a straight than with any other technology, but it did take some time and some patience. I think my blades were sharp from the start, but it took some time for the operator to get sharp.

I had the whole thing down pat in just under 4 years. Now, what's the issue here?

Its funny how often I knock myself down a peg. I have been SR shaving for around 17 months and everytime I think I have this mastered, I end up having a string of terrible shaves! I may go a couple months with nothing but nick free bbs, then I let down my guard and blammy! cuts nicks razor burn galore!!! Same thing happens with stropping. So I have decided that I will not shave when I feel invincible as I tend to not pay as much attention and try to force the shave! so no scotch/bourbon/tequila before shaving LOL
beer and wine are ok!

Straiigght shaving is definitely a long learning curve. After around 16 years I still learn new things all the time. The way I see it, the moment that I quit learning, the art of straight shaving will become a chore.

I must say this thread is very timely. Last night's shave was ok but I was somewhat dissapointed with it well cos its was just ok! I have been shaving with a cut throat for about 8 months now and like ace and others have pointed out you are always learning something. The first 4-5 months are def the most difficult however. Still dont get too frustrated "Zen" will come naturally. The most important thing for me was that I am enjoying the whole process so much. Shaving for the first time in my life is so much fun.

I missed your last question. A straight shave for me is somehow different than a "two-pass" De shave, but the difference is elusive. I do more work with each straight pass and there is an important pseudo third pass that I do without cream. Just warm water. It's not really a pass but more like I'm an artist, finishing up on a painting. I hold the razor in my hand, look for missed spots, stretch and shave, and then look for the next one. This part is quite time consuming too. I spend time moving my wetted fingers over my face feeling whiskers and evaluating the shave. I also evaluate the shaving direction that didn't work and come up with new directions that will work. I look for whiskers that demand customized angles and direction. I look for stray lone whiskers. I look for darker sections where I can shave in "deep" for a really wicked close shave. Finally, I work at removing all the cream, applying a post shave treatment and drying my face. Really it's the dry face that feels like a close shave.

Give yourself 3 months to function with the straight and 6 months to get good at it. It's a slow process so give yourself some leniency. Using a straight is like playing a musical instrument; some days you're on, some days you're off. That's even after you get it mastered.

I vowed that I would use nothing but my straight to ensure I would get it down (I was mixing between DE and straight). After some time (months) I was having a string of what I thought were sub-par shaves (I now blame it to the fact that I had bought so many new razors and stones that I had lost my focus), so I pulled out my DE which is always guaranteed to give me a BBS. It was worse!!

I got back to basics and focused hard on stretching and re-mapped my face. With that, I now don’t think as much, and try to have as much fun shaving with my stereo blaring in the background as I can lol! I have never had better shaves in my life, and even my wife is commenting on how healthy my face looks!

Once you trust your hands not to slice yourself and are a bit more comfortable, you’ll be able to focus on the shave more easily. But as everyone has stated – you’ll be learning for a while and that’s the best part of it! When I pulled out my DE as I was saying – it was rather boring!

Long learning curve is a sweet experience. There is no promise of joy to be had looking to a future when all is known and the excitement of discovery is long forgotten. Someday str8 shaving will just be a routine for me if I am unfortunate.

Sometimes we're our own worst critic. We all have those days where we feel we could have done a little better, but to be honest no one else is likely to notice except you and perhaps your significant other (well, if you're lucky at least ).