Thread: Yafsp

(which is, of course, Yet Another First Shave Post)

Today I finally got to stop waiting: my razor and strop arrived in the mail. Apparently the Christmas rush has slowed the mail here down a bit...the wait had been driving me nuts.

I sat down and stropped 50 laps on my paddle, and then walked over to the head, .99 shaving cream and witch hazel in hand. Before you burn me at the stake as a heretic, this is really all I have to work with here for now...I don't want to get the brush/mug/soap setup at the moment as I have severely limited space as far as what I can own, and that space is pretty full at the moment, so if I can't get figure out how to live with the foam until I get home, then I'll have to wait a couple of months.

Unfortunately, there was no hot water, so I had to shave cold. Kind of a bummer, but not uncommon for my average day at the office.

After shaving the damage report is 2 nicks, neither of which even rated tissue, and one part of my chin which opened up and bled like it does when I use a mach 3. I made several passes there trying to figure it out, though, so I wasn't surprised. The parts of my face that I managed to do well on -- lower cheeks, front of my chin, upper lip -- feel ridiculousy smooth. Now I understand the "faceturbation" thing.

The parts I had a hard time with were pretty much my entire neck, my jawline until I figured out how to stretch the skin the right way (and even then, it didn't come out very close), and my sideburns. Yes, my sideburns, I don't know why, but I do have several amusing cuts in my hair above my right ear now. Fortunately I am due for a haircut this morning and my mistakes will be shaved away.

All in all, great fun...I should probably have taken it a little slower, but a little blood / razor burn never hurt anyone. Well, I guess they do hurt, but not enough to keep me from being entertained.

Alex

Edit: Almost forgot the best part, when I put witch hazel on my face, and muscle memory took over. I rubbed it all over the place like I was washing my face, including in my eyes. Yowza. Now THAT hurt.

I can remember how tough the wait was for all the bits and pieces to arrive for that first shave. It's hard to go slow and not press on a little more than you should on those first shaves after so much anticipation.

It sounds like you had a pretty successful first straight shave given the cold water and canned lather. You'll probably be surprised how fast things will improve over the next week or two but that sideways growing stuff on the neck gives a lot of us trouble.

Keep your head down over there - we're proud of you guys.

P.S. I bet you'll develop some new muscle memory in a hurry after the witch hazel in the eyes.

Sounds like a pretty typical first shave. It's a very new experience with a very different set of skills, so you did just fine. Now that you know how close a straight shave *can* be, you just have to work on nick avoidance and spreading out the baby-butt areas to your entire face.

A lot of this will come through practice, you'll develop better preparation skills, and figure out the various angles involved to shave your particular beard well. It does take a little time, but now you know what to shoot for.

And thanks for serving, we are proud of what you are trying to accomplish over there.

Glad to hear you did so well, especially considering the limited resources. On my third shave this morning I sliced up my thumb, of all things, while wiping off the blade... oops. Good luck in the future, and thanks for keeping us posted!

You needed 50 laps on that razor? I must be slipping...

Originally Posted by bikerPA

Glad to hear you did so well, especially considering the limited resources. On my third shave this morning I sliced up my thumb, of all things, while wiping off the blade... oops. Good luck in the future, and thanks for keeping us posted!

The appendages are almost more likely to be sliced than the face. You always have to know where the razor is in relation to your hands and things.

Wtg Alex. Wait until your tour ends and you get home to hot water, hard soaps and badger brushes. The shave quality will improve immensely!

Well done Alex, sounds like your first shave went very well, it is all good from here.

I am new to straight shaving myself, and with about a dozen shaves under my belt, can safely say that each and every shave gets better in some small way.

Good luck!

Alex,
If you need anything shave related or otherwise, let me know. I am going back to the States for Christmas and I can MPS you something from my APO in Turkey when I get back (28 Dec). It shouldn't take nearly as long given how the mail routes from here to Iraq.

Brian

i really love this place everyone seems to like going the Extra mile to help out maybe people they have never even spoke to before, Gold star for blhoward2