Total wet-behind-the-ears newbie, 2nd shave with a straight

Hello all! Nice to be here with all of you. I just started shaving with a Feather AC/SS (pro blade), my second shave with it was this morning. I just want to say that I love the entire wet shaving experience and this is something that will be part of my life from here on out. I am getting ready to bid adieu to my Norelco electric crapper and smash it with a hammer. I have to admit the first time I lifted my arm and held that straight a few inches from my face I was shaking worse than Michael J. Fox on a methamphetamine binge. It was a rough go of it the first shave, but even at the mercy of my near completely inexperienced hands I could tell the potential of this shaver. I never thought a strictly downward pass with ANY razor would yield a BSS but this thing got that feat accomplished handily. Granted, tender parts of my face and neck did succumb to a few raging angry weepers, but I did not let that deter me from sticking with this and learning to perfect it. My second shave was fantastic, no bleeders and a solid, smooth shave. No sooner had that thought entered my brain when the rattlesnake bit me...a moment's lapse in attention (and a whole lot of stupidity) and I realized I had just closed the razor ON MY THUMB. In an instant it went from a scene of wonderful zen shaving to a veritable poultry slaughterhouse. There was so much blood I swear a Mako shark was trying to swim UP my sink drain to get at me.

At any rate, I just wanted to introduce myself and profess my fresh, new love for this passion I have for wet shaving. Since I was 15 I have struggled with shaving sensitive skin and being frustrated with electrics, multi-blade rubbish and I am enthralled to have found the right way to use DE's and now my first straight. Cheers to all my wet shaving brethren. Oh...and by the way, if you haven't noticed, I love to flash jokes and wit. Feel free to respond in kind with any stories of shaving humor or mishaps you may have had in the beginning. They are quite humorous to me. Thanks!

Welcome to SRP! I'm still new enough that my Good shaves seem to fall apart near the end as well, but not quite on the level of de-thumbing myself... now I need to find some wood to knock on.

You got a pic of your thumb, right? RIGHT?? There's a Cut of the Day topic somewhere round here that's begging for a new post!

Seriously though, sounds like you're really enjoying it. I have a feather I've used a couple of times & it is a nice thing to have, very smooth with the pro-guard blades. The satisfaction/fun factor will step up a notch or two when you go for a real straight! Just make sure it's been professionally honed, those people who declare them 'shave-ready' at the factory are liars!

Don't mean to push any buttons but i think your Michael j. Fox reference was a little harsh he didn't ask to get Parkinson's disease after all
i just don't feel it should be used for a good joke. people get diagnosed with crippling diseases every day they are not a laughing matter i have stargardts syndrome which causes macular degeneration which is a form of macular dystrophy.i find your joke to be an insult will you please change the reference to something else

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Originally Posted by Bluerain

Don't mean to push any buttons but i think your Michael j. Fox reference was a little harsh he didn't ask to get Parkinson's disease after all
i just don't feel it should be used for a good joke. people get diagnosed with crippling diseases every day they are not a laughing matter

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Couldn't agree more.

I have to agree with Bluerain. It would be entirely different posted where that sort of thing is normal, but I don't really think this is the place.

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Originally Posted by Bluerain

Don't mean to push any buttons but i think your Michael j. Fox reference was a little harsh he didn't ask to get Parkinson's disease after all
i just don't feel it should be used for a good joke. people get diagnosed with crippling diseases every day they are not a laughing matter i have stargardts syndrome which causes macular degeneration which is a form of macular dystrophy.i find your joke to be an insult will you please change the reference to something else

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Oh brother...and I am only 5' 8"....every time someone makes a random joke about someone not having to duck to walk under a table I'm supposed to jump into the protest line? People like you are the reason why this country is crumbling into a politically correct, emasculated heap of garbage. Everyone is offended by something in today's society which is why we have to reword every single freakin thing so that it lands soft and fluffy on all who can hear it. Pretty soon your line of thinking will have all of our thoughts and spoken phrases pre-programmed onto disks that we load into the side of our heads so that we don't inadverdantly set off someone who just so happens to be listening specifically for something about which to be pissed. My mother has Alzheimer's. Do you realize what my life would be like if I dropped a load of bricks in my shorts every time I heard an Alzheimer's joke or reference in a comedy movie? I'd have to check myself into an asylum!

It was a joke. One which you would probably have heard on any sitcom on any channel on T.V. Wow, T.V., that must be a horrific, stressful endeavor for you, ay? I bet every time you turn it on you end up hearing something that ticks you off within the first 30 seconds and you end up biting through your tongue and hurling your shoes at the screen...must get pretty expensive replacing those on a daily basis. Do you realize how many jokes are made on television today about erectile dysfunction? That has got to be one of the most crippling and embarrassing conditions in existence yet it is still laughed at on a regular basis. I don't see a parade of those poor guys stammering past my door every time though. The fact that some of you based your entire response on that, and thumbed your noses at me tells me this is not a site with which I would like to regularly associate myself. Sorry to have ruffled so many feathers in my very first post. Have a great day.

Gentlemen,

Please refrain from making personal references, whether you mean offense or not. If a joke is at another's expense, then it stops being funny. Civility is the premium at Straight Razor Place. Let us keep it that way. The topic is about the experience of wet shaving with the straight razor. Please keep your focus. Thank you.

Just to echo Obie's post, albeit in a much less articulate way; this is a gentlmans(and ladies) forum. If you get your jollies at the expense of others, you are most certainly not a gentleman.

I cannot agree more with you gentlemen. And this also gives me one more reason to continue not watching the TV like I usually do. If this is what they usually broadcast and consider to be "normal" and "humorous", well, I am not watching it. I have more interesting things in my life to do instead of wasting my time and being treated like that.
I believe I (we) deserve more and deserve to have the dignity of everyone respected, with no exception, no excuse.
Disgusting jokes like that cannot be considered acceptable in a civilized society (and this makes me wonder whether we do live in a civilized society or not....)
I believe in respect: I give respect but I also want it. Respect others if you want to be respected in return. Nothing can justify this regrettable sense of humor.

The aggrieved parties will meet behind the shed tomorrow morning at sun-up and I will issue dueling pistols and all will be settled.

Please, before you write a post keep in mind we only have the written word before us. We can't guess what's in your mind.

Just be aware certain things can be considered insensitive and can offend some people in ways you would never think of for many reasons many of which are valid.

So, just think be fore you write and keep in mind the folks reading your post are not your good friends just folks reading the words you write.

Sylvain,

I mostly enjoyed your first post--good story well told--but agree that you went a little off-color with your MJ Fox comparison. You definitely dug yourself deeper in your response. I value this site as a respite from slights and rants. There is plenty of ribbing between and among us, always good-natured and in the rare occasion something requires an apology or an edit, the apology or edit are taken care of promptly. We tend to value humility and good manners over all other traits.

I do hope you'll make amends and stick around. Good wit is fun. But good manners really are key.

look sylvain I'm not mad at you or close to throwing a shoe at you I'm just a little off put with the joke itself i enjoyed the rest of the story. Having a similar condition to muscular dystrophy of course makes me more sensitive towards it but that doesn't mean that i or anyone else wants you to leave SRP keep posting ill keep reading
i do crack jokes quite often times very vulgar ones.i know how to take and give jokes.just try to calm down a little nobody is trying to crucify you
just want you to gain a little bit more empathy.best of luck on the rest of your shaving

P.S. i'm 6'2'' (shrek,tall,stretch,hows the air up there jolly green giant) do you have any idea how hard it is to find a size15 shoe if i threw one at a t.v. i'd destroy it and loose my hard to find size clown shoes

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Originally Posted by Bluerain

look sylvain I'm not mad at you or close to throwing a shoe at you I'm just a little off put with the joke itself i enjoyed the rest of the story. Having a similar condition to muscular dystrophy of course makes me more sensitive towards it but that doesn't mean that i or anyone else wants you to leave SRP keep posting ill keep reading
i do crack jokes quite often times very vulgar ones.i know how to take and give jokes.just try to calm down a little nobody is trying to crucify you
just want you to gain a little bit more empathy.best of luck on the rest of your shaving

P.S. i'm 6'2'' (shrek,tall,stretch,hows the air up there jolly green giant) do you have any idea how hard it is to find a size15 shoe if i threw one at a t.v. i'd destroy it and loose my hard to find size clown shoes

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I want to come right out of the gate here and say two things: Number one is THANK YOU for the dignified manner of your response. I had debated about whether or not to even log back in here because I felt attacked on my first post and thought there was an overwhelming "good 'ol boys club" mentality running amok on this site. I have badly misjudged the parties involved. Secondly, I do apologize for the initial comment, as well as the level of defensiveness in my subsequent response. It was a knee-jerk reaction to what felt like a cornering and a lynching of someone completely new to the site.

So, to summarize, I made a joke which I realize I probably shouldn't have. One which I didn't think would cause such a ripple. All things taken into consideration however, I really feel this is a case where the damage has already been done. I'm on my third post and there are probably gents on here who have already written me off as a nuisance because of all this. I'll log in here from time to time but you won't be hearing too much more from me. Sorry to have wasted this much bandwidth on this BS already, and best of everything to all.

P.S. Your post script was QUITE amusing..:tu

Hi Sylvain,

I'm glad to see you back. You tell a good story and you, like the rest of us, are trying to resurrect a 19th-century skill in a 21st-century vacuum. You've stepped up and apologized; it's cool. We'd have come down on a senior member the same way, I assure you. Gentlemanliness is what paves our common road here. Yes, I agree, there's a lot of good ol' boys club mentality here, and that is an offputting thing, but here's how it differs from many such clubs: most of the ol' boys here actually are good.

Stick around, read lots, ask questions, provide answers. It's what we do. We're here to help and share what we're learning. Since almost nobody can learn this at Dad's or Grandad's elbow any more, we've all got to learn it at each other's elbow.

Best wishes to you, and welcome again.

Glad you came back and hope you stick around. I admit that my post may be a little harsh and insulting and I apologize. It was one of those knee jerk reactions. If you stick around, you will find that this is a very kind and generous forum. It truly is a brotherhood and I'd hate to see someone leave because they felt insulted. We have our arguments on the site(oh how we have arguments) and some can get pretty heated. but in the end, we realize we are all brothers(and sisters) and find some common ground and make nice. Once again, hope you stick around.

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Originally Posted by Sylvain

I want to come right out of the gate here and say two things: Number one is THANK YOU for the dignified manner of your response. I had debated about whether or not to even log back in here because I felt attacked on my first post and thought there was an overwhelming "good 'ol boys club" mentality running amok on this site. I have badly misjudged the parties involved. Secondly, I do apologize for the initial comment, as well as the level of defensiveness in my subsequent response. It was a knee-jerk reaction to what felt like a cornering and a lynching of someone completely new to the site.

So, to summarize, I made a joke which I realize I probably shouldn't have. One which I didn't think would cause such a ripple. All things taken into consideration however, I really feel this is a case where the damage has already been done. I'm on my third post and there are probably gents on here who have already written me off as a nuisance because of all this. I'll log in here from time to time but you won't be hearing too much more from me. Sorry to have wasted this much bandwidth on this BS already, and best of everything to all.

P.S. Your post script was QUITE amusing..:tu

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Don't bother lurking in the corner and theres no damage we like reading your story and look forward to hearing more I'm new also so i like reading about a fellow new guys experience haven't you seen your stories view count is over 300. updates! we need updates man! you know how to tell a good story fun to read besides if i haven't written you off nobody has any right to.

i'll only write you off if you stop posting (sad face goes here)

LOL. Thanks, Bluerain. The update thus far is the thumb has healed nearly 100% and I've only used the straight once since then. I have been taking it easy with a DE (EJ DE89) because I have been having a really bad reaction to some Proraso preshave cream that I am trying to work through. My neck area has really thrown a fit and broken out quite badly because of it. Didn't help matters much that on the last time I used it (Proraso) was my inaugural use of my new Muhle R41 with a Feather blade. I walked into work looking like I dove face first into a wood chipper (Hope I didn't offend anyone who does this as a hobby or on a dare...LMAO ...I just HAD to, man...)

As of today the neck is almost totally cleared. Going to roughneck it and let it rest until Saturday morning and give the R41 another go with just some good 'ol Mama Bear's Lime Ice (amazing stuff). I should look like I just rolled off a park bench by then! LOL

Hey Sylvain,

I haven't used one but often read that the disposable straights are maniacally sharp. Some folks pull one through a cork or something before their first shave with it, just to tone it down a little.

Do you shave with hot water or cold? Try cold if you haven't before; it's easier on the skin.

Good luck with your neck.

Best wishes

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Hey Sylvain,


Do you shave with hot water or cold? Try cold if you haven't before; it's easier on the skin.

Best wishes

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Really? That won't be counterproductive and stiffen the hairs back up? I've heard of this before but I have never done so based on what is always hammered as basics in wet shaving which is "Heat, heat, moisture and more heat...keep whiskers warm" etc.

You are spot on with the sharpness of the Feather SS blades. I'm still on the first blade and I've shaved with it several times already. I don't plan on throwing it out anytime soon either. I bet I can get 20 shaves with one blade going only 2 passes per shave. The "professional" blades - which are the ones I currently use - are deemed the second most aggressive blade underneath the "Professional Super". I cannot begin to imagine what those are like. Staring at one of those for too long would probably cost you an eye.

I don't know if cold water stiffens the hairs back up. I shower warm and don't let my whiskers dry between the shower and the shave. The cold water, besides being gentler on the skin, may help to stand the whiskers up better, like goose bumps do. Dunno. But there's some old wisdom that says cold water is the one true way. Old, minority-view wisdom, but there it is.

I think the hot-towel thing is part of the ritual of a full barber shave. And think about it, would you pay more to have someone lay hot towels on your face, or cold ones? Ritual isn't necessarily about what works best. It's about what the customer likes the most.

Good point....hmmm...I may just have to try that for sh!ts and giggles. Thanks.

I made the switch to cold water shaving and it really helped my sensitive skin.

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Originally Posted by Theseus

I made the switch to cold water shaving and it really helped my sensitive skin.

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Did you notice it affecting the quality of your shave at all? Did you have to add an extra pass or do anything different than when you were using hot water?

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Originally Posted by Sylvain

Did you notice it affecting the quality of your shave at all? Did you have to add an extra pass or do anything different than when you were using hot water?

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My shaves actually got better when I switched to cold water shaving. I don't do any more passes than I did using hot water. Also cold water shaving is great when using soaps/creams with menthol. Talk about face freeze.:)

By George I think you're on to something! I broke down and tried it this morning. The irritation factor is definitely less than it is with hot water. There is, however, noticeably more pull on each hair as it is slicing through. This could be simply because I am still getting acclimated to my Muhle R41. It isn't anything that I would consider unbearable, just a marked difference in a warm follicle versus a cold one. The ultimate test will of course be when I break out the Feather AC SS and The EJ DE89 on a cold water beard. Thanks for the idea, Theseus!