And So it Begins

Gents,

Today was the day! I recieved my Dovo BQ from SRD yesterday and tried my hand at my first SR shave this morning. Started out with a hot shower then whipped up some of my West Indies Bay soap with the SRD #1 brush i went with. Making the lather was a little more tricky than i thought. I used the method described in the Library, but i guess it will take a few trials to get it so nice a frothy. I then raised the blade to my face and went at it. I found it a little awkward to hold, but used the small strokes Lynn described in his DVD at approx 30 degrees. I ended up stopping with just my sideburns and cheeks as i found it difficult to get at my neck, so ill give that another go next time. Overall, i think this will be an enjoyable pastime and look forward to honing my skill. Any additions tips you guys have picked up, feel free to let me know.

O and here's a nice little pic of the set i got. The brush stand came snapped in half, which i was a little dissapointed about, but no worries, Don's taking care of me and a replacement is on its way. no questions asked. Sorry the quality isn't too great but i used the cam on my phone. And yes i went with the SRD Bulldog mug to use instead of the standard mug that comes with it. Great over-sized mug, and i can't emphasize enough how beautiful the coloring is.

Cheers,
Tyler

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Welcome to the club, have they showed you the secret handshake yet? :)

Tyler, Bravo!

Congrats for jumping in, and especially for the apparent study you've done so far on how to start. Your first shave was WAY more successful than my first. Mine was - ah - colorful. Yeah, that's it. That's why I'm pinklather.

Kudos for working the shave as far as is comfortable and not trying to push beyond your comfort level yet. It'll come. 'Takes some time, but you'll be able to do more sections of the face without even trying to 'push it'.

You're right about it taking some practice to get lather right. Some guys wisely did about 5 or so practice runs w/out shaving to get a feel for the hydration of the lather.

Keep it going. You're off to an excellent start.

Congrats. Much more fun is sure to follow.

Way to go, man! Literally. It's nice to hear of someone off to a good, gradual start. I took about four months to progress from the sideburns and cheeks only to the whole face and neck. Like Pinklather said, practice just making lather for a couple of batches. Start it on the dry side and see how much water you can add before it collapses into slime. You want just a little less water than that.

Two hints for avoiding irritation: light touch and cold water. You shouldn't need any more pressure to shave than it takes to scrape away the lather. When your blade is properly sharp, that's all it should take. And try a cold-water shave. Many of us swear it's better than a hot-water one.

Best wishes to you, and happy shaving!

Congratulations, Tylerman. You're going great. I'm about 2 months out from where you are and it keeps getting better. I have progressed to shaving my entire face with good results. Every evening I find myself looking forward to tomorrow's shave -- something I haven't done in 50 years of shaving (last looked forward to it sometime in my teens). What a load of fun! So, you have a lot to anticipate.

Thanks everyone. Today i said heck with it and went ahead and did my full face and neck. took quite a long time as i was very careful to not cut myself, but it went great, no cuts! The shave wasnt as smooth everywhere as it is under my sideburns, so i most likely need to pay more attention to the angle i shave in those "harder" places.
And yes, mumpig, i have never thought i would look forward to shaving but this is a real treat. something i really look forward to building some proficiency in.

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Originally Posted by Tylerman

Thanks everyone. Today i said heck with it and went ahead and did my full face and neck. took quite a long time as i was very careful to not cut myself, but it went great, no cuts! The shave wasnt as smooth everywhere as it is under my sideburns, so i most likely need to pay more attention to the angle i shave in those "harder" places.
And yes, mumpig, i have never thought i would look forward to shaving but this is a real treat. something i really look forward to building some proficiency in.

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I view shaving as "my time of day" when I can do something that I enjoy. The reward is strictly personal for a job well done. You know that your efforts have afforded you the best shave available. Life is good,

Congrats man. Welcome to the true gentlemans shave. On top of the advise so far here, I also would like to say be slow and steady on your stropping as well as your shaves. It took me FOREVER to shave when I first started and a good six-eight months before I could get the whole prices under an hour if needed.

Congrats! Don't worry to much about your first shave and the neck. A little secret. Most of us didn't do the whole face the first time. I rounded the chin and thought about it, contorted my face tried once, and then got out the mach 3 for the remaining neck. Work at it slowly and it will come. Also watch some videos of people straight shaving. It helps.

Onto lather. Best to continue trying until it works. Its one of the things I found has subtle things that are hard to cover in text. For my first puck it wouldn't lather well until I standing water on it to soften it.

Welcome to the wide world of manly shaving.