Finally did what I needed to do..

Being new to straights and straight shaving..I read alot of posts watched a ton of videos...that I had a great start to this..up until my shave today..which I just finished BTW..I realized I have not been DOING what has been mentioned.
Let me try to explain so that especially other new to this like me can understand.
I thought I was shaving with all the tips in my head that have suggested...I have not.
I thought I was building lather properly...I have not
I thought my technique was good for a beginner...it was not

Today I decided no pre shave oil...been feeling that it was making my skin tacky..but I chose in my mind to ignore it up until today..(habits die hard)
I thought I was letting the blade do all the work...until today I was doing it and my face was paying for it.
Until today I thought I needed to get most of the hair in the first pass ( i know a big no no) but once again habits die hard
Until today I thought my face really can handle an ATG ( it really does not like it but once again to ignore it)

So today I lathered up and make probably the best lather I ever made...and I know it because this was like whipped cream...and I always thought my lathers were good...you dont know good until you really get it done. I let the blade just flow for a change instead of me trying to make it go where I wanted it to (sorry no other way to describe this)..I did the first pass and saw that there was still alot of growth ( I had a three day stubble and I have dark thick stubble) but I said to myself so what..finally said so what..that is what a second pass is for. I did not try to whack it off in one fail swoop... and like I said I THOUGHT I had it down.

I did the second pass again WTG not like my previous XTG...and more came off...Now the light really goes off.
I third a thrid WTG and then said to myself that is it...no more..if there was still some roughness SO WHAT..

No XTG or ATG...no nicks...no burning...nothing.
It is the prettiest shave...to me yes because I finally got it..yes my face still looks a little dark but you know what...so be it

All in good time folks all in good time

I thought I had it..until you start to actually GET it.

Just passing on what I thought was a GREAT shave today..

my styptic pencil finally has the day off.

Anthony

It's a really great feeling when everything finally comes together like that. Congratulations.

Hi aespo,
Congrats on your sucess!! :tu

As one of the guys, I'll say this about myself. Sometimes it's pretty hard for us guys to admit to ourselves that after the extended period of two shaves (me), we haven't mastered it and just keep repeating the same thing thinking the outcome will change! I did the very same things, and suspect maybe a couple more here might have too.

Thanks for sharing and your words of encouragement!!

Best Regards,
Howard

Happens to everybody, that light bulb turns on and it's a OHHH YEAAAH moment. Just stay adament about doing it right and it will start going well for you and you may not even realize it until after the shave...happened to me. Good luck sir, and remember...the second you want to get in a hurry and get done, well this pretty much sums up the one fell swoop theory :tameshigiri:

Your post has motivated me - thank you.

My best shave to date was probably my first one. I had no cuts and it was far from perfect. Of course it was also only limited to my cheeks :)

Since then I have tried ATG as well as my entire face and I haven't escaped without cuts or lots of irritation. I think I am rushing this but I can't help it - it's my over-achiever personality type!

After reading your post, I'm going to let my face heal up for a few days. I'm going to back up and stop attempts at ATG and I will try 3 passes all WTG reducing the beard with each pass. If I want a BBS shave I guess I can always just use my DE. I have lots of trouble areas but screw it - I guess I will live with longer stubble in those areas for awhile...

Thanks for your post.

And here's the best part...it only gets better!:chapeau

Excellent post; I hope a lot of starting shavers see it! Your "SO WHAT"s are the words of a maturing man. Sometimes the wisdom lies in accepting a little slop for the time being. Writers freeze up when they expect to get the sentence perfect the first time. Machinists mess up when they try to get their dimension on the first pass and run too deep. Shavers get burned when they try to strip everything off in one heavy pass.

Never try to remove any more than the lather. If your blade and beard prep are good, that's all you need to aim for. The whiskers will come off as a by-product.

As Scott says above, it only gets better. In four years you'll still be discovering tiny improvements.

Best wishes and happy shaves.

Some good advice right there, less than perfect shaves seem to lead to slightly better shaves each time.

It's what I call a BFO - Blinding Flash of the Obvious - and it DOES get better, too

Anthony, well done and great insight! Good luck.

Great post and I agree that in the beginning here you can't go for perfect every time; most times you just have to say good enough and walk away. I've always figured as we get the basics down figuring out the harder parts will come easier. I usually keep it to 2 passes, but then my hair is really light and fine so I can easily get most of it no problem and the bit I do miss doesn't really show up.

Where was this post last year. Great attitude. I had the same trouble and thats why I stepped away from straights for awhile. Great post.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EggSuckingLeech

Your post has motivated me - thank you.

My best shave to date was probably my first one. I had no cuts and it was far from perfect. Of course it was also only limited to my cheeks :)

Since then I have tried ATG as well as my entire face and I haven't escaped without cuts or lots of irritation. I think I am rushing this but I can't help it - it's my over-achiever personality type!

After reading your post, I'm going to let my face heal up for a few days. I'm going to back up and stop attempts at ATG and I will try 3 passes all WTG reducing the beard with each pass. If I want a BBS shave I guess I can always just use my DE. I have lots of trouble areas but screw it - I guess I will live with longer stubble in those areas for awhile...

Thanks for your post.

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I think we all try to over-achieve when we start here, and and that is where we go wrong, i have found waiting 2 - 3 days gives your face time to heal, and it just seems easier to shave more growth than less.

That's great. It really does just come together after a while. Have you tried Überlather? They're always a great way to get a good lather easily when learning.

I don't want to rain on your parade, but just be aware that when you thing you've got it all sussed, all of a sudden one morning you feel like a beginner again. I think it happens to us all, we think we're experts, and then we get taken down a peg or two. I'm not saying you said you're an expert, but be aware it's possible that there is a step back that can happen...

I hadn't cut myself for months or nicked my strop, and then a day after posting about how actually nicking one's strop is not all that common; I nick my strop!

Carl

I had that "Ah Ha" moment when I was learning to shave with a DE. With a straight razor, I am still seeking it, but I know it will come. Thanks, for your post.