First SE shave that wasn't terrible

So after a week of only using a straight edge (except one day where I needed a good shave) I had my first decent shave this AM. I went WTG only and it still took me 30 min. I walked away with about 5 nicks but no gashes. Neck remains my challenge. Some days I get a good lather and some I don't (I'm using these sample wedges which frankly are a bit of a pain to be consistent). My honing is getting better and using my left hand is getting more comfortable.

I plan to keep doing this WTG only and hopefully my time reduces so I can afford a XTG or ATG stroke. Is this what you pros recommend? Just keep plugging away?

I'm glad I started without buying a really spendy blade and strop because I'm learning a heck of alot and alot can go wrong.

I'm at about a year into Sr shaving and I'm just finally getting comfortable with atg and daily shaves. All a learning process :). Enjoy man!

Keep plugging away!! I'm a few months in and I just do WTG and XTG. My couple of experiments with ATG have not been the best!

And agreed on the soap samples, they can get very frustrating for me, so I've tried to not use them too much. It's just another unneccessary variable that isn't worth the struggle while I'm still a noob.

You're doing fine. Don't rush the shaves, and don't introduce too many new things. Improvement comes slowly, and (once in a while) you're going to have "off days".

. . . It's a _long_ learning curve for most of us.

If you're looking for a decent-size cake of soap for a reasonable price, the Proraso soaps are pretty good. Some pharmacies stock them.

. Charles

yeah my next goal is to be able to go nick-free with a full WTG shave. This feels like a miracle. If I need a close shave, I'll switch to the DE but thankfully that's rare :)

I saw SE and thought "single edge". I see you ment straight. What soap are you using and what about prep? You needn't spend a lot. Some cheap things help. I shaved for years with only Williams and a few drops of Glycerine.
Still do, sometimes! :D

oh the cost isn't really the issue but I wouldn't have wanted to buy a beautiful new straight without learning the ropes first or buying a nice strop only to nick it up. I am using Mama Bear soap samples because I want to try all the scents. So far I LOVE the scent and I can get a very good lather sometimes but the small wedges are a pain to get consistent.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sharptonn

I saw SE and thought "single edge". I see you ment straight. What soap are you using and what about prep? You needn't spend a lot. Some cheap things help. I shaved for years with only Williams and a few drops of Glycerine.
Still do, sometimes! :D

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* That is what i thought, initially. Good luck and continued success and patience.