Thread: first shave with a straight

Originally Posted by mbares86

i bought it from vintage blades dont know how reputable they are for honing or if they are machine. thank you for the help though. ill look into one that is has been professionally honed jsut to have something to compare it to

If you bought it from Vintage Blades it should be shave ready.

I've never dealt with Vintage Blades so I can't comment on whether or not their blades are shave ready or not. I can say, however, if this is your first shave I wouldn't worry about the fact that it was tugging on the chin area. If it's your first shave you should really be concentrating on the cheek area and perhaps leaving the more difficult parts to your regular blade, be that a disposable or a DE. Once you are completely comfortable with using the straight on your cheeks then move on to the more difficult parts such as the chin and jawline. Those areas take a lot more skill to shave comfortably.

The most important thing is to take your time, don't rush. Perhaps try a good preshave oil; I find they do make a difference. Maybe your stropping needs work, you may have actually dulled the razor if you stropped wrong. Just a thought.

I've never dealt with Vintage Blades so I can't comment on whether or not their blades are shave ready or not. I can say, however, if this is your first shave I wouldn't worry about the fact that it was tugging on the chin area. If it's your first shave you should really be concentrating on the cheek area and perhaps leaving the more difficult parts to your regular blade, be that a disposable or a DE. Once you are completely comfortable with using the straight on your cheeks then move on to the more difficult parts such as the chin and jawline. Those areas take a lot more skill to shave comfortably.

The most important thing is to take your time, don't rush. Perhaps try a good preshave oil; I find they do make a difference. Maybe your stropping needs work, you may have actually dulled the razor if you stropped wrong. Just a thought.

I'm probably a dozen shaves into my SR life, & my personal inexperience says that the chin is awkward. It didn't feel like it was tugging to me, but the blade just seemed to stop. It didn't dig in or draw blood, I just had trouble getting it moving again from the front to the underneath of the chin. It'll take time experimenting with which hand to use for which part of the chin & what angle/pressure (or lack of) to use. Even now it's still one of my problem areas & I'm only just starting to understand it.

Don't worry if you have to grab your old razor to finish off the awkward areas like chin & upper lip. I fully expect I'll be doing that for a while yet.

Vintage blades has all their blades honed by Lynn. I got my Bismark there. Likely you just need to work on technique. Those areas can be tricky at first anyway. Another possibility is that you rolled your blade when stropping. If you did so Vintage Blades will re hone it for free once.

thanks guys for yalls help. i have a feeling its just technique. thw shaves are getting better.

and as far as stropping id have to agree with you on that, i think i caught myself early but i noticed that i was trying to apply pressure, but if i run the blade halfway through the hair on my arm it will still cut it so thats what leads me to believe it technique