Thread: First SR shave at last!

I finally got around to doing that first straight razor shave last night and, long story short, it was amazing! Of course I only managed to do half the right cheek and a quarter of the left (with the right hand of course... baby steps...), both WTG and ATG.

The blade: a brand new TI Singing 6/8 with the factory edge, which I used straight out of the box (i.e. no stropping or anything, except for cleaning that shipping oil).
The good news: no cut, no skin irritation (although there was some redness around the shaved spots due to pulling the skin in all direction trying to figure out a way to see what I was doing in the mirror). Seeing the recent discussion on rust, I even managed to successfully pay attention not to get any water on the scales or near the pivot.
The "bad" news: After only the first pass (WTG) on the right cheek, the shave was closer than what I ever managed to do with my DE with 2-3 pass, which leads me to the simple conclusion: my DE technique is far from acceptable, but I already knew that.

I plan on repeating the "factory-edge" shave again once or twice then add the clean leather strop and see how it goes from there.
Now I'm off to watch more video to figure out how to do more than 3 square inches with the SR...

Cheers.

Congratulations and welcome to the insanity! Sounds like you've got a good plan, continuing to use your razor out of the box since it appears to be shave ready and getting a strop to maintain sharpness. Baby steps is a good idea, it's all about enjoying the journey not getting to the destination ASAP.

Congratulations on joining this group. You have an excellent plan of attack. Don't rush your progress. TI Is a superb choice for a razor. It will give you a lifetime of utility. Continued wishes for your good progress. The fellas who are members of this site are a great resource. Most of all have fun on your journey. After all that is what life is all about.

Originally Posted by Pi3

I finally got around to doing that first straight razor shave last night and, long story short, it was amazing! Of course I only managed to do half the right cheek and a quarter of the left (with the right hand of course... baby steps...), both WTG and ATG.

The blade: a brand new TI Singing 6/8 with the factory edge, which I used straight out of the box (i.e. no stropping or anything, except for cleaning that shipping oil).
The good news: no cut, no skin irritation (although there was some redness around the shaved spots due to pulling the skin in all direction trying to figure out a way to see what I was doing in the mirror). Seeing the recent discussion on rust, I even managed to successfully pay attention not to get any water on the scales or near the pivot.
The "bad" news: After only the first pass (WTG) on the right cheek, the shave was closer than what I ever managed to do with my DE with 2-3 pass, which leads me to the simple conclusion: my DE technique is far from acceptable, but I already knew that.

I plan on repeating the "factory-edge" shave again once or twice then add the clean leather strop and see how it goes from there.
Now I'm off to watch more video to figure out how to do more than 3 square inches with the SR...

Cheers.

My two bits of advice to yu would be:

1/Now is the time to be throwing the non dominant hand into the action. Your left from what you say, and this leads me to the second bit of advice...

2/ Holding the razor in your right hand, bring it across to the left side and start the intial WTG sideburn stroke. It offers better vision doing it this way, and even better vision will be had if you 'rest' your razor hand against your forehead. Doing the right side will require you to use your left hand.
I start a side like this before switching back to same hand/side for the WTG.
ATG (which you're not at yet) can be done either swapping of hands/sides as you feel comfortable or all done by the dominant hand. I highly recommend you try every possibility long enough to get a grasp on the method, before moving to another. You can settle for one that is most comfortable after that, knowing that if for any reason you have to do it a different way or use the 'wrong' hand you can.


Mick

Thanks a lot guys!

Originally Posted by MickR

My two bits of advice to yu would be:

1/Now is the time to be throwing the non dominant hand into the action. Your left from what you say, and this leads me to the second bit of advice...

2/ Holding the razor in your right hand, bring it across to the left side and start the intial WTG sideburn stroke. It offers better vision doing it this way, and even better vision will be had if you 'rest' your razor hand against your forehead. Doing the right side will require you to use your left hand.
I start a side like this before switching back to same hand/side for the WTG.
ATG (which you're not at yet) can be done either swapping of hands/sides as you feel comfortable or all done by the dominant hand. I highly recommend you try every possibility long enough to get a grasp on the method, before moving to another. You can settle for one that is most comfortable after that, knowing that if for any reason you have to do it a different way or use the 'wrong' hand you can.


Mick

I'll be sure to try that.

edit: I forgot to mention: as it turned out, the redness wasn't due to the pulling after all, but from the hot shower just before.

Cheers.

Excellent start, Pi We should all do so well. I was a bloody mess - but eventually, even I started getting it.
BTW: by the 2nd or 3rd str8 shave - the quality was surpassing my former methods, and I bled less than with a cartridge. You just can't beat a str8. 'Sounds like yours is a particularly nice one.

Originally Posted by MickR

2/ Holding the razor in your right hand, bring it across to the left side and start the intial WTG sideburn stroke. It offers better vision doing it this way, and even better vision will be had if you 'rest' your razor hand against your forehead. Doing the right side will require you to use your left hand.

+1! I tried that last night and it totally worked. So well that I managed to do most of the upper part of the job (i.e. above the jaw line) without too much trouble. While at it, I tried going around the chin for fun, but that was a failure. I even played around with the angle of the blade which got me thinking about the angle I use with the DE on the neck area where I still have trouble and get most of the nicks; it didn't fix much this time, but I did get an improvement.

Originally Posted by pinklather

Excellent start, Pi We should all do so well. I was a bloody mess - but eventually, even I started getting it.
BTW: by the 2nd or 3rd str8 shave - the quality was surpassing my former methods, and I bled less than with a cartridge. You just can't beat a str8. 'Sounds like yours is a particularly nice one.

I think the main reason I have yet to see blood is that I really take my time. I don't want to rush it & cut it and scare the lady. I had a 1 inch wide cut on the cheek last week because of the DE and I still see the small healing line.
As for the razor, it definitely is a sweet blade although the black plastic scales are cheap (replacements from TI are like 12$ which tells you that much) and it shows some finger prints embedded in it (can't scratch it off with the nail), probably from a guy at the shop handling it too fast after the curing of the plastic (at least that's my guess). My OCD will push me to get it re-scaled down the line, but for now it'll do.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by MickR

My two bits of advice to yu would be:

1/Now is the time to be throwing the non dominant hand into the action. Your left from what you say, and this leads me to the second bit of advice...

2/ Holding the razor in your right hand, bring it across to the left side and start the intial WTG sideburn stroke. It offers better vision doing it this way, and even better vision will be had if you 'rest' your razor hand against your forehead. Doing the right side will require you to use your left hand.
I start a side like this before switching back to same hand/side for the WTG.
ATG (which you're not at yet) can be done either swapping of hands/sides as you feel comfortable or all done by the dominant hand. I highly recommend you try every possibility long enough to get a grasp on the method, before moving to another. You can settle for one that is most comfortable after that, knowing that if for any reason you have to do it a different way or use the 'wrong' hand you can.


Mick

mick is it me or you replace XTC by WTG first line by mistake ?

Just you mate! You bring your opposite hand over and shave from the North or highest most point, and travel south...But only for an inch or two until vision is once again lost. When you lose vision using the opposite hand, switch the razor over to the same side hand and carry on. You should have little to no loss of vision on your face that way. It just makes it a little easier and saves shaving too short of, or worse still, above the usual sideburn line. If you want to angle the blade to suit the angle of the bottom edge of your sideburn you should be able to accomplish this with relative ease as well. And of course if you want to shave XTG, then of course you can do that too.


Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

Just you mate! You bring your opposite hand over and shave from the North or highest most point, and travel south...But only for an inch or two until vision is once again lost. When you lose vision using the opposite hand, switch the razor over to the same side hand and carry on. You should have little to no loss of vision on your face that way. It just makes it a little easier and saves shaving too short of, or worse still, above the usual sideburn line. If you want to angle the blade to suit the angle of the bottom edge of your sideburn you should be able to accomplish this with relative ease as well. And of course if you want to shave XTG, then of course you can do that too.


Mick

allright
didnt know that
so only to have better vision right on few inchs ?
will try that... when i will perform my FIRST shave loool