Survived first shave!

Alright guys as promised I am reporting back after my first ever shave! I am proud to say I made it through with minimal damage to the face. Standing there staring in the mirror with the razor to my face definitely made me very nervous. However, I mixed up my best lather yet even though it was still a tad dry by the time i got to the chin and lips (this probably was due to the fact it took me about 30 min to get there :D) . I was going to go with just the cheeks tonight as Lynn suggests, but felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I would and actually ended up doing 2 WTG passes to try and catch those whiskers I missed. Boy, was it exhilarating. I can proudly say I have a shave that would not be frowned upon in public even though it isn't even close to BBS. I found myself gripping the razor like a vice a few times and that was when I made the small nicks on my neck. Nothing my handy styptic pencil couldn't fix right up.

I decided to start out using left hand for left side of the face and right hand for right side to do it proper and i thought my left hand would fail me for sure, but it actually performed admirably and feeling my face now my left side is actually smoother than my right! Crazy. I stropped the razor before and after the shave and found it quite relaxing and not near as challenging as I thought it would be. All in all, I believe tonight was the first night in what will be a lifetime of straight razor shaving. It truly was all I hoped it would be and was the most fun I have ever had shaving in my life. So here's a thanks to you guys here at SRP and all the tips and videos posted here. I really felt comfortable and prepared for the shave and hopefully, someday soon I will be a shaving pro like Chimensch.

P.S. - What do you guys use to store your razors in? I oiled mine and put it back in the box it came in but that is just cardboard and I want something to protect it and not bang it around like the cardboard box does.

Glad you posted this. Nice to see your experience went so well. My first straight razor shave will probably happen this weekend and am kind of anxious. Probably will stick to the cheeks for the first try as you mentioned.

I have a razor on the way and was also curious how people stored their razors.

Congrats on the shave! I'm 2 months in, and BBS everyday. I store my razors in a jewelry box on my dresser. I would NOT store them in the bathroom, unless I cleaned and oiled them after every shave. The bathroom is too humid, IMO, and will cause rust on the blade. Enjoy the journey! Happy shaves.

still to this day I look forwards to my next shave it's no longer a "PITA" to shave it is an event I usually go WTG XTG ATG but then I have to wait 2 days to shave again or just go WTG and shave again the next day for more fun.

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Originally Posted by chapman

I was going to go with just the cheeks tonight as Lynn suggests, but felt a lot more comfortable than I thought I would and actually ended up doing 2 WTG passes to try and catch those whiskers I missed. Boy, was it exhilarating. I can proudly say I have a shave that would not be frowned upon in public even though it isn't even close to BBS. I found myself ...

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This.

I was just talking about this in another thread. Go with what you feel confident in, and don't be afraid to take it to the next step. The worst that could happen? You find out you're out you're not ready to go to that step? It seems to me that learning you're not ready just makes folks more determined, at least it does for me, anyway. I'm glad to see you did that and it payed off with something you can be proud of (which is another huge motivator).

Good news, my friend, good news. :)

Awesome! I too just finished my first shave this weekend. I know nothing about oiling the razor, is that recommended? I simply cleaned, dried, then splashed rubbing alcohol on it (dried again). I read stropping doesn't work right after a shave and you need to wait until ready for the next shave. Thoughts? Another thing about stropping...does the spine rest on the strop aka is the razor basically flat on the strop? Good to hear others like myself have gotten into this. I hope to find some folks around Charlotte who are into this.

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Originally Posted by elterrell

Awesome! I too just finished my first shave this weekend. I know nothing about oiling the razor, is that recommended? I simply cleaned, dried, then splashed rubbing alcohol on it (dried again). I read stropping doesn't work right after a shave and you need to wait until ready for the next shave. Thoughts? Another thing about stropping...does the spine rest on the strop aka is the razor basically flat on the strop? Good to hear others like myself have gotten into this. I hope to find some folks around Charlotte who are into this.

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I oiled it because its supposed to protect from rust, probably overkill since I live in a very dry climate (Colorado), but I only have to shave like once or twice a week so figure might as well protect my new toy. Basically, from what I gather about stropping, you keep the blade flat on the strop and yes the spine is touching then roll on the spine when changing directions. Cuz if you keep the blade at an angle where the spine isn't touching it will slowly dull the blade which means you will have to resharpen it much earlier than normal. At least this is what I gathered from my research. Who knows if it is actually right though since I'm new haha. Best of luck to you in your shaving journey!

Congrats on your first shave...