Newbie Demo

Yesterday I had the immense pleasure to help a friend shave with a straight for the first time. This was an unparalleled situation for me and I believe for him as well. He brought his basic equipment which consisted of a NOS Wapi (shave ready), an Illinois 827 strop and a tub of Castle Forbes (CF) Cedarwood/Sandalwood, not bad for a guy working on a tight budget. I brought a Filly, a smidgen of The Bomb, 2 brushes (my soap guzzler Muehle and my 23 mm Shavemac), my seasoned Illinois 827 strop and a bottle of Old Spice aftershave. I am glad I brought 2 brushes because he forgot his ;-). In retrospect, I should have probable brought a good milled soap instead of The Bomb but I could not resist the temptation...

We started out by cleaning his blade, which was covered in oil. The I showed him the hanging hair test HHT) on his razor (which failed). He was a bit worried about the shave readiness of his razor but I swiftly told him about the problems with this test. I pulled out my beauty and demonstrated the test for him. He and his son were amazed by the results, the sound that Fillys make when they pop hair out is amazing ;-). Poing!!!

Then I attached my strop to the door knob and proceed to show him how to strop. He indicated that stropping seemed very hard from the videos he had watched. He asked me a ton of questions. At the end, I let him strop his blade a little bit (on my strop ;-) ). He completed the task with the normal hesitation expected from somebody that had never done it before. Needless to say, at this moment I realized the problems that most newbies face while learning stropping technique. We talked about keeping the razor flat, not using too much pressure and flipping the razor (the most important point). His strop is very nice, better then mine. After his razor was stropped, we tried the HHT again, and this time the razor passed. I explained that the difference in sound was due to the difference in grind and steel between the 2 razors. We then moved on to lathering.

He was to bowl lather The Bomb while I face lathered the CF. This was the obvious choice as he would have the chance to try out a new product and I could demonstrate another technique to him. I showed him how to build lather (a concept foreign to most newbies and seasoned users alike). We talked about water ratios, hydration of the lather and application onto the skin. I then face lathered the CF and had to leave it pretty dry to minimize drying of the lather on his face. We looked like santa ;-), but with a very hydrated lather.

Following lathering, it was the moment he had been waiting in anticipation for weeks, his first shave with a straight. We talked about angles, pressure, THE MIRROR (which he almost hit a couple of times), grip of the razor, etc. After giving him a few pointeres, I stepped back and let him do his own thing, and only giving him a few reminders during the process. When he finished shaving his right cheek, he realized that the moment to switch hands had come. He regrouped and switched hands keeping the same grip on the razor. He then proceeded to shave his left cheek. After he was done, we both agreed that it was a good time to call it the day. His lather had resisted a fair amount of time in his face without drying out. He asked me many questions about the rest of this face, cleaning the blade, passes, etc. His cheeks were smooth At this point, decided to answer some of his questions by showing him how I shave.

My lather was pretty dry and I had to get it up again, this took no time at all. I showed him my very unconventional shaving style, sort of a 1 and a half pass with retouching here and there. I relathered and showed him the essence of the different passes. We talked about the shave test as the ultimate way of determining if the process had been done right. I pointed out the difference of sound between the razors and why he has to be extra careful shaving with a 1/2 grind razor. I showed him the type of results that he could expect from straight razor shaving in a short time. The only bad thing was that my new brush shed 3 more hairs :-(.

We had been hoarding the bathroom for way over an hour. I did not mention that were were at a 4th of July bash so a lot of people wanted to use the facilities ;-). After a few interruptions, we cleaned up, applied aftershave and faced the crowd that was waiting in anticipation. We took all sort of jokes from our friends. I am not going to elaborate on the nature and extent of the jokes but I think that you get the idea. Most of the comments had to do with the fact that he still had a stubble even though we had spent a long time shaving. I explained the situation with examples ;-). Really nothing I could have prevented as my friend forgot his old Track II at home ;-).

In any case, his wife was pretty happy because my friend, for the first time, had used aftershave ;-). I think my friend had a good time as he thanked me for the demo. As for myself, this was incredible; not only did I get the chance to show a friend how to do something I like but it also helped me to understand (reenact) the problems that newbies face when they start shaving with a straight. I am much better prepared to answer newbie questions in this forum and I think my friend for this opportunity. I confirmed how much I enjoy teaching...

Al raz.

That's great that you are willing to give up your free time to help others. getting into the world of straights is not easy. For most of us, it was something we thought about for quite a long time before jumping in. For me, finding this site , was what really made me jump in. Your friend is very lucky to have you guide him through this. There is no better way then to have a knowledgeable person next to you when you are learning a new task.

Good stuff, that's a great opportunity. Thanks for sharing

Sounds great, Al. I've been lucky to show a few
guys some honing and stropping, but not yet a
shave!

- Scott

Good stuff. Thanks!

Well, here I am, better late than never, the newbie who received a face-to-face lesson from your comrade in arms, Al Raz. His recounting of the July 4th event is completely accurate, from the eerie ping of the hair drawn across his razor to the perplexed and annoyed guests at the party who just wanted to use the damn bathroom, already.

I still have a lot to learn, and because I shave infrequently (once a week on average), it will probably be years before I feel completely confident with a straight razor in my hand. I have shaved twice now on my own, each time pushing myself into new territory and each time drawing blood. It's a good thing I allow so much time between shavings. Gives me time to heal.

During the latest shave (this past Saturday morning) I glimpsed a tiny spark at the end of the tunnel. After going as far as I dared with the straight razor, I picked up my old Trac II to finish up. For a brief second, I didn't know quite what to do with it, which way to pull, with how much force. In struggling so hard to learn something new, I am already beginning to forget the old.

Al Raz noted how grateful he was to have had the opportunity to teach someone how to shave. I understand that, but it is I who owe the most gratitude. Without his thoughtful and complete demonstration, I would never have made the leap, and now I am on my way.

I would also like to express my thanks to all of you who are behind this informative and helpful website. I learned a lot from the Wiki and will keep coming back for more.

Well, here I am, better late than never, the newbie who received a face-to-face lesson from your comrade in arms, Al Raz. His recounting of the July 4th event is completely accurate, from the eerie ping of the hair drawn across his razor to the perplexed and annoyed guests at the party who just wanted to use the damn bathroom, already.

I still have a lot to learn, and because I shave infrequently (once a week on average), it will probably be years before I feel completely confident with a straight razor in my hand. I have shaved twice now on my own, each time pushing myself into new territory and each time drawing blood. It's a good thing I allow so much time between shavings. Gives me time to heal.

During the latest shave (this past Saturday morning) I glimpsed a tiny spark at the end of the tunnel. After going as far as I dared with the straight razor, I picked up my old Trac II to finish up. For a brief second, I didn't know quite what to do with it, which way to pull, with how much force. In struggling so hard to learn something new, I am already beginning to forget the old.

Al Raz noted how grateful he was to have had the opportunity to teach someone how to shave. I understand that, but it is I who owe the most gratitude. Without his thoughtful and complete demonstration, I would never have made the leap, and now I am on my way.

I would also like to express my thanks to all of you who are behind this informative and helpful website. I learned a lot from the Wiki and will keep coming back for more.

Well now, than you for your kind words and thanks for the opportunity, it was a real pleasure. Mentha, that is a very herbal name you have chosen ;-). Awesome, this is no doubt a good sign that some muscle memory is starting to set in. I am sure that the potential for accidents using a straight helps this process. If you nick yourself, and we all do, you may want to try a styptic pencil (about $1 at a local pharmacy, let me not mention Walm.... ;-) ). Also, as you know, aloe vera is wonderful for cuts, burns, etc. Do you feel that your stropping has improved some? If you want, I can lend you a razor I have that is dull as a baseball bat to practice in your spare time. By the way, it is OUR comrade in arms ;-). If you have any questions, you know how to reach me. Also, you now have direct access to this wonderful site and people, I have made lots of friends since I joined.

Thank you Mentha and others for the kind words,

Al raz.