Did my first str8 shave last night

I finally did it. The set that I ordered from Tony Miller on Monday arrived yesterday around lunchtime. Somehow I was able to contain myself until the wife went to work and the kids were in bed. I love new toys!! Finally about 1:30 in the a.m. I headed to the shower. No hot water! Somehow the reset switch on the water heater had tripped. So I reset it and wait. An hour and a half later I had hot water. I'm pretty much a night owl so time wasn't really a concern. I got a really hot shower and then proceeded to the main event. I laid everthing out and stroped up the blade as per Tony's instructions. Not that it was needed, since the blade was VERY sharp, but it didn't want to deviate from the instructions. I whipped up the creamiest lather I could muster and slathered it onto one cheek. One thing became appearent. It was not hot. It wasn't even warm. No matter what I did it wouldn't stay hot long enough to get it on my face. Nevertheless, I persevered. I started with the right cheek. I figured since I am right handed that would be the easiest. WRONG! My arm was constantly in the way making it very difficult to see myself in the mirror. I put the razor to my face and realized something else. Angle is EVERYTHING!! Too much angle and the blade would grab and didn't want to budge. Not enough angle and it just slid down my face. I finally found an angle that wouldn't slide down my face and didn't feel like I was going to take off a layer of muscle and gingerly guided the blade down my cheek. The result was rather disappointing but I had expected that. Learning curve in effect. Once I was done with the right side I proceeded to the left. It was much easier than the right. After just a couple of passes the left side was very smooth. Nice! If I could just get the rest of my face like that life will be good. There was no way I could do my chin. Whether it was the razor (or more likely my technique) it would not shave my chin or upper lip without grizzly consequince so I lathered again and finished with my Schick Quatro. Any advice is greatly welcomed. As an aside, after shaving with soap I will never use anything else regardless of what I use to cut the whiskers. I'm even taking my mug, soap and brush when I go to my Guard drill next weekend.

Overall the shave was a success and the experience very enjoyable once I got passed the initial apprehention. I got MUCH less irritation, developed some confidence and experience, and look foward to my next str8 shave. I'm going to buy a 6/8 from William Ellis and see how that does. I do have a pretty tough beard. For anyone contemplating getting into str8 shaving, I cannot recommend Tony Miller enough. He spent around half an hour with me on the phone helping me decide what was right for me and everything I received with my set was better that I had hoped. I am VERY happy with it. Thank you Tony.

Congrats! I don't think you need any advice. Just practice at this point. Not sure what equipment your using for lather. I would recommend heating up the bowl/mug before whipping up a lather. When I travel I use the palm of my hand to whip up a lather (or when I shave at the gym) so heating up the mug isn't an issue and I don't end up breaking the thing. I usually get warm lather from extra wet lather (i.e. oversaturated). I'm having a hard time picturing your arm in the way when shaving your right cheek. Angle is pretty important...lol. Again, congrats. Don't push the chin issue until you have a really sharp blade. Use the heel for chin shaving (less blade bend). The chin and other facial protrusions are dangerous places to shave, go easy, slow, and don't start the stroke on the protrusion itself.

Congratulations! It's a pretty cool feeling, huh? Like AF said, it just takes practice. Strive for the day when a str8 is all you need. You'll push it further and further, and backtrack a little when you get bit, but that's part of it. Beard prep is HUGE with a str8. Fully saturate your whiskers with warm water, and keep them that way throughout the shave. The more warm water and lather that can sorround the follicles, the softer they will be = smoother and less pain. Keep on keepin' on!

Jeff

Also, make sure you work on stretching the skin very well. It'll help prevent rashes and nicks and get you a closer shave easier. Another thing which comes to mind is careful and gentle stropping both before and after your shave. No matter how sharp the edge, improper stropping can make the shave a less pleasant experience.

My only other advise would be what we tell everybody new: read ALL the help files, visit the links, don't be afraid to ask ANYTHING, and drop by for a Sunday chat whenever you can.

Welcome to the club, Blood!

X

You might try soaking your brush in a coffee mug filled with hot water while you shower. Just turn it upside down to drain, and then make lather. Are you using shaving cream or soap, and which brand? If you're using a hard milled soap (like Williams) you can run the hot water in the mug with the soap. Soft milled soaps (like Classic Shaving) don't take kindly to this treatment.

Try raising the spine of the razor about two spine widths off of your face. This should give you around a 20 degree angle, which is about optimum for shaving.

Just be patient, be mindful, and go slow.

Yes it does feel pretty good. I think I can overcome the visibility problem with a little practice. I wear glasses so that limits hwo far I can turn my head. I can't see squat without them. I'm using the Marvey's soap that Tony included in the set. I do plan on trying different soaps just for the variety but hte Marvey's seems to work just fine for me so far. I'm gonna try again tonight and see how it goes.

I just went back to contacts for that very reason. I shaved this AM with them in and I was amazed at the difference.:cool:

I'm going to try my contacts for shaving tonight. I see better with the glasses but my field of vision is better with contacts.

I hadn't worn them for a while, but I thought I'd give them a try and I was glad I did.:cool:

Try adding some hair conditioner to the shaving soap or using some pre-shave oil. Personally I apply some Skin Milk skin condtioner right after my shower and wipe off most of it before applying the shaving lather. This makes my razor glide over the skin, less irritation. Since I do not use hot towwels I have found it benefical to apply my shaving lather twice. I also strop my razor after I apply the first lather. That process seems to allow enough time for the moisture to soften my beard.

I would not worry aout the sharpness of your blade at this time. Pay attention to your beard prep and shaving technique, especially the stretching.

Have fun!:)