Hello from San Francisco, California U.S.A.

Hello everybody at StraightRazorPlace! I began reading many of the posts here about two months ago after making the jump from DE. The advice has been invaluable, so thank you to you all.

I started by purchasing a Dovo stainless model 415 with stainless scales. I struggled greatly, and with varied results. I kept up hope after several near successes. After seeing the advice that I should be a veteran of a minimum of 100 shaves prior to reassessing my decision to get into straight razor shaving (and possibly having my head examined), I found new hope and motivation.

Please note: the motivation mentioned in sentence three of paragraph two led to a sudden increase in straight razor acquisitions....

This evening: Wednesday, September 20th, 2017 at 1930 hours Pacific Daylight Time, saw my First Legitimate Close Shave (FLCS). It did take approximately 35 minutes which seems a bit long, but I enjoyed taking the time for myself.

It was achieved using my newly acquired Hadoson straight (Made in Tokyo). My success was due to a combination of trial and error. Learning the angles of the blade and which part of the edge to apply where (and using the steepest angle possible keeping the spine very close to my skin). I applied the advice given by many here, that every part of the shave counts, notably the application and re-application of lather. If I got to the point where the lather had dried, I took the time to apply a hot, wet towel to the area and clean off the dried soap. Then I would re-apply and shave on.

I also purchased a Thater Silver-Tip brush along with a Phoenix Shaving Designs "Crown King" shaving scuttle which keeps your lather and brush warm as you shave, a real nifty product and great for winter shaving.

I would like to give thanks to Lynn Abrams and Straight Razor Designs for the great customer service and advice given.
I look forward to more great shaves and reading about your experiences with shaving (even if tonight was only a fluke). I finally, I would also like to thank my girlfriend, Kate, for putting up with my obsession, and for being late tonight giving me the time to truly focus on the task at hand.

Good for you! Expect relapses though as it will happen. Smooth shaves to you.


Mike

Congratulations and welcome to the forum. :)

Welcome to the forum!

Welcome to srp. Enjoy the trip. Nothing wrong with taking the time for a shave. It still takes me 20 to 25 mi utes for a shave and thats just fine. No rush and good for you to stop and think about what your doing. After a while you will do it without thinking and all will be well. Good luck and keep at it. It gets even better with time.

Welcome to SRP!!!
A lot of great folks and info here, check out the library. You can get lost in there.
Ask questions, we're here to help. And SRD is always a great place to do business with. They are our founders here

Enjoy and have fun!!!

Hello and welcome to SRP.
Glad to see that you've gotten a preview of what a great straight razor shave is like. It only gets better with time.
Beware though, this rabbit hole is bottomless.
Have fun.

Pete <:-}

With something as invigorating and enjoyable as a straight razor shave, does it really matter that it takes a while? I still scratch my head over this “complaint.” Heck, the shaves are so very close one may shave the night before if pressed for time in the morning.

Anyway, welcome to SRP and keep up the great work! Oh, one last thing, you cannot go wrong with just about any Japanese western grind razor. I bet that Hadoson is quite the shaver. :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Speedster

With something as invigorating and enjoyable as a straight razor shave, does it really matter that it takes a while? I still scratch my head over this “complaint.” Heck, the shaves are so very close one may shave the night before if pressed for time in the morning.

Anyway, welcome to SRP and keep up the great work! Oh, one last thing, you cannot go wrong with just about any Japanese western grind razor. I bet that Hadoson is quite the shaver. :)

---

As a matter of fact, I did shave last night before work this a.m. I did have a little after burn from I'm assuming too much pressure and too many passes. Like I've been told, it's a very fluid situation, and the learning curve is steep.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Greetings from San Jose, Ca! We are shaving neighbors. I have recently switched from a mix of De and straight shaving to primarily straight shaves.
I've cut my shaving time down when I first started from about 20-25 minutes down to about 7-10 minutes. Speedy shaves come only with experience!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

IMHO, the steepness of the learning curve is exaggerated quite a bit by the expectations of convenience most people have today. The time required to do this right is so worthwhile once you realize the enjoyment and superior quality of the shave. For me, the shave quality is such that shaving every other day leaves me looking the same at +2 days as when I shaved with an electric razor at +1 day.

I go with 2 passes plus clean-up work and still get some irritation in a few spots on my neck. But, as a beginner, besides over-pressure, there is also risk of edge damage due to poor stropping (especially if one can’t resist the urge to go too fast, too soon). Proper stropping took me more time to master than proper shave technique. Something to keep in mind.

Keep at it — you’ll get this down before you know it! :)

Hi and welcome aboard.

Greetings from Santa Cruz! The 100 shave advice is good. I didn't really feel competent until that many.

Enjoy the journey! There's real pleasure in mastering something like shaving with a blade.