First timer, and hooked

I've had a growing interest in straight razor shaving for some years now. As chance would have it I purchased one today from my barber for $100 after mentioning my interest to him. It is a puma #69, 5/8ths with the words "special pour barbe tres dure" printed on the blade. (To my untrained eye, it seems to be in pristine condition.)

I purchased as well a small strop, and thanks to instruction from this site and about one half hour of very slow practice I decided to give it a go..........WOW! I have to say, I am truly sorry I had not done this sooner.

I really only have one question for you fine folks: Is there anyone here who also has a semi prominent and/or pointed chin with advise on where to stretch the skin from for this area? It could very well be due to my severe lack of experience, but I just could not find a way to pull taut the chin area; so finished with my normal, modern razor.

I'm sorry that I can't help you with your chin, but welcome to our site and I'm glad that you are enjoying this so far.

Thank you for the welcome.

I've always had an affinity for sharp objects, and have been honing blades for about 15 years now (though not quite to the necessary edge required for a straight razor......yet) and with help from the many great tutorials here on technique I have taken to this quite naturally I think. I think I am most amazed that I procrastinated this long in attempting straight razor shaving! I think it's safe to say that once I master my chin; I wont be looking back.

Welcome. The chin is my nemesis. After several years at this, I still call my chin some very bad names every morning. What I can offer is my own experience and what seems to work best. I don't try to flatten my chin because this just makes the skin loose. I jutt it out and very carefully, bring the razor up from the neck in one long motion, trying not to stop until I reach the lower part of the lip. On the sides of the chin where the bone structure dips in, I contort my face so the lower lip rolls in over the teeth and place my thumb on my neck, gently pulling the skin downward, against the grain of the whiskers. I've also had good luck shaving XTG, toward the center of the chin. This is what works for me, though I can't say I always get a BBS shave there. Try it and see how it works for you. Good luck.

Welcome! From one newbie to another I can pass along one piece of sage advice. Don't rush! Take things nice and easy and let things come naturally, otherwise ... your chin may not be so prominant for long, if you get my drift.

To leadduck: Thanks for the advice! Ill try that and see how it goes.

To Mick: Aye, I've always been a fan of the adage "slow is smooth; smooth is fast" .... Seeing as how it was my first try, I think it safe to say I could have put molasses to shame.

Aye, it's a solid truth, though waiting too long gives your lather time to dry out (a problem I'm working on myself).

My chin doesn't sound as prominent as yours is but these tips may help a little. I normally just stick out my chin and then shave down north to south. I then like to pull the skin from both sides of the chin (almost the same action as if your zooming in on a smart phone if that makes sense) and go from side to side to get in the groove. Hopefully this helps a little.