Thread: Hello from MD

Razor was within 20 feet of the house. Required signature though and the mailman was too early for the person I asked to watch for him this afternoon. I should have it tomorrow.

So, this arrived today. Going to try my first shave this evening. I will definitely post a report.

Hart Steel 6/8, Polished Finish, Round Point Straight Razor - Cocobolo

That certainly is a beauty, take care of it... I look forward to your report! Take your time and enjoy it... Half the fun is in the prep work, making the lather, heating the whiskers, taking your good old sweet time! Cheers!

take your time when stropping new guys tend to nick up there strops

That is one beautiful razor! I'm sure you'll be pleased with the shave, Harts are meant to be excellent shavers. Let us know how the first shave went

First shave down. I took a hot shower and then used a Van Der Hagen brush, C.O. Bigelow shaving cream, and the razor above. I had six days worth of growth.

The first pass WTG went well. I did it all with my right (dominant) hand and I ended up without any cuts. I was semi-able to navigate the chin but ended up leaving everything there at half-length. I then decided to try another pass ATG. I was able to get the sides of my face very close. My neck feels like I shaved with a disposible blade that I should have replaced already. I was able to get most of the hair from my chin. On the second pass I ended up with four minor dings that bled for about 10 seconds each and then stopped.

I need to get comfortable with my left hand. I could not get it to move how I needed it to and I barely trust myself with the blade in my right hand as it is right now. I will practice with a butterknife and get so that I'm comfortable with it.

Not too bad for your first shave with a straight. I also started with a 6/8 Hart. As you no doubt have read, there is a learning curve, and you will get better in time. You will get the feel for the correct angles for the various parts of your face, and the feel of little to no pressure with that blade. My Hart is one of my best shavers since being properly honed and stropped. I wish you the best!

Congrats! You did a fine job for the first shave.

Shave #2. I wanted to try it again and work on a few issues that I had yesterday.

I used the AOS demo pack (oil, shave cream, after-shave lotion) this time around and was pretty impressed. I took a hot shower and then worked up a lather. I applied the oil and then the shaving cream and started in.

I was able to do my cheek with my left hand for the WTG pass. I tried it on my neck but ended up falling back to my dominant hand. I cut myself once on the WTG pass and four times on the ATG pass. I was also able to navigate 90% of my chin so it is nice and smooth for the most part. I was also able to carefully get above my lip and that is nice and smooth.

I ended up putting lotion on my face after posting yesterday so the AOS lotion was good to have handy this time around.

I stropped it well before and after shaving and I still am pretty weak on my technique. I need to find a place to mount the strop to make it easier. I laid it on a flat surface for my pre-shave stropping (saw that as a suggestion for people just starting out to get used to the technique) and then connected it to a sturdy power cord of an unused TV I have lying around for the post-shave one. I will probably mount a hook to the wall when I get a chance to go to the hardware store.

I think I have a long way to go before I can get a good shave with a straight razor. Years ago I mapped out the wonky angles of my facial hair to get a closer shave with a disposable razor. Now I'm having to remap those and figure out how to get the SR to move in the correct direction for each section of my face all while keeping the proper angle for that pass.

Thank you all for your feedback and tips over the past few days. They have helped out a lot.

Looks to me that you're doing really well. I personally think that it all comes down to patience and practice. Also, it's a question of not expecting too much too soon. Things will definitely improve on your left side the more shaves you get under your belt.

Take your time, examine your hand position before you place the blade to your face, to make sure you've got the right angles. After a while it will just be second nature as your left hand/arm develops its muscle memory.

The one thing that came as a Eureka moment for me is adjusting your head position to get a better view. Carts make it too easy, you just look straight ahead at the mirror and shave, with no risks of cuts. So initially, i found i had to make a conscious effort to re-adjust for better views.

Make sure your lather is well hydrated, at first it will take you a while to get a full shave, and the lather might dry out and loose its slickness, hence causing cuts.

Finally, i had my first weeper in almost 3 weeks today whilst going ATG under the chin. Got overconfident and when the blade got 'stuck', I just forced it along, with a wrong angle. Thought me a lesson!

All in all, i think you're doing much better than me when I started off. Congrats! Believe you me, it will just get better and better...

Regards,

Ash