Thread: Hello from MD

Most definitely agree with all the advice given so far. My first two or so shaves left a little razor burn, but that quickly goes away.

Then you're just left with trying to figure out wacky hair growth on your neck. It still frustrates me that neck hair can't play nice with all the rest.

But it looks like you are on your way to great shaves and a new obsession.

Cheers to you from Odenton (intense line of storms just passed thru--hope all is well where you are).

All of my facial hair meets in a cross in the center of my throat. I then have hair growing in four different directions to get to that point. The first pass, I just do what is WTG for everyone else but when I get to the second pass, I try to actually get ATG for each of those growth patterns. Easy with a cartridge razor once I learned it. Not so easy so far with the SR.

I used to live in Piney Orchard. I moved up to Glen Burnie. The storm wasn't too bad. Freaked the dog out a bit but most weather does that.

Shave #3

AOS Pre-shave oil
AOS Shaving Cream
AOS Post-shave lotion
Heinecke Shore Fire shaving brush and mug (purchased at the Maryland Renaissance Festival)



A few cuts and dings on both passes but I got pretty much the closest shave I've ever had on my face. I used both hands on the face for both passes and then tried to use my left hand on my neck for about half of that side of my neck but ended up finishing up with my right hand again. My chin is pretty smooth with very few cuts in that area. I also got fairly close for about half of my neck. I need to figure out how to get ATG just below my jawline which is pretty much a 45 degree angle from my ears down. I just haven't gotten the blade comfortable in that angle in a way that I can see it in the mirror yet. I'm a bit surprised at how close the shave is for my third time. The biggest issue this time is that I cut my lip which bled for a while afterwards.

AOS Post-shave lotion
Heinecke Shore Fire shaving brush and mug (purchased at the Maryland Renaissance Festival)


The wife and I love the Renaissance Festival held south of the Twin Cities. It is a must do every year. I will see if ours sells the mug and brush.

The more you shave the better it will get. Don't get overconfident or let your mind wander. Those moments are what cause most of the "gotch yas".
One practice I follow is to ALWAYS pull the razor away when SWMBO enters the bath. In general, I shave when she is not home.

Dave

I don't know if Heinecke does any of the other renn faires. Some vendors will have booths at multiple events but a lot of the ones here are local to Maryland and this is their only one. I was pretty impressed by the brush when compared to the other one I have. Then again, I've only tried two and my first brush loses a few bristles every time I use it.

I make sure to close the door to keep the dog and other distractions out while I am shaving. I read the horror stories in some of the other threads and hopefully don't have to experience that.

Shave #4

Van Der Hagen shaving soap
Heinecke Shore Fire shaving brush and mug
AOS Post-Shave Lotion

I had a bit too much water in the soap so the lather didn't work up quite as well as it should have. Next time I use soap, I'll change that ratio a bit.

The shave went really well. I dinged myself three times but they were light enough that they turned red but didn't even drip blood. I have the sides of my face down really well and I was able to get my neck/check/upper-lip decently. I am getting more confident with my left hand but still drop back to my right for the really odd angles and for everything in the center of my face.

I had no razor burn from last night's shave so I'm probably going to do #5 tonight.

Shave #4

Van Der Hagen shaving soap
Heinecke Shore Fire shaving brush and mug
AOS Post-Shave Lotion

I had a bit too much water in the soap so the lather didn't work up quite as well as it should have. Next time I use soap, I'll change that ratio a bit.

The shave went really well. I dinged myself three times but they were light enough that they turned red but didn't even drip blood. I have the sides of my face down really well and I was able to get my neck/check/upper-lip decently. I am getting more confident with my left hand but still drop back to my right for the really odd angles and for everything in the center of my face.

I had no razor burn from last night's shave so I'm probably going to do #5 tonight.

Originally Posted by Xavyor

Shave #4

Van Der Hagen shaving soap
Heinecke Shore Fire shaving brush and mug
AOS Post-Shave Lotion

I had a bit too much water in the soap so the lather didn't work up quite as well as it should have. Next time I use soap, I'll change that ratio a bit.

The shave went really well. I dinged myself three times but they were light enough that they turned red but didn't even drip blood. I have the sides of my face down really well and I was able to get my neck/check/upper-lip decently. I am getting more confident with my left hand but still drop back to my right for the really odd angles and for everything in the center of my face.

I had no razor burn from last night's shave so I'm probably going to do #5 tonight.

Awesome! Glad to hear it is going so well.

Shave #5

The Body Shop shaving cream
Heinecke Shore Fire shaving brush and mug
AOS Post-Shave Lotion

I finally got the angles right on my neck. WTG is really from the center of my throat out and up. ATG was a bit more difficult since it is from my jawline down towards my throat. Closest shave in that area so far but still needs a lot of practice. I somehow forgot everything I did yesterday with my chin and it turned out close but took way too much work and is now pretty razor burned.

I also keep noticing that I miss between my ears and the end of my jaw. I've touched it up with a cartridge razor in the past (a few hours later if I notice it) but this time made a point to try to get it. Not close at all but at least I was able to get the razor back there.

Shave #6

AOS Pre-shave oil
AOS Shaving Cream
AOS Post-shave lotion
Van Der Hagen brush

I just got back from two days of vacationing at the beach and it has now been four nights since my last shave. It was nice to be able to shave that much growth without having to clean out the cartridge after every pass. I really enjoy being able to take the time to work on a good straight razor shave and having something to work on to get better at.

I was able to navigate between my jawbone and my ear a lot better today although I got a small cut on each side back there. The only other cut was near my mouth where I was just stupid and put the razor down at the wrong angle. I also got a perfect shave on my chin by doing a bunch of short strokes and taking it slow. Neck is better than it has been but I am still working on mapping the patterns and getting the razor in the right position for each stroke.