First Shavette Use - A mixed Bag
I purchased a brand new Koraat razor some weeks ago but haven't used it yet.
The plan was to get a shavette and practise on it for a month or so, till I had
ingrained some basic learnings in my muscle memory.
So today I had my first ever shave straight razor style...but with a Focus R21
shavette...I used a newly snapped off half wizamet in it.
The shave went surprisingly well although I did not get the end result I normally do with highly efficient
DE razors. I did cut myself in a few areas but nothing serious. The most interesting part for me was how the
razor tended to stall in certain areas. I did not persist in getting a BBS but just getting the lather off my face.
In the end I got to about 90% of the BBS shaves I get with a DE razor. Happy with that.
Here are my learnings:
1. I need to be far more aware of stretching. The razor stalling was a sure sign of this.
2. I read somewhere that the shave spine should be nearly flat on the face...this did not work for me. I
had to raise it to about two spine widths to get some audible feedback that indicated cutting.
3. Probably need a more watery lather too.
4. Need more work to figure out how to tackle the upper lip area....I went very carefully there
and did not attempt the fool's pass at all.
5. I don't think I'll ever be able to do XTG on the neck area...it seems a bit tricky at my beginner level.
6. Also need to learn how to balance the shavette better in the hands...even though I had a good grip
on it, I could feel it wobble ever so slightly between my fingers at times
All in all, I can see why some guys might decide to chuck it all in after the first shave...but I think I did ok.
I plan to shave this way for a month or so, till I map out all the strokes and make them my own so to speak.
Huge respect for guys who wield these so confidently and quickly.