Thread: First SR shave is in the books

I just got done with my first SR shave about a hour or so ago. I have been messing around with wet shaving and DE on and off for a little over four years. At times I got the idea to try a SR but always talked myself out of it because of the honing and sort of the stropping. So this time around I talked myself in to actually pulling the trigger. I bought a Sight Unseen Flawed Razor and a poor man's strop from Whipped Dog. I attached a picture of the razor but I'm not able to read what type and who it is made by. All I can make out is "ed by her" at the shank.

Ok on to the shave. I first started on my cheek where I had just trimmed my beard to 1/16 of an inch. I had the angle of the razor to what I thought was around the width of the spine and it was pulling like crazy and at times it felt like it was stuck. From what I read it is not good to go forcing a SR when it is stuck. So after shaving my right side (right handed) I moved to the left. I tried to use a bigger angle and it seemed to cut better and much cleaner. By the time I did like three WTG passes I decided to touch up the tricky part of my lower neck that only looks clean with an ATG. I know it is not really good idea to go ATG when a newbie but hey what the heck.

Ok so damage report. When I figured out that I needed to use a larger angle I think I went to close to 45 instead of 30. My cheeks, upper lip under my nose and where my lower lip meets my chin have some razor burn. I blame it on my technique and blade angle being to close to 45. I have to figure out a way to comfortably see what I'm doing close to my sideburns with out having the razor and my hand in the way.

So after all that it was a very different experience but I look forward to shaving again so that I can get better. Also now I can watch youtube videos by Geofatboy and a few others and will be able better understand how they handle the razor since I have at least a small idea of what they are doing and talking about. Now I have to figure out how to take care of my strop and use it properly. I'm just worried about rolling the edge and I don't really have a good place to secure it to. I thought about getting some twine string so that I can anchor the strop to a door knob or hinge. Any suggestions are welcomed. I want to learn and get better since this is so different and awesome. Thanks everyone.

Well done! I wouldn't go with a 45 degree angle myself, 30 degrees is much closer to what would normally be recommended. Never force a razor when it's stuck; it'll dig in! 'Sticking' may be caused by a razor which is not sharp, or a 'gluggy' lather (not enough water). Was the razor shave ready when you got it? Did you strop before you shaved with it?

A strop does not really need any care as such. Many recommend rubbing the leather surface with the palm of one's hand to apply oils from your skin, but I have never done this myself. You do need to keep a strop dry, and away from sprays and such which can be sprayed around some people's bathroom.

Be careful of attaching a strop to a door handle if you do not live alone, if someone walks in it could be disastrous. I use a climbing carabiner to attach mine to a towel rack.

When you strop, ensure you keep the spine on the strop, go slowly, and in the begging do fewer rather than more laps. Stroptober is a good thread to read on stropping (as well as others) and it has some good videos there.

It's common that for some parts of the face you will not be able to see the razor's edge. Don't worry, you can shave by feel; it's a very tactile experience. In fact, I can strop now without looking at the razor and strop at all, and consider those who shave their head with a SR. Admittedly after a lot of experience, but they cannot see the back of the head; it's done via feel.

Good luck.

Carl

Carl thanks for the great information. I guess I miss stated the 45 part. It seemed like to get a good shave WTG I had to go at a larger angle than I originally thought so I might be over exaggerating. As I have read from members giving advice and newbies giving testimonies it all gets worked out with time and practice. The razor came in today from Whipped Dog and I didn't strop it since I have read on here and the instructions Larry included with the razor stated to shave with the razor before stropping so that a person will know what is "shave ready." I have read in this thread that the poster had a rough time with the first shave but got better with practice. I never really thought about using a dry lather could effect the glide of a razor but now thinking about it it does make seem very possible.

Thanks for the tip on using the oil on the hands to keep the strop in good shape. I will have to read the Stroptober thread later but it looks interesting.

I'm glad to know that at least I'm not doing something wrong when it comes to my sideburns. I need to look at another video but when I was shaving part of my neck where the hair grows south to north I reversed the scale so that the blade and scale was facing up when making a upward motion. It just seemed like the most logical solution.

Yes, I know what you mean about the angles, it's hard to say, isn't it? I certainly use a steeper angle on some parts of my face, such as my jaw line and the very rare occasion when I shave my chin (I have a goatee thingy). Well done for not stropping before the first shave, that's exactly why I asked.

Glide is very much a function of the water content in the lather. Perfectly normal to reverse the position of the razor. I hold mine differently to some, I use only three fingers, one finger either side of the scales. For an ATG pass (when I do one) I hold the razor VERY loosely with just two fingers so it will 'give' rather than 'dig in' if it meets resistance. I also add more water to the lather for the ATG pass to make a weaker mix. However, you may not be tackling an ATG pass for a few weeks, until you're comfortable with a WTG pass...