Thread: How was you first shave with a straight?

Originally Posted by Aggelos

As for myself : suprisely easier and safer than I had imagined.
Quite comfortable too.

Still, it was quite the tedious experience, what with not knowing how to handle the thing properly and doing gymnastics and contorsions...

after a few shaves it will feel pretty natural. I am right handed and my left is useless so I figured I would be sr shaving completely right handed but I am very good with the left now

My first few shaves with my SR were not that great and I had to follow up with my DE razor. You also hear SR users talk about the learning curve when starting out. This has been my case. Stick with it and watch a few videos showing different techniques on shaving, stropping etc. I have been shaving exclusively with a SR for three months and am getting to the point I get a wonderfully close shave with no nicks or cuts or weepers. The best thing you can do is to buy a good SR. I have a Ralf Aust and had it professionally honed before I used it. I have heard any Dovo or Thiers Issard are good too. May your shaves be close and smooth!!!

As a man who has yet to SR shave I just want to thank you all for your stories. To me this is very imformative. I shave with a DE razor daily and I know I will get some, if not a lot, of irritation my first shave.

Originally Posted by RonPage

As a man who has yet to SR shave I just want to thank you all for your stories. To me this is very imformative. I shave with a DE razor daily and I know I will get some, if not a lot, of irritation my first shave.

Ron,

Make sure you get a good hot shower before you shave, use any good pre shave lotion or oil, use good shave soap and a good brush. Use short even strokes with minimal pressure on the blade and you should see little irritation. Good luck!!

Oh yes prep is most definitely important! I learned that through DE shaving. I have 4 brushes. Two boar, a synthetic and a best badger. As for soaps man. I have Synergy, Maggards, Razorock, Dapper Dragon, AND TOBS. Multiple scents of each. Lol! I went, and still am a bit crazy on the software side. I would have much more if i could afford it.

RonPage,

My first shave was with a shavette, I have a picture with a huge smile on my face being as proud as punch that I had entered the manly art. There were weepers everywhere and I have the bloody cloth to prove it.

After a year my left hand is getting pretty good, I have to slow down under the left nostril with my off hand but getting there.

Half the fun at the beginning is watching all the videos and taking it slowly and drooling over the razor porn.

Have fun and keep at it.

Considering my first str8 razor was honed by me with no experience honing a razor, using hones not intended for razors, my first str8 razor shave I would compare to shaving with 60 grit sandpaper!

.

This is the reason I like to shave with a straight razor. The tedious process is what I enjoy! Everything is done way to fast these days with usually crappy results. My shave is a chance to relax and collect my thoughts. Being aware and careful help sharpen your mind. Hate the way our society has become and my straight razor shave brings me to a time I never knew when slow was better.

Besides the prep get the first razor pro honed , until then you really won't even know what sharp is. I DE shaved for over 40 years and it was still a learning process , but being a DE shaver does help you understand that you have to stretch your skin and prep helps But the razor being right will help you a lot. Tc

I have been pretty lucky and achieved quite good shaves from day one, except for my chin and under my nose... admittedly a good shave took close to half an hour whereas now its well under 10 mins, excluding prep.

I remember the first dozen times though, doing perhaps 30 passes in all directions for the hollows of my neck, then relaxed after that and didn't chase BBS for the neck, just focussed on angle and pressure instead, 3 passes and left the shave as it was. Single pass for the chin with followup with DE razor.

I also remember how much shave cream I used for the first dozen or so shaves... lots and lots. I hadn't been mixing enough water into the lather so was always drying out and needed to reapply.

I also used to nick myself quite often when starting, but luckily not badly, an easy fix with a styptic pencil and a bit of a sting. Still nick myself sometimes but not often now.