Thread: 1st shave, a bitter-sweet experience

Originally Posted by jnich67

Agreed. It takes some time to get the feel for a proper stroke - even if the razor is sharp. Was your first DE shave perfect? Be patient and practice. You'll get there.

Jordan

I echo those advising patience and add the encouragement that it can be done! I've only been at it a few months and there were times I wondered what some of these guys were smokin' when they claimed how smooth and comfortable their shaves were. Now, I'm confident every day I can have a good shave and a great time getting it. Still learning and improving, finding my way, but it's a great time along the way.

LOTS to learn from this place (sometimes too much!), but only time will teach your hands and face what you are reading here.

It is worth the persistence!

- Dale

Most of these things have been mentioned, but there are a few culprits that are possible: The razor edge, your strop technique, the prep, the skin geting use to a straight razor (versus your DE). If the razor was indeed honed right, you should have tried it out of the box, then strop it. That would have given you a point of referance....but that's water under the bridge now. Try not to strop as shown in movies...most times it's shown with poor, flamboiant technique. Go slow, light, and roll the blade up on the spine at the end of the stroke before stopping (this way there is less of a chance of nicking the strop). Also, it sounded like your shave soap is 'subpar' from your hopes of using that up soon. Try shaving right out of a hot shower (strop before hand, so the razor is ready). Your shave technique will improve too. Most people tend to press down if the edge is not quite there and give themselves razor burn, or they use too sharp or oblique of an angle, resulting in the same burn. Finally, if I recall correctly, each shaving impliment leaves a different scaring to the face in that when you switch between tools (straight razor versus DE) your skin will need some time to adjust. A DE razor blade tends to cut perpendicular to the hair (or the blade is perpendicular to the direction of the shave), while a straight razor has more of a slice across the hair, since the blade is at a slight angle (tip or heel forward) as you shave in a direction....

Another thing to consider is that this is an 'eBay' razor with unknown use to it. There is no 'new' starting point, and since you did not hone it, you don't know where the edge was starting from ......OR, the blade was not sharp

All in all, there IS a learning curve on this. Be patient.
You'll get it with practice.

C utz

As many have said Equipment may be a big factor.

It is nearly impossible to get a BBS the first time you shave with a straight if you have done so then you are probably better than 99.9% of all straight users on their first shave.

As you technique gets better and you learn the correct angle with a properly sharpened blade you will get a good BBS shave better than any DE can ever give.

Stick with it . I just finished my 8th str8 razor shave , it's starting to get easy . My first shave was a disaster , too . My razor was not quite sharp enough , and I was worried I might slice a piece of my face off if I wasn't careful . I shaved my cheeks and finished up with my disposeable razor . By the time I got to my third shave , I realised I wasn't going to slice my face up , as long as I paid attention to the angle I held my razor at . By the 6th shave I had finally got my razor acceptably sharp and had enough experience to get a decent shave . I still have to use the disposeable for my upper and lower lip , but I shave the rest of my face with the srt8 . I'm 52 years old , and for the first time in my life I actually enjoy shaving . I find it to be relaxing and fun .

I need to agree with these fellows, needs sharpening and it takes time.