Thread: My First Shave

Hey guys. I just had my first straight razor shave about 20 minutes ago. Suffice to say that it did not go very well. I have small cuts in about three places. The lather felt great and i really liked it. Thats where the good things stop however. The actual shave was rather unpleasent. The razor scraped across my skin and didnt glide like it should. Also it didnt seem to take any hair off which was somewhat annoying. The razor had been honed before it was sent to me so it not a case of it not being honed. So guys what am i doing wrong?

Thanks
Zach

What type of soap/cream were you using to create the lather? How was your blade angle. Assuming the razor is good, those are the two questions that come to my mind.

As for the answers, a good soap/cream is something of a personal preference, but making quality lather is rather well documented on the forum. For blade angle, try to keep it to 30 degrees. More will irritate the skin and less will tend to pull.

I used a glycerin based soap that i picked up at walgreens. Its supposed to be for sensetive skin which i thought would be helpful for my first shave. My blade angle probably wasnt consistant. I have a hard time judging angles anyway

If judging the blade angle is difficult, try to keep the spine about two spine widths off your face. That should be about the right angle. Another technique related point, make sure you are getting a good stretch on the area you are shaving.

Glycerin based soaps are pretty good, I got acceptable shaves with a Colonial Conk soap, but moved up soon. It certainly made a difference.

I forgot to ask about your preshave. Did you just lather and go? Did you strop the razor? I find I get better shaves after a nice hot shower. I also strop before every shave, and I believe doing so is necessary. I believe 30 passes is recommended, but I usually do about 50. You'll also want to make sure your stropping technique is good.

thanks for the tips. I lathered and stropped the razor. although my technique most likely need work. from my understanding you are supposed to hold the strop very tight and move the razor back and forth lightly in an X pattern.

You are right on about keeping the tension in the strop, but I'm honestly not sure on the X pattern. My understanding, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, is that the X is to ensure that the entire blade is stropped. Personally, I strop mostly in a straight pattern, but I move the razor from stroke to stroke to cover the whole edge.

Also be sure you have a long enough strop that allows you to build up a bit of speed, and be sure to use light pressure so as not to "roll" the edge.

Did you leave the lather on your face as you stropped? That should help to soften the hair, and would probably be a sufficient pre-shave routine, provided you reapply lather after stropping (right before the actual shave).

The x-pattern does two things; it ensures that the entire blade is stropped and in turn it helps align the edge of the blade correctly. As for speed I wouldnt worry about going fast on the strop for now. Just keep the strop taught and concentrate on technique. Pre and post shave routines are very important too. There are some good stropping videos on youtube. It may help us if you could give us some more details about your first experience. And dont worry- from here it only gets better. You have time, patience and help from us on your side. You'll do fine.

Well basically i stropped my razor using the X pattern. lathered my face and just began to shave. I started at my cheeks and just went on from there. I can actually see the lines where i put the razor to bring it down my face. They are all bright red,i guess i have sensetive skin. I also razor burn under my neck and its pretty annoying. On top of all that it didnt really give me even an adequate shave.

I've never seen lines where I put the razor to my face. Perhaps you pressed too hard.

I would also suggest extending your preshave routine. You could lather up with warm lather before you strop, then relather for the shave. You could take a nice hot shower before shaving. Or there are a number of preshave products that you could apply to your face, but I've never gone beyond the two methods above.

You should not be seeing such lines at all. That sounds like you are putting WAY too much pressure on the blade!

Also, i'd suggest a hot shower or bath before you shave if you get the chance- it softens the skin and opens the pores, making shaving more comfortable and more effective. It also makes it easier.

What sort of razor did you previously shave with?