Thread: First shave, against all odds.

Well, I did my first straight shave today... and I didn't go to the hospital.

I intended to do things 'by the book' but got anxious. I actually have a shave-ready razor from the SRP classifieds on the way, but in the meantime I found a pair of Geneva Cutlery razors in an antique shop. The one in the best shape had a small nick in the blade, but otherwise was a good 6/8, round tip razor.

I ordered the Woodcraft 80th anniversary set a couple days ago, and was hoping I'd get it AFTER my shave-ready razor came, because I knew I wouldn't be able to resist. Well, Woodcraft is only one state away and it only took a day to get here.

I used the 600 grit until the nick was gone, then the 1200 until it passed the TPT. Then on to the 8000 grit, until it was close to passing the HHT, a slow moving hair didn't pop but a little faster of a stroke and it would cut. My strop hasn't come in yet, so I used a 1.5" leather belt I found that didn't have any stitching on the back and stropped with that.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster, but after all is said and done, I got only one small slice on my cheek when I was figuring out the angle, and no worse of a razor burn than when I try to get BBS with a DE razor and go a little overboard. I told myself that if it didn't seem to go smoothly when I started I'd quit, but I didn't have to.

I also have a 12k Chinese waterstone on the way, so that will be sure to help too.

I think I'm hooked... I know I should have waited and done it by the book, but it's a great feeling to do your first shave with a razor you found, cleaned up, polished, honed and stropped yourself!

That's great! I've no patience either & would have been too excited to wait. Nothing to lose after all, so i'm glad it went well with the improvisation!
When the shave ready one arrives it'll be interesting for you to see how it compares to yours.
I prepared my first razor, & though it shaved me, my skills have certainly improved over the months.

I know it will have to be better than what I have now... after all I did shave after only an 8k hone/stropping!

I'd never recommend this as a good way to get started, but it's good to know that I'm not TOO far off... thanks to hours of reading here, and watching hours of YouTube videos.

Originally Posted by mddittman

but it's a great feeling to do your first shave with a razor you found, cleaned up, polished, honed and stropped yourself!

Congrats, and I couldn't agree more.. there's a definite sense of satisfaction shaving with one you cleaned up and honed yourself.

You get man points for jumping in with both feet. A do-it-yourself mentailty goes a long way in this pursuit.

Congradulations, you have discovered the truth that escapes many: Shaving is not rocket science, it's a simple manual skill. You don't need a baffling array of expensive equipment, you don't need to learn at the feet of a master, it is a skill that anyone blessed with average dexterity and concentration can develop in fairly short order.

The MacGyver of shaving.

Congrats.

Great that you enjoyed your first shave. 'The Book' should be regarded as reference material and a guide. If the path looks better off the path than that is the one you should take as long as you are able to live with the consequences, which may turn out to be good. If none of us took this other path we would all be eating raw meats and running around naked.

Well, I got my strop in the meantime and it's made all the difference. I've had two shaves since with no issues. The second I had a fair amount of razor burn in the typical area on each side of the windpipe, about half way up, but last night's was almost completely irritation free.

I'm starting to learn what I can and can't safely do, which is making it more efficient.

I also got the Radio Shack cheap microscope, and the blade looks pretty good. There's one nick that can be seen at 60x that I can't see with my naked eye, I think it may be the remnants of the nick that was easily visible when I bought the razor. I'll post pics when I get the time, but that's another thread, in another section of the forum.

I think this is one of the great things about straight razor shaving. Honing up that blade yourself and being responsible for the quality of your shave yourself.

One word of warning though. DON'T EVER move that hair faster than very slowly in the HHT. It won't reveal anything to you by changing the parameters of the test and you'll only be putting yourself in danger. One of our members cut the tip of his index finger off that way including part of the nail. You don't want that to be you too so be smart and go slow.

Other than that, very nice start indeed! I commend you for pushing through with the bare minimum. It'll only get better from here.

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