Thread: How long 'til you got a good shave?

I'm wondering how long it took before your shaves were consistent and smooth. Not necessarily BBS, unless you require no less.

I will perhaps be an exception, but I honestly got a very decent shave right from the start. My wife was amazed, because I never was that smoothly shaved during my DE days.

I did read one book about straight razor shaving, and one manual for a straight shaving course, before I even touched my brand new Dovo. I spend a week reading over and over, stroking my face with an imaginary razor in my hand, memorizing what I was supposed to do.

Finally, I locked myself in the bathroom on a Wednesday morning (I remember it as if it were yesterday). I used a shaving brush for the first time ever. I stropped while the lather was on my face. Relathered. I did a North to South pass, and a South to North pass (Up front, I made a deal with myself that I would decide about that after doing the first pass).
I had one small nick at my right sideburn, and was reasonable smooth (at the time I found it very smooth).

Never shaved with anything but a straight razor since that day.

That's my story.

Bart.

It took me a two to three weeks to put the DE away using it less and less to finish. It hasn't seen any use since and the shaves progressively improved as time went on. They still are improving as time, practice and experience goes on.

Bart,
I guess the quote in your sig doesn't apply to you. ha

Originally Posted by JonnyBoy

Bart,
I guess the quote in your sig doesn't apply to you. ha

I'm the kind of person that finds it easy to learn from written instructions. The first thing I do when I buy a tool, is to read the manual, even if it's a wooden spoon to stir food being cooked.

Electric shaving devices never worked on my beard and my DE didn't came with a manual. Lucky for me, my straight razor did. I really was the lousiest shaver on the Northern hemisphere. Perhaps I wouldn't have been so happy, if I 'd already been a competent Mach3 user.
As long as I managed not to cut myself up, my shaves with the straight razor could only be better.

During my DE days, I used a tube of Gillette shaving cream. I smeared that stuff on my face with my fingers, without using any water. (I really had no idea.) Just like buttering a sandwich. Then I scraped away with the DE. It was always a bloody mess. I certainly didn't became an avid shaver overnight, but that first straight shave really was a big improvement. How could it not?

I was getting good shaves pretty quickly. I'd say after the first week or so I was getting really good shaves, but over time things improved as I learned about the contours of my face and direction of hair growth. That took considerably longer.

Bart, I had a similar experience with straight shaving. I attribute it to the fact that before taking up straight shaving I had once actually shaved with my pocket knife, so I kinda knew what I was getting into. I never went back to my Gillette Fusion once I tried a str8 because I would ALWAYS cut myself with my Fusion, but I've probably cut myself 3 times with my str8.

Just for the record, took me about nine weeks. Stropping was the main problem, I dulled my razors faster than I could buy new ones.

Originally Posted by Bart

I'm the kind of person that finds it easy to learn from written instructions. The first thing I do when I buy a tool, is to read the manual, even if it's a wooden spoon to stir food being cooked.

Which is why we spent so much time putting together the beginners guide. I wish it had existed when I started

I would say that on the first shave I was as smooth as with a DE, and by the second shave better. It only takes me a few minutes longer than a DE, so I have retired them all together and only use straights now.

That would be an interesting poll. How many switched from a DE/SE vs from a Cartridge Beast.

It took me a few weeks. I was thinking I did a great job until a got a true BBS one week into straight shaving. It took me a few more days to figure out what I did differently that time and to get to repeatable success.