Thread: Remind me why we're doing this again

Let me start by saying what I "thought" I was getting into. My Grandpa shaved his whole life with a straight razor. His face was smooth as a babies behind. I never saw nicks, irritation etc. As far as I know he only had two "old" razors. I know he had a strop but I don't "think" I ever saw him on a honing stone. I "LOVE" watching westerns. I've always loved the shaving scenes (btw.... why is it in every shaving scene someone walks in or something happens and they stand up and wipe off the shaving cream from most of their face and it looks as good as the part that was shaved?? Maybe that's where we're going wrong lol). I "assumed" that it would take me a month or so to learn technique and then it would be just smooth sailing with a babies arse face from then on (especially after some of the youtube videos). Now it appears that a bbs shave is a rarity and we all get excited when it arrives. Am I missing something here. I understand us newbies but I'd like to hear from you Vets (not the ones with your finger up a dogs arse telling him to cough either lmao). Are you at the point where you just walk in, do your pre-shave ritual, and shave. Wash up and walk away with a bbs with no irritation no half of a roll of toilet paper dotted all over your face etc. I mean........... the whole world shaved with these things for hundreds of years. Surely we've got better means and equipment than they did. Maybe it's a ritual? Something in our subconsciousness that draws us to "try". What if all we had to use was a str8? No other means. Would that "force" us to perfect things more? Just curious. I just know from reading and reading that it appears that I'm in for a lot of crappy shaves and irritation for several months and then still only occasionally get it right. I'm not saying that I'm not still excited and looking forward to the "journey" but ...... It is "SUPPOSED" to be the "nirvana" of the shaving experience. I'm just curious how many of you have "Arrived" so to speak. I hope ya'll know what I'm trying to say here. I'm sure most of us have wondered these same things. Actually I just wanted to practice my typing skills while listening to my "Hewkt on foniks VI" cd. Thanks. Stay warm (O.K. ..... "think" warm .... and cuss the weather lol).

Everyone is different...some pick up on it faster than others I suppose.

I hardly nick myself anymore. Might get a slight weeper from time to time, but no REAL nicks, none that I can feel or see after I'm done.

You'll get there It's a fun road to be sure! I don't go for BBS all the time. Getting it that way on my neck is near impossible without sacrificing comfort.

Since I can only give you a completely accurate answer from my own personal experience I can say it didn't take me that long to get decent at shaving. Not BBS, but decent. Right now I get pretty much BBS and all I do for "ritualistic prep" is soak my brush while I'm showering and strop my blade 50 linen and 50 leather. On the other hand I think my initial approach was a bit different. I'll now give you a synopsis of my shaving history.

Warning: I came into shaving because I was interested in the idea of having a reusable blade that was cheaper than disposables and the idea of learning to sharpen things and understanding edges was intriguing. I didn't know of SRP and got a Zeepk. I knew it needed to be honed but any stones I had or people I knew had were for grinding down tools and I didn't know how to hone. I then found SRP, bought a used shave ready razor and cheapy brush, and went for it. I didn't really read anything about stropping or beard prep I just tried it a few times. I didn't lop my head off, I didn't lose my ears, and I wasn't afraid of the blade because I respected how sharp it was. I can't remember if I got nicks or not, but I know it was nothing bad if I did. I read some more after the first few goes and realized that my lather had too much water so I adjusted that and had good results. I started to get consistent pretty much BBS shaves within a few months. As long as I have a sharp razor I get great shaves under 15 minutes per shave. /end

I say don't get discouraged if it doesn't come to you right away. I was in college so I didn't need to shave everyday so the rest was something I needed for my neck since mach 3s made it extra sensitive and prone to irritation. Enjoy the experience and come back to the community if you need inspiration or support. We're here to help.

I've been shaving with a str8 for a year and have yet to get a BBS, have been pretty close a few times. Two areas I always choke on; the neck and a patch the size of a half dollar on my right cheek along the jaw bone. It doesn't matter if I do wtg, xtg, atg and do 3 or 4 passes and a touch up, those areas just won't give. I shave everyday which gives me plenty of blade time but I still consider myself a newb. So, a BBS is something I don't strive to achieve, I am just interested in taking the hair off.

Don't they say life is a voyage, not a destination? Anyway, I am 1 year into this and I have recently arrived at routine BBS shaves with rarely any nicks. I am amazed. My secrets (in order of figuring them out) are as follows (the last step below was the one where the light bulb seemed to turn on over my head) :

- Chris Moss's "the Art of Shaving" book (free downolad at www.shavemyface.com)
- Sharp razor (honed on 8K followed by green CrOx paste on leather strop)
- Very light touch (hard to get used to after all those years of pushing a double edged disposable into my face). light touch equals no burn.
- Long strokes, slow, skin stretched tight.
- Figure out that first pass "with the grain" means up on the left side of my neck and down on the right side due to the way my neck hair grows.
- First pass with the grain with lather. Rinse off bulk of lather leaving slight film, rimarily just wet face from water ..don't pat dry... now second pass across the grain with just the watered face. Feel and listen for rough spots and touch 'em up as you come across them with just water, with or across the grain.

TaDah! (works for me, might not for you, but good luck!)

Don't give it up just yet. When I first started out, I would talk to a couple of my buddies about it. About a month in, one of my friends asked "don't you cut yourself with that thing?" At that time my response was "almost every time"

I got hung up on having a BBS shave every day and my face paid the price for it early on. I adopted a DFS attitude for where I had sensitivity or difficulty until my technique improved. I saw a steady increase in my ability to get good shaves. Now I have a lot of confidence in my ability with a razor in my hand, but it took me a good 6 months to REALLY trust myself.

Some days I have a BBS shave, other days I do a quick shave. My quick shave is typically a 2 pass which results in BBS jawline and up and slacking off on my swirling neck growth. It depends on how I am feeling that day. I had a long learning curve, but it was worth it in the end.

Originally Posted by Kempster

Are you at the point where you just walk in, do your pre-shave ritual, and shave. Wash up and walk away with a bbs with no irritation no half of a roll of toilet paper dotted all over your face etc.

Yes, been there for quite some time. Maybe a couple of years of DE wet shaving helped. I already knew proper preparation and lathering. I had tried straights years ago and a barber taught me stretching techniques so that came back to me fairly quickly. Learning to hone and strop helped a lot. If the razor isn't sharp enough it won't do a good job even if you do everything else right. OTOH, if it is sharp enough blade angle, direction of attack, and understanding multiple pass shaving makes all the difference. Read my sig below to avoid nicks. Works for me.

I think it's the nirvana you're speaking of. I got in without any expectations...didn't know WHAT to expect. All I knew was that it was cheaper than the M3's I'd been buying my whole life. After a few months, things started getting better and better until now I can knock down three passes in under half an hour or I can go DFS with two passes and about ten minutes.

I do it because I like it.


I need to get my kicks somehow, ya know.

Great replies guys. I'm just throwing out thoughts here. I'm getting my 1st razor in the mail tomorrow so I have no idea how it will go with the first attempt although I've got plenty of info from ya'll to help me out. I'm not complaining, just curious is all. I can't wait to join in the fun of trying this out and getting proficient at it. When I first started to consider this I had no idea it took so many passes to get bbs. Then again, a lot of times I really don't need bbs (especially when I'm just going to work). I'm actually thinking it will be great fun to perfect something that not everyone can just walk up and do. Keep up the Great Work!!!!