1st Straight Razor shave today

After much researching and searching. I ordered, received and prepped myself to give it a go.

Golden Dollar Straight
Penworks 22mm Silver Tip
T&H 1805 sc
witch hazel

ok ok styptic too...

Not a bad 1st venture. A few small nicks and and a sore spot or 2. Compared to 1st venturing into DE this isn't too awful at the start comparison-wise. Had more nicks with DE when I started and only a few patchs missed.

Overall... not a bad start and just may need to try again tomorrow or I'll just not get a bbs during the week and give'r a try out at night. No time in the AM b4 work..

Any advise on chins and neck shaving/stretching tips would def be welcome.

Also started working on a couple restores. Guess I have to start looking into how to put scales on blades.

Hey bandit, you're grabbing the bull by the horns. IOW, your going for it. rather than following Lynn's advice on the first shaves here you're doing full shaves. That is alright if you are getting good results and are comfortable with manipulating the blade around your physiognomy. :) As for me I did part with the straight and the balance with the DE for the first couple of weeks. No shame in that IMO and less blood shed. :D If you want to avoid nicks read my sig below and follow the advice, that is working for me. :gl:

Welcome to Srp. +1 on Jimmy's post. Also spend time with the Wiki start here -Category:Straight Razor Shaving - Straight Razor Place Wiki
Take your time you will learn. You can always find someone here to help point you in the right direction.

Just had my first shave on Wednsday... few nicks and cuts, but nothing I can't handle... definatly more fun than SE shaving!

I just started earlier this week myself. When I got to the tip of the chin, no matter what I tried it didn't like it much and I was scared I'd cut it too bad it seemed. The hair was grabbing and I couldn't get the angle right. So what did I do? I left it and made one swipe with the M3. At this point I would only shave what seems comfortable and not push it. Each time I've shaved (5 X's now with double shaves each time) it gets easier and I don't have near the trouble with some of the hard spots. This morning was the 1st time I shaved my whole chin. I also found that I had the angle of the razor just a little bit too steep and when I opened it up closer to the 30° mark it felt a lot better. Guess the bottom line is ..... don't rush it. Everything will fall in place in it's own time and that won't take too long.

Thanks everyone for all the encouragement and info. I guess I'm the type to dive in. Likely, I'll resort to DE for any AM shaves prior to work due to time constraints for now but I may just double dip at some point soon heh.

I can say I'm glad I spent time working on bettering my lather before straights. That has helped in prep area. I think the advice about not pulling holds very true from what I experienced yesterday. Hopefully in a short while I can get in the shaveden for a second go. I must say I spent some time in the wiki earlier but it's a great tool to refresh your memory as your attacking your shave.

Thanks again all and can't wait to hear more.

The problem I was having was the radius of my chin and my left cheek with my right hand... still working on it.

As far as the chin goes, there have been a few posts about holding the razor stationary and moving your chin and lip across it. That description sounds very very bad, so do a search for a more detailed discussion of the technique, as it works pretty well.

Having trouble shaving your left cheek with your right hand, eh? SWAP HANDS. Go ahead and get it over with early, before you get the feel of using one hand for your whole face. Since you have to teach yourself a set of motions to go through from scratch, they may as well be the correct ones. No need to go through it twice IMO.

Stay encouraged! It gets better, from what they say!

Well, I have tried that once, and will try it again...

When it comes to shaving the chin, the best thing to do IMO is to look at the contours of your chin and imagine them as smaller flat planes and then adjust your stroke accordingly.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tbucket

Well, I have tried that once, and will try it again...

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Swapping hands, you mean? I was pretty apprehensive about doing it, but read a thread where someone advised brushing your teeth with you left hand to get used to it. So I started doing EVERYTHING that I could with my left hand. Anythinig that took one hand at home, at work, at the grocery store, etc. I did with my left hand. By the time I got ready to start shaving with a straight, it felt considerably less foreign than I had anticipated. It also made stretching much easier, as I did not have to contort quite as much to get plenty of room to shave.

I just started shaving with a SR about 4 months ago and am now an addict. I've also gotten into collecting vintage razors and shaving with them. There's something about getting a razor that's 150 years old, hone it, shave with it and you think to yourself "After 150 years, it still shaves great".

I can tell you what has worked for me but the best advice I can give you is to find what is comfortable for you. I think the first time on my chin I was expecting I should be able to do a complete, continuous stroke starting on the front of my chin and adjust the angle of the blade as I made the turn and finish the stroke underneath. I found out right away this wasn't going to work for me and started using little short strokes (about 1/4" to 3/8") while on the curve of my chin. This way I was able to continually "feel" if I had the right angle and adjust accordingly. I think a good many will agree with the following statement. The chin area is probably the most important area to shave by feel of the blade angle as it shaves rather than by sight of it. For me, I learned to shave my chin in three sections...the center and then each side where your chin makes it's curve to the straight jaw line. The whole area I'm describing is only about 3" wide and 1" top to bottom. This area and my throat are the last areas I shave so I incorporate them together. First I shave the center of my chin all the way down to my lower neck, then I do the right side then the left. If you have sensitive skin, just be cautious of razor burn when you're learning on your chin area. I don't have what I consider to be sensitive skin, but kind of felt like I over did it on my chin the first few times of SR shaving.

I hope my experience helps you in some way. All I can say is stay with it and I think you will find yourself looking forward to shaving. I used to hate shaving in the mornings and after about a month of using the SR I began looking forward to it. It's kind of like a little challenge to kick stat the day. I started like you where I wouldn't try to shave in the morning because I was worried about getting into a rush. It didn't take long and I found myself getting ready a little earlier so I wouldn't be in a rush.

Good luck and I hope you stay with it.