First Shave with a "Real" Straight
Evening Gents
I had my first shave with a real straight this evening,and would value some feedback from your good selves.
I have been using a shavette type razor for the past week just to get accustomed to using an open blade razor. I ordered a lowcost Rockwell Solingen to practise honing and it arrived this morning. Of course it was not shave ready, so I spent some time preparing it for my first shave. After honing and then stropping I was easily able to shave the hair on my forearm, so I decided "to give it a go"
Good points.....the heavier razor with the wider blade was easier to handle, and that gave me a lot of confidence. The round point was much more forgiving than the sharp corner of a DE blade so I was able to shave the upper lip area round my nose with no consequences.
I was able to achieve a reasonable shave...however it was obviously not as sharp as the Shavette. I was dragging the hairs before they cut. I had no irritation afterwards......just a "not terribly close" shave.
As I am new to this....I have nothing to compare with. From my description would anyone care to hazzard a quess as to how close I may be to the "perfect shave" I do not want to overhone.
Best Regards
Brian
Practice... Practice... Practice.
Hello Mr Medic,
Welcome to the board and to the wonderful and sometimes frustrating world of straight razor shaving.
Point the first: I will go out on a limb and say you are nowhere near a perfect shave. Sorry. Most of us here have been doing this for years and still are questing for the perfect shave. For now, try for the perfect shaving experience.
Point the second: I encourage you to read everything in these forums- or at least as much as you stomach.
Point the third: We all start at the begining and none of us become experts over night. Both shaving and honing take practice even when you have been shown the proper techniques and 'rules'.
Ultimately, to know is to do. And many times to do is to do over... and over. So ask, listen, practice, and never give up.
Oh, and get another razor. Sorry. That's just the way it is.
regards &c
LG Roy