First Report

So yesterday, I took the plunge. I gathered my required gear: a 5/8 Joseph Rodgers square point from lz6 here on the classifieds, as well as a new strop, jar of Proraso, and alum block and I was set for my first SR shave. Overall, it went well. I just did the cheek areas, but did end up with a nasty cut on the right side, near the corner of my mouth. I went WTG only, finshing with my Mach 3 cartridge. I was astonished with the results. Eight hours after shaving, my cheeks were still remarkably smooth.

I was kind of disappointed with the lathering qualities of Proraso, though I did enjoy the cooling sensations of the menthol and eucalyptus. I seem to get far better lather with the cream from Art of Shaving that I've been using for a number of years.

As of the 13th of this month, I'll be on vacation for three weeks, so I plan to use that time to work on my SR shaving skills.

Welcome aboard! Stick with it--it will get much better.

I know what you mean about the long-lasting smooth face. I used to get a 4-o'clock shadow--ever since switching to straights, it's more like an 8- or 9-o'clock shadow.

congrats - i know its a great feeling the first time you shave. Ive been doing it for months and still love it every day.

good to hear... one word to the wise though.. hold off on being disappointed with the performance of any products for a couple of months, then re-evaluate. Very often you'll see a post where someone talks about how they expected their razor/ brush/ soap etc to perform better... only to hear how things finally clicked and the products are awesome. This is especially true when people finally "get" what sharp means. Anyway, good to have you on board!

Best of luck

Dave

Congrats on your smooth start!! You are using the proraso puck? I use both that and the proraso cream and really prefer the cream. The proraso in the soap is harder to work with. I think you are just used to the cream.

.:beer2:

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Originally Posted by LAsoxfan

I was kind of disappointed with the lathering qualities of Proraso, though I did enjoy the cooling sensations of the menthol and eucalyptus. I seem to get far better lather with the cream from Art of Shaving that I've been using for a number of years.

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@Jeffegg2, not using the puck, but the cream (in the jar). It seems to have a much harder consistency than the AOS cream I'm used to. I figured out that Proraso needs more water to get the kind of lather I'm used to. Other than that, I'm quite happy with it.

First of, congrats on the first shave!!! It only gets better from here :D

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Originally Posted by Del1r1um

good to hear... one word to the wise though.. hold off on being disappointed with the performance of any products for a couple of months, then re-evaluate. Very often you'll see a post where someone talks about how they expected their razor/ brush/ soap etc to perform better... only to hear how things finally clicked and the products are awesome. This is especially true when people finally "get" what sharp means. Anyway, good to have you on board!

Best of luck

Dave

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Ditto this advise. I was lucky enough to have someone donate me some MWF soap when I first started (larry the pusher man) and I didn't see what the fuss was about it.

After playing around with different lather making methods, I hit upon the perfect way to make lather with it with my water quality, and now it's my go to standard soap.