First Shave with a Straight.

Hey guys, just wanted to post some opinions on my first straight razor shave.

I really need to thank Darren T for giving me my first Straight Razor, after doing a lot of thinking about it most of tonite i plucked up the courage to go and have ago at shaving.

my Girlfriend had images of me coming out of the bathroom looking like Freddy Cruger had gone at me with a case of the hickups but i took my time and worked slowly. and whilst i was not expecting perfection things came out rather well.

i decided to start with my cheeks and then finish with a normal razor, but after i got started i kept going :D and apart from a small area where i have a mole and i was not really confident that i wouldnt make it detachable i managed to-do my entire face.

one thing i noticed was that i got a lot of pulling and tugging from the razor, ive got quite a corse thick beard, but as it became shorter hair it cut a lot better and did not pull, i figure this will be technique and practice as with any skill its not an overnight thing. (i get the same sort of tugging from a mach 3 if i leave my beard grow enough so this maybe normal).

i finished up and to be fair it wasnt perfect but for the majority it was a good shave, one tiny nick which is nothing more than i might get from a normal razor when i shave.

I have a strop on order from invisible edge at the moment so i will proberbly be posting again soon on how to not stuff the blade up :D

im stunned why i did not do this years ago.

I think your last sentence it the one most of us have had...."Why didn't I do this years ago".

It sounds like your shave went well. Double check the angle of the blade and your cheek. This may be the cause of some of your tugging. If you're greater than 30 degrees you will be doing more scraping than cutting. It may help to lay the blade flat on your cheek, and look in the mirror as you lift the spine off your skin.

Sounds like your off and running though. Good Job,

Maxi

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Maxi

I think your last sentence it the one most of us have had...."Why didn't I do this years ago".

It sounds like your shave went well. Double check the angle of the blade and your cheek. This may be the cause of some of your tugging. If you're greater than 30 degrees you will be doing more scraping than cutting. It may help to lay the blade flat on your cheek, and look in the mirror as you lift the spine off your skin.

Sounds like your off and running though. Good Job,

Maxi

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for a first shave with something that sharp i was well impressed with how easy it went and how much confidence it gave me. its bugging me now that my beard is not growing fast enough for me to shave it haha. its just a waiting game now before my next shave.

as for my angles its something i will keep in mind for my next go, i did notice on certain areas the angle was to steep and it was scraping over. suppose that is going to come with practice and paying attention.

my next question really now is what about stropping should it be done before shaving or after how many passes etc? i read that you should'nt strop a shave ready razor out of the box is that by preference ??

any tips would be good.

...."Why didn't I do this years ago". Sigh!!! Better late than never. :) Congratulations, and have fun!!!