First Straight Shave: Success!

Today I received my first straight razor in the mail, a C-Mon Hollow that I bought in the classifieds. It's simple, gorgeous, and affordable, and of course the most important thing, shave ready.

I first took a hot shower and scrubbed my face really well.

Next, I used baby oil as a preshave treatment, which I have found to work extremely well with my old razor. I figured I'd give it a try and massaged it in.

I went on the cheap end of things with the soap and brush, using the Van der Hagen soap, boar brush, and bowl kit. Again, starting at the very lowest to work my way up.

The lather I'm still a little unsure about, but I got it going before I stropped. I'll ask more about this later.

Stropping actually seemed pretty simple, and I did about 30 passes before I put the lather on my face and began to shave. The stropping was pretty slow, but I was holding the razor like it was a lightsaber before I started, almost terrified.

I worked a good lather onto my face and began with my dominant side right at the top of my sideburn. I gained more confidence as I shaved down to my jawline and then over towards my cheek and nose area. I even attempted a bit of the mustache.

I then switched hands and did the same pattern on my left side. Things went smoothly there as well. I'm happy to report that there are currently no nicks or cuts on my face to speak of, simply BBS skin. It was a truly awesome experience, especially since I had to apply virtually no pressure to my face other than what the weight of the blade provided.

After shaving I put on some Gillette Fusion ProSeries aftershave, which is a gel and also has a slight SPF in it. It was a nice aftershave that didn't leave me feeling oily.

One of my main questions regards the timing of stropping, working up a lather, and applying it to ones face. Which do you do first? Is it simply a matter of preference or is one more important to take care of first?

Also, any of the process is open for criticism, it's greatly appreciated. I look forward to many more fantastic shaves!

First off welcome to SRP and congratulations on your first shave.

As to your question about lather and stropping. I personally strop after I rub my pre-shave into my beard and do 20-30 laps on homemade denim strop and 40-50 on my leather, also a diy. Then after that i whip up my lather and go to town on the beard.

That's just my routine but it's what ever works for you. Once again congratulations on your first shave.

Happy shaving.

William

Welcome and congrats on your first shave! For me I strop before I get in the shower, soak my brush while in the shower, then lather and shave..but thats me :) You'll just need to figure out a system that works for you, there's really no stead fast way of doing it. Enjoy!

Sounds like you had a very good first experience. Keep at it and you will achieve shaving Nirvana!

Welcome and congrats on a great first shave! I usually soak my brush in hot water in my shave bowl while I shower. Then I get a lather on my beard before I strop. When I'm done stropping I rub the first lather in with my hands to work it in. I reapply lather wash and thoroughly dry my hands and then have at it with. I think its a variation on a cold water shave prep in a barber manual for 1905 that was posted here...it usually leads to a warm lather the first pass and cool to cold lather thereafter. I like it and it treats my somewhat sensitive skin just right.
Another tip from one new guy to another...now that you've had a great first shave you have to be prepared for a setback or two somewhere along the line. Like learning any new skill this will come in fits and starts. So don't be discouraged if/when a mediocre shave or a weeper rears its head, just keep plugging away and lean on the community here if you need to, lots of extremely knowledgeable folks and guys going through the process together are here and everyone is usually willing to lend a hand or give advice.
Now that I've babbled on for an hour...welcome again.

Many Happy Shaves!

Congrats on your success!

To answer your question, I lather right on my face so I'll strop the blade first, and then work the lather into my beard.

Thanks for all the advice gents!
I'm really unsure as to the quality of my lather. Sometimes I feel like it's thick and rich. Other times it has looked more like milk I spilled on my face. I've been using very little water to get the lather going since it seems that if there was too much the lather would simply get really watery and useless as far as protection goes on the shave. Thoughts?

As far as preparing for setbacks... I'm good and ready for the first nick or cut. It comes with the territory, but I know it's well worth the price. Plus, it gives me a chance to tell my friends "I cut myself using a straight razor". There's just something about that. (In a non-arrogant way, of course)

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Originally Posted by con16721

I'm good and ready for the first nick or cut. It comes with the territory, but I know it's well worth the price. Plus, it gives me a chance to tell my friends "I cut myself using a straight razor". There's just something about that. (In a non-arrogant way, of course)

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That's a good attitude! As for as the lather, I'm not too familiar with VDH soap but I have found that generally when I get a thin lather it's because I'm not using just the tips of my brush (pushing the brush into the bowl) or because I've got too little water (I know it seems backwards). I don't know enough to diagnose it without seeing the lather but I do know that the article on the wiki is fantastic! Check it out:deal:
Making basic soap lather - Straight Razor Place Wiki

Wow. Let's just say I completely missed that wiki before. I've been doing the lather all wrong!

Happy to be of service!

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Originally Posted by Catrentshaving

Welcome and congrats on your first shave! For me I strop before I get in the shower, soak my brush while in the shower, then lather and shave..but thats me :) You'll just need to figure out a system that works for you, there's really no stead fast way of doing it. Enjoy!

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This is precisely how I do it and have since I first started wet shaving 3 years or so ago. IMHO, VDH Deluxe performs well over its price range and is a permanent member of my soap rotation. There are plenty of fancier, more expensive soaps out there but (again, IMHO) few that perform as consistently well as VDH Deluxe. Your lather will improve with time and practice so don't sweat that. VDH brushes are another underrated piece of shaving kit. They sometimes have quality issues or tend to shed but generally they too are a relable piece of affordable and locally available gear. I too reach for my VDH boar brush often, in fact it's probably the most used brush in my fleet. Glad to hear your first shave was a beauty! Welcome to the dark side!

Since you did so good out of the blocks, come on down to Cape and I'll teach you how to hone. You can also mess with a bunch of strops, AS and soaps........:rock:

Have fun,

Lynn

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Originally Posted by con16721

Plus, it gives me a chance to tell my friends "I cut myself using a straight razor". There's just something about that. (In a non-arrogant way, of course)

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Straight shavers are the only ones that are allowed to cut themselves. We can be proud of that cut. Just try saying, "I cut myself with my Mach 5000." Guys would come up with some great lies for that one. Not us. We can proudly tell the truth.

I usually soak the brush while in the shower. Then I lather (face lather) and rub it in, strop, lather again and shave. Today I tried using what was left in the brush to wash my face when I was done shaving. There was a thread I read about that the other day. I really liked it. I may add that to the routine. Of course, I am still only a few months into this and enjoy trying different things so this is all subject to change.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lynn

Since you did so good out of the blocks, come on down to Cape and I'll teach you how to hone. You can also mess with a bunch of strops, AS and soaps........:rock:

Have fun,

Lynn

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That is what Id call an offer you can't refuse.:D

Yes indeed, I'm honored to have had that offer thrown my way! If I can grab a spare weekend sometime during baseball season, I'd love to see what it's all about. The college season is pretty demanding though, but if I'm in the area I'll definitely let you know.
Honestly the whole concept of honing terrifies me at this point. I'm sure I'll begin to dabble at some point and eventually learn how to be competent. Is it really as daunting as it seems?

I think the thing I love most about straight shaving is the fact that there is so much up for interpretation. While certain things are pretty concrete guidelines, there's so much room for flair and personal interpretation of techniques. I don't think many people realize how close a shave can be until they at least dabble in some different shaving creams and then possibly a straight. Now there's no going back though!

One more thought: Until I saw the wiki on how to build lather, I had no idea. I'm embarrassed to even put into writing what I thought building a lather was. The crazy thing is though, despite how far off I was, literally swirling the soap around in the dish and trying to work up a lather ON THE SOAP ITSELF, with only a tiny bit of water, I was still getting better shaves than the canned goo I was using before. Noticeably better. Just a fun thought. Don't laugh too hard at that one.

Also, thank you guys so much for all the advice and friendly demeanors. It really means a lot and needless to say I would be totally lost without it.

I've now shaved twice since I originally started this thread. On my second straight razor shave, I lost focus for a second, looked to my left, and just barely touched my face with the blade. I could hardly feel that I was cut, and the only reason I realized it was there is because my lady walked in and let out a huge gasp. It has since cleared up and didn't scar at all, but it sure let me know that I've got to pay attention 100% of the time while shaving with such a weapon!

Things definitely have improved from the first shave... but have also gotten a bit more complicated. I shaved part of my neck on the second shave, but then on the third I decided to be a bit more daring. I shaved my chin without a hitch, but then my neck presented some problems. Just below my jawline, especially on my offhand side, I have a really hard time getting a good angle on my shave. It's part fear, part confusion.

Is this one aspect of shaving that just comes with some practice? Is there a certain angle or grip that makes this area more easy to access? Any tips would be appreciated!

Welcome and congrats! Here is my routine.

soak brush and shave towel in hot water.
Jump in shower, apply pre shave cream.
Out of shower.
Rub palm of hand on strop for 50 laps (thanks Lynn)
Strop, 30 on felt, 50 on leather
Apply hot towel, dunk and apply 2 more times
Lather up and shave.
When done shaving strop 40 laps on leather
Feel the burn.

Have fun.

Looks like you're off to a great start! You will get far fewer (if any) weeper cuts than with DE's etc. You applied the correct pressure(none) with the blade.As for when to lather or strop, It's up to you but if you lather up before stropping, the lather has time to work on the beard.
Oh and welcome to the great world of real shaves!:beer1:

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Originally Posted by con16721

Just below my jawline, especially on my offhand side, I have a really hard time getting a good angle on my shave. It's part fear, part confusion.

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First off, congrats on the improvement. I too cut myself more on the second shave. Lack of focus was the culprit for me too.

My jawline is troublesome for me as well. It did get better as I learned more and more about angle and pressure, but it's still an issue today. One thing that helped me was learning to strethch the skin at the jaw line either up above the bone, or down below it. This made it so that the skin I was shaving was never actually on the bone and seemed to help a lot.

Unlike a lot of hobbies, you can only practice this one once a day when you are learning and that means the learning curve is long and low. But you can practice stretching and "shaving" with your finger. Of course, your finger will move in ways that a blade cannot, but you will learn a lot about the growth pattern of your whisker and how to stretch so that you can work in the right direction. You will probably have to learn a different shaving "pattern" than you have used with a cartridge or even DE razor.

Good luck!

--David

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Originally Posted by raneyday

...Unlike a lot of hobbies, you can only practice this one once a day when you are learning and that means the learning curve is long and low....
--David

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I have used a cheap razor, dulled the edge and shaved several times a day to get the angle, feel of the razor in my hand, try out techniques and simply experiment, without worry of getting razor burn or nicks. One thing about this practice shaving was it led me to really find out the lay of the whiskers on my face. As an example, under my chin near my ears the whiskers point up, so I needed to do a stroke upward there as the first stroke, as opposed to going down. Along my chin the lay is toward my ears and my chin is simply straight out. Each person is a little different, of course.

The practice razor gave me more confidence and in my last 3 shaves I have not nicked myself nor gotten razor burn AND this Tues night it was with a mighty peculiar razor that I honed from compete dull (won't cut your hand, ever) to sharp enough to shave with. I really enjoyed the "practice" razor. And, I have heard from others that knew barber schools that taught the students with dulled down razors to get the technique down. All I can say, is for me, it worked!

I shaved again a few days ago and I tried stretching the skin more around the jawline. I can actually stretch my skin enough to get it above my jaw just a little bit, and in pulling the skin the whiskers seem to stand straight up to be lopped off. That helped a ton.
I'm really interested in the practice razor idea, it seems practical. I'll have to see what I can do!
Thanks guys!

Nice job on your shaving and I used a practice razor for a while also. The only thing about that is make sure that you still try and use no pressure because when I was practicing with a dull razor I kind of got the bad habit of using alot of pressure and that carried over to my shaving with a sharp one and I got alot of burn at first. Im learning that no pressure is really no pressure. Good luck, happy shaving
Glenn