Thread: First Shave and I'm still alive

Thought I'd post some notes about my first shave and solicit some feedback.
I purchased from SRD:
1. Dovo Bismark 6/8 bone
2. SRD Saddle wood soap and a SRD shaving bowl
3. 3" strop
4. Badger brush

The razor came professionally honed and shave ready. I wiped the oil off the blade after unpacking and did about a dozen nice and slow strops, taking my time to do it properly. Took a hot shower while I soaked the brush in hot water and then made up some lather in my bowl when I got out. I'm sure I could improve in the lather dept but whipped up something decent.
I expected the razor to ride smoothly down my face and my biggest fear was slicing myself. The complete opposite was the case. The razor was scraping my face, loudly. It kinda sounded like stropping. It was uncomfortable shaving as it just scrapped my beard and was painful. It felt like I was scraping off a layer of skin.
I lathered up small areas and practiced and I continued to get scraping at different blade angles and a good stretch.
At the end of the shave i didn't notice any removal of hair. I think I have a long road ahead of me. Is the scraping sound and feel normal? The razor was very 'jumpy' as it scraped and fought its way. I just want to make sure I have a good edge and sharp razor, and I know I have my work cut out to get a good shave.
I'll keep trying but I'm a little disappointed.

First shaves with a straight are tough because you don't know if your problems are the result of the edge or your technique. Both can be the case. I'd recommend to find a way to evaluate whether your blade is shave ready, perhaps sending it off to a honemeister for honing. All this takes time and practice. Good luck and be patient. It will eventually come together.

Surviving the first shave is crucial.
Making it to the second and later shaves is just as important.
Quitting is not an option.
Styptic pencil is your friend.
Blood is the speed limit sign on the highway to successful straight shaving.

Concentrate on the easier to shave places like down from the side burns first. Take shorter strokes also. If the blade angle is slightly tilted with toe leading wiskers come off easier. The jumping happened cause you got too gready and the skin was not tight in front of the blade. Don't worry about a real close shave, it wil come in time. Take your time and enjoy your time shaving. It will be worth it and then some if you take your time.

Thanks for the advice. I'm truly humbled that I can't shave my face.
I'm going to trust that the razor is shave ready as I have seen a lot of favorable feedback about the SRD pre-honing. I think someone from this forum helps with the honing?
I'm going to give this some time to learn, and hopefully report back progress.

FWIW --

The Dovo is probably sharp. However:

. . If you stropped it _badly_ before you used it, the edge may be dulled.

I test razors by running them along my arm, as though shaving arm hair, with the edge about 1/8" above the skin. If a razor chops hair that's standing in the air, I'll try shaving with it. This works _for me_, it may not work for you.

Razor angle is important. Too flat, the razor won't cut hair. Too steep (at right angles to the skin), it's very rough. At about 30 degrees off the skin, with very light pressure, you'll get a sound like "buttering toast", and the edge will cut off a layer of beard.

It takes time, time, time to get comfortable with the process, and find a ritual of beard prep, razor prep, and shaving technique, that works _for you_.

Charles

Don't get too frustrated, we have all been there and I am not just saying that. My first few shaves with a straight a few years ago were absolutely horrible! But time, patience and lots of practice paid off. I can shave just as easily with my straights as I can with my safety razors and get equally good shaves with both. Double check your stropping technique, as bad stropping can completely ruin an edge. If it came from SRD, it was honed properly. The person " helping" hone at SRD is Lynn, the man who started this website and is one of the most respected honemeisters out there. Keep at it and don't give up. Many months from now you should be enjoying wonderful, relaxing and impressive shaves with a cut throat razor!

Just a couple things -- even though you showered -- you need a good minute or two of soaking your beard directly with water, hot water is probably best when starting out. Rub it into your face, sort of massage your face with it, then make a nice wet, hot lather and massage that in with your brush.
I would have avoided stropping. When SRD says shave-ready, that's what they mean Now you have a dilemma, did you dull the blade or not? Probably not, but it's tough to be sure when you're starting out. Read the stropping Wiki, and make sure that blade will at least shave arm hairs easily before trying again.
Scraping noises? Sure. All razors sound a little different, some are really loud.
Last -- try to find someone in your area with experience, there's nothing like some hands-on advice and judgement. Put out the call for help in a forum post.
Relax.

Originally Posted by stimpy52

I would have avoided stropping.

My thoughts exactly. I'm going to make sure stropping didn't ruin the edge.

Thanks everyone for the good feedback. I'll report on shave #2 for those interested.

No one was born knowing how to handle a straight razor (except maybe Lynn) and only a relative few of us had the opportunity to see one handled by an old-fashioned expert. You'll end up happier with this if you take this whole process a bit at a time; specifically a bit of your face at a time, progressing when you feel comfortable with what you've done so far.

And....relax. If you're tense, unsure, and a bit jittery, it's going to be a long haul. Remember to breathe.

First off... WELCOME! I thanked you in your first post in this thread as it took guts to tell your story to the world and I know the "skipping" part. I have bought a few razors at a local antique store, and worked on them and with them. The first one I tried I called "Skippy", and had to pick another name since the others were about at jumpy as it was. LOL I bought a Dovo 6/8 from the Straight Razor Design and have visited with Lynn about shaving. He has honed over 30,000 razors in his experience, so what you have from SRD was well honed. His finding is that there are around 1 in every 9,000 razors that come from the factory that are really ready to shave with. Economics of the cost of man hours involved in honing and stropping the razor and testing just are out of the reach of any profits. "THEY" do it as a service to YOU more than trying to make a profit. If you think your sharp Dovo was hard to try to use, you would have a real interesting time with something not ready.

Look down the razors edge, holding it up, with some good overhead light. Can you see an edge? It will look very much like a tiny shiny spot along the blade where some of the blade simpy dissappears. You can't see a shave ready edge on a razor, but you can see the edge on one that is not ready. Look at this video to see what I mean.
YouTube - Straight Razor Sharp Tests