Thread: first complete straight shave

I did it today. I finally got through my first completely straight razor only shave. It was the first time I used my new Dovo Black Star from SRD. Thanks for the great, sharp edge, SRD. There was no touching up with the Mach 3 and I had a presentable face. I was able to get through my whole face today because I tried something different and took a long time to do it. Today I tried playing with different angles after a WTG pass, I tried what I thought would be a small enough angle for XTG. Next I tried an angle that was a lot smaller and the blade started slicing through hairs instead of feeling like it was pulling them. Like I said, I had a presentable shave. My only complaints about the shave were that I got a little too aggressive with the neck and got razor burned again, and I still can't seem to keep from nicking my neck a lot during my shave. I guess I need to pay attention to what the blade is doing, the devil is in the detail. Next experiment is going to be with different ways to hold the razor. I keep blocking my vision while I am trying to shave certain areas. Thanks for reading, and if you have any more tips to prevent razor burn and neck nicks, please feel free to continue to pass them to me. Thanks again.

Great post! And well done.

I am new also with four straight shaves under the belt. I too struggle with
blocking vision from the mirror and continue to adjust the grip on the straight.

With regards to razor burn.. I have always struggled even before straight shaving. Look into Bluebeards revenge post shave balm.

I just commented on another post in relation to this product. The way it helps sooth (post initial sting) and reduces the redness is awesome.

Well done mate and good luck

Baldie

Congratulations on your success! To limit razor burn in the neck area make sure you are using as little pressure as you can get away with and stretching the skin in that area. Because the skin area has no supporting bone structures, it is easy to compress it more with the razor than you need to.

Congrats Straightshot,

Blade angle and hold need practice and patience. You need to pay attention and concentrate when shaving with a Str8 razor. Beard prep, skin strecthing all help.

A threshold moment for me regarding blade angle was when I started paying more attention to where the "spine" of the razor was at all times. We know the edge is sharp and tend to focus only on the edge. Instead try focusing on spine placement and this may help with calculating and adjusting angle as shave, WTG, XTG and ATG. Hope this helps
Mike

Congrats on the shave. They will get closer and more comfortable as you acquire experience.

Congrats! I've only had a handful of complete shaves myself with a straight, although I haven't been able to get ATG to work at all. Try using a really light tough on your neck if you find you keep cutting yourself. Also, really watch the angle on the blade. I've found you can really open the angle up on the neck and chin by accident

I would say be very careful not to use any pressure at all on your neck, it sounds like you may be using some and not realizing it. Also don't worry about ATG stroke, you don't need it with enough practice. Use a slicing motion and hold the razor so the toe end is lower than the hell end and slice while stroking WTG and XTG on your passes.

Make sure you are stretching BIG time.

Congrats and good luck for continued improvement!