Thread: Razor-shy after cut . . .

No you do not need to be a beginner to make a mistake, my point was more as a beginner i make more mistakes that most of you so I see red a little more often. As well i do not have the history of 1000 good shaves to a 1 bad morning. If on day 3 i screw up 33% of my shaves are tarnished....

Sorry for confusion

I think it is perfectly normal to experience some apprehension after a good cut. It would be irrational not to be concerned about it. Like I've said before, nicks and cuts are signposts on the road to good straight shaving. Pay attention to what they are telling you, then press on. That's why the Good Lord made Styptic, eh?

Hi Charles,

I really believe the key is to relax. Confidence is a good thing, but other factors like being in a hurry, hangover's and over-confidence can cause distractions from the task at hand. Take a few deep breathes. You know you have the skill. Use as little pressure as possible and short strokes with longer clean up strokes. I know that even after all these years of straight razor shaving, I still have to pay extra attention in the chin area when using a larger razor as the angle wants to open up, so I try not to ever take the use of a straight razor lightly.

Another nice thing is to change your thoughts away from the nick or cut to the end result. That sticky smooth great feeling skin that you feel after you're done with the shave.

Next nick you get, try using triple anti-biotic ointment on it for a couple days. Works wonders.

Most of all, Have fun!!

Lynn

I almost lost my nerve too , back when I started , over 4 years ago . I gave myself 2 cuts (real cuts , that bled a lot) , one after the other . The first cut didn't get me too concerned , and I chalked it up to being a noob . When I cut myself again about 10 seconds later , I realized I might be doing something wrong . In my case I was using too much pressure , my blade angle was too steep , and I wasn't stretching my skin properly .

Just think of the pressure Lynn is under to avoid cuts. As the modern day patriarch of all things straight razor, his face serves as a symbol. Cuts and scars on him would reflect badly on our hobby.
Whenever I talk about straight razors to anyone, I'm paranoid about my little scars, most of which were caused by the psycho cat my sister in law dumped on us!

It's interesting, I was thinking about this just this morning. We think it would be great if we never made any mistakes. But if we didn't we wouldn't learn very fast. I've found mistakes are a real plus if -- and that's a big if -- if we learn from them. You now have the opportunity to grow and develop faster than before. Just take that attention lapse and apply it to your real life -- and your next shave! You'll benefit like you can't believe! Get back on that horse!

Bruce

I've also seen it recommended that guys not try the ATG pass until they feel more confident. That was tough for me because women nearly always shave their legs ATG. I find myself going a few degrees slightly more XTG than ATG. And I always try to be careful of the pressure. Even if the shave isn't quite as close as I would like it's still better than using an electric. I can live with that until I get better at shaving.

Lori

My personal view on all things I take an interest in is, I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED. I want to shave with a straight razor so I do. Cuts and potential cuts be darned.

Jim

OK -- I'm over my initial fear. My error was in taking too long a stroke down my neck, and not stretching the skin ahead of the razor, and not keeping track of the blade angle.

And I'll get some antibiotic ointment for next time.<g>

Time to try again . . .

This was the first time in a while I've thought:

. . . I see why Gillette was so successful!

Charles

PS -- Ironically, it was a Dovo from SRD that did the damage. Sharp little bugger!<g>

Good luck with the next shave Charles.

Hope all goes well.