Thread: 1st attempt

Hey SRP,

I received my new Dovo "Silver Steel" razor today and gave straight shaving my first attempt. As to be expected, I struggled lol. I only did one cheek and some of the neck WTG and switched over to my Fat Boy for the rest. There was about three or four nicks but nothing too bad thankfully. I did look at a lot of the wiki beforehand and found it very helpful. I'm pretty sure my angle was less than 30 degrees though - I kept feeling it pull.

My face is very angular so I was having trouble near any part of the jaw line and to the side of my adams apple. When I look at many of the straight shaving videos, all the guys seem to have less angular faces which seems like it would be easier to deal with since there aren't as many sharp curves to shave around. Do you guys have any tips in dealing with this? Also, is it okay to rinse the razor with decently warm water? When I was drying the blade, I noticed some darker spots that don't seem to come off so I'm wondering if I already messed it up? Maybe because the water was too warm? Very noobish I know.

Any help appreciated.

Best,

VonDerBerg

p.s.
Sorry if the pics are fuzzy - I was eager to start shaving lol.

If you lay the razor flat against the skin and raise the angle just high enough to shave, you will automatically get the proper angle. If the angle is to low, the only thing that will happen is it won't shave but it can't hurt, literally. Keep point slightly leading to reduce pulling. Have fun and it sounds like you are starting the right way.

Warm water is fine and it is good to oil blade after each use. Make sure blade is dry and edge stropped before oiling after each shave.

It doesn't sound like a bad start.
With regards to shaving your jaw line, pull the skin upwards with your free hand as you're shaving the sides. When you let the skin go, you will see that the shaved part falls below the jaw line. Like wise on your adams apple, pull the skin to the side.

Kingfish, I'm definitely going to try laying the razor flat and raising it to the right angle next time. Maybe my angle was past 30 degrees? I'm not sure exactly what causes the pull.

Easyace, yeah I was trying to stretch the skin properly but it being my first attempt with a straight, everything was a little awkward lol. I don't think I was stretching enough so I'll have to focus on that.

Thanks for the help guys.

The general rule is 1-2 spine widths from your face, which will be approx 30 degrees. Just don't too hung up on the 30 degree "rule", which is really more of a guidline. You have to find the optimal angle for your own face.

You've made a fine start, probably better by far than most.

Sounds just about right my friend. I don't think my first attempt was much better either. It's been quite the learning curve, so don't give up, it gets easier. Practice makes perfect really applies to str8's.

Good luck mate!

M

those dark spots on the razor are a serious problem. They are known here on SRP as a blotchoethosis and have been known to cause excessive facial bleeding, stomach cramps and erectile dysfunction. The only thing to do is send it to me for "quarantine" to make sure that it doesn't infect any of your other shave gear. I normally charge for this service but since you are new here I'll cut you a break. PM for the address.

I know how you feel man, I have the same type of face. I'm pretty new to this too. I'm only about two months into it, and it's getting better with every shave. Things will just click, and you'll be shaving like a pro in no time.

volleykinginnc - HA! I think I'll chance this blotchoethosis you speak of but I appreciate your offer to rid me of such a devastating illness, very brave of you sir

JeffC79 - Would you consider yourself fairly proficient after two months?

mjhammer - Thanks! Tomorrow will be my second stab at it so I hope to see at least a little improvement since I've learned some things from the first time.

ace - Why thank you sir! I'm surely glad I didn't have a horribly bad start considering a horribly bad start with a straight would probably land me in the hospital O_O

Ryan82 - Yeah I think I'll get closer to the right angle on the next shave - at least for the cheek area. All the angular parts are going to take me a while to find the right angle and keep the angle on the curves.