Thread: First One Pass Shave!!!!

Well gentlemen, I finally did it........last night I was able to have a presentable one pass shave. I'm about, oh 15 or 20 shaves into this adventure, but a change in technique and good razor and beard prep made it possible.

The soap: Provence de Sante
The brush: Omega 10049
The razor: generic extra hollow ground PIFed to me by a member on B&B.

I started with a nice hot shower, then lathered and two minutes with hot towel on my face. Then lathered again and started with ATG this time instead of my usual N-S, S-N, out-in routine. Starting with ATG made all the difference in the world, I think. I rarely do a hot towel, and can't really tell the difference in my beard when I do it, but yesterday was stressful and I needed it! I think the difference in technique really made the biggest difference. I also stropped 20 times on balsa with CrOx and 20 times on balsa with FeOx then 50 times on my poor man, which helped bring the razor back a little. The before and after arm hair tests were very telling. Before, it would barely pop arm hair. After, all my arm hair is half it's length. Oh, but it won't pass the HHT test. I think I'm going to order some hones from Larry so I can get it to pass the HHT.

I also included the diagonal stroke across my throat, which resulted in a couple of nicks due to learning a new technique, but a very nice shave as well.

All in all, I was able to get an "out the door" "business meeting quality" shave in one pass. It wasn't a "date night" level shave, but I'm not kissing anyone from the office either! So stick with it any fellow newbies. It can be done!

Well done, I started out taking forever for a shave, never considering that a decent shave could be had w/ a single pass - which is now my norm. When I have time, I do more, but by doing a single pass, it made me focus more and the single pass became a very good shave, indeed. I also noticed that annoying facial bumps disappeared when I went to the single pass.

I also love Provence Sante. 'Best soap I've tried - thanks to Obie's fine tasted in suds.

'Glad you're enjoying. Keep it up.

Btw, just so everyone knows, I threw that reference to the HHT in there for fun. Just seeing if y'all are paying attention!

Bravo! Charming read, made me want to go have a shave!

Originally Posted by medicevans

Btw, just so everyone knows, I threw that reference to the HHT in there for fun. Just seeing if y'all are paying attention!

It caught my eye and I thought, "there we go again, HHT rules the roost." Then I read on and chuckled. You got me.

Hahaha! Gotcha! I put that there to jab some fun at a those who would take themselves too seriously. Life is fun, let's keep it that way.

On a serious note, I really might order the half hone set from Larry. I'm not sure that eventually I might want a full size set though.

Skip the hot towel if you're showering before the shave. First thing in the shower, soap on the beard. If you're not getting the lather/bubbly from the soap you're most likely not removing all of your skin oil. The second soaping should do the trick. Now for the rest of your shower the water will penetrate your hairs and skin, softening them.

One pass shaving can include several angles on the difficult parts, just retouch with the brush if it doesn't feel lubricated enough.

I guess that verifies what I was doing then. I rarely (read never) do the hot towel other than the first couple of times I straight shaved. I just didn't notice that it did anything other than make more laundry. I always soap my face/beard first so it softens as much as possible before I start shaving. Yesterday was just a hard day and I wanted to take a couple minutes to relax. A hot towel is good for that.

Congratulations on a one-pass shave. I just finished my 200th+ shave with a straight and one of my minor frustrations is that more and more I can get at least a DFS and often a BBS shave with two passes. With the right prep, cream, and razor, a good first pass leaves little to be removed by a second pass, My frustration: I love shaving everyday but if I do a BBS shave, I probably only need to shave every two days. I guess it is a nice problem to have. At this point, I am going to maintain my everyday shave, irregardless.

I love the calming meditative experience of shaving with a straight every morning and it is one of the most rewarding and enjoyable activities I have ever experienced. I only wish I had discovered it a long time ago.

Congrats on your progress.

I've got an extra-hollow (nearly singing) razor that does in one ATG pass what all my other blades need two to match. And yet, and yet... I don't really like the extra hollow. Like DLB, I'd have to skip a day if I shaved that close. And who wants to do that??

One of your hones should be a Naniwa12k. Eventually, at least.