Thread: My first SR shave, what a bordello!

All of my products arrived yesterday, and after setting up my little shaving corner in the bathroom, I was ready for my virgin shave. I recently received an AOS sandalwood starter set, so i put a small drop of the oil into my shave bowl, a dime size drop of the cream into the bowl, and then lathered my brush with some ClassicShaving sandalwood. Hell, I figured for my first time, let me go the full monty.

After I whipped this beast into a nice lather that smelled better than any Edge, Colgate, Gillette can I've ever used, I applied it to my face and whipped out my new Feather razor.

My first reaction was, "wow, this isnt as bad as I thought... the blade is really flying through my beard!" I finished up my first pass, lathered up, rinsed off the blade, looked into the mirror and thought to myself "I dont remember using red shaving cream"

So my first shave was a little sloppy, but I really got an itch for perfecting a shave with the feather razor. It is so unbelievably sharp I believe that with practice I can get the shave I've been looking for.

I just want to thank everyone who has answered my (probably) silly questions about starting off in this great hobby and I hope to contribute much more in the future!

Steve Noto

Steve,

Watch the angle on that Feather. And be careful about using ANY pressure. My experience with the Feather is a bit limited, but enough to know that the Feather is not as forgiving as a regular straight razor.

RT

Steve, I admire you for your courage. I've been shaving with a straight for a while and only now I feel comfortable enough to contemplate giving it a try. The basic technique should be the same with one KEY difference: NO pressure with the AC! Give your face some rest and ease up on the blade next time. Good luck!

Steve,

As a fellow New Yorker I say bravo. Just be careful with the feathers they are scary sharp and very unforgiving..

Reading this for a second I thought you were getting a perfect shave without any cust your forst time into straights, from a Feather! And was thinking "dang, this guy's really good"

Then I saw the red lather

I haven't even tried a feather... anyway, wanted to wish you good luck

Cheers
Ivo

Congratulations on the first attempt Steve!

Hope you get a chance to let your face heal up a bit before your next flaying . You've received all of the advise you need already; I'd just reiterate, take it slow, NO PRESSURE with that feather, and remember that even after you get to the point where you're removing your beard while leaving your skin in place, it will still take your face a couple of weeks to adjust to the new shaving system.

Cheers,
Ed

Originally Posted by svnoto

I finished up my first pass, lathered up, rinsed off the blade, looked into the mirror and thought to myself "I dont remember using red shaving cream"

Well, you've got the right spirit that's for sure! Congrats on living through your first Feather shave. I never went the Feather route myself, but as you can tell from some of te replies, it sounds a little more challenging than the rtaditional straight.

Well done and welcome to the fraternity.

X

First I have to say I've never used a feather before and I only go from the stories I read here but my take on them is that they are more challenging than a straight. So, my question is why do people first use a feather and then gravitate to a straight. I realize the upkeep part is non existant with a feather but it seems to be more difficult to learn. Kind of like learning to drive with an 18 wheeler and then switching to a car.

Let me start by saying I'm a newbie and how impressed I've been with the knowledge and the willingness to share it that I've found on this forum. Many thanks to all of you guys.

So on to my story, I've probably done this all bass ackwards. I had two razors that belonged to my wife's grandfather that I had honed by Lynn. Once I got them back I tried them both with reasonable success. After one shave each I then stopped because I didn't have a strop to use (or a wide belt for that matter). As expected I needed a DE to touch up.

So while I was in the land of indecision about which strop to get I laid hands on a Feather AC to further explore whether I'd like this SR stuff. So I've been using the Feather with the Pro Guard blades (they've got like training wheels on them) for about a week now with only one nick on a pre-existing scar. The keys for me have been don't get in a hurry, watch the angle and have a light touch. On those days when I'm pressed for time I select my trusty Gillette Adjustable DE.

So now I've ordered a strop from Tony (2 actually) and am looking forward to going back to trying a traditional straight. Oh and I dropped one the straights in the sink so it has to go back to Lynn. I'll keep the Feather for travel.

In retrospect working with the Feather may have been the better way to go because I didn't have to concentrate on 2 new skills to learn--shaving with a straight and stropping.

I've certainly got a long ways to go, but I'm getting passable shaves with little damage or irritation.

Pat

I suspect the Feather blades were so named because of the touch to best shave with them.