First Straight razor shave

Hello everyone, just received my first straight razor in the mail this morning purchased from SRD and it is a dovo stainless 5/8" in buffalo horn scales (not the big curved ones). The razor looks beautiful in it's simplicity which is what i like and has an extremely sharp edge which i presume was honed by lynn? If so, thanks Lynn!

The first shave: I am new to straight shaving but have been using a Merkur 33c with feather blades for a few years now so i'm not a complete noob to wet shaving, that said, i found my first straight shave quite difficult compared to a DE shave. I have been watching videos on youtube on how to use the razor and have read quite a few "how to" guides. I lathered up with Tabac and started on the right cheek as i am right handed. It felt a bit weird but i managed to shave my right cheek quite easily without any nicks and it was pretty close. now to the left side which felt very weird and i think my grip may have been wrong as i don't trust my left hand with the blade yet. Left cheek was slightly harder but still achieved a close shave there. Now i know many people recommend only shaving the cheeks the first time then finishing up with whatever your used to but i was determined to get a full WTG straight shave first time and earned myself a few minor nicks for my trouble, haha. needless to say the neck area needed a going over with the old DE to finish up.

All in all my first straight shave was about what i expected it to be and i figure i just need a fair bit more practice to get better as with anything. If anyone has any tips for me id be glad to hear them.

Thanks

First of all welcome to SRP!
Looks like you have good start, as you had mentioned you just need more practice, with every shave you will become more confident with razor in your hands especially in left hand!
Now you need to learn how to maintain the blade, do you have strop?

Great start! It takes time to become proficient, so just enjoy the journey.

Welcome to SRP..........Be patient...Getting to the point of BBS shaves is half the fun.........Enjoy !..........................:tu

I'm jealous. That was a fantastic first effort. Regardless of how long it takes to master the beast, it's worth it and a lot of fun!

Thanks for the replies and just to update on the aftermath of the first shave i did develop a bit of razor burn on the neck area so don't be too jealous haha. i think this is a result of applying too much pressure? Is it worth learning to use my left hand for the left side of my face or is it okay to use my right hand for the entirety of the shave?

Bonbon i purchased the razor in the razor and strop set and got the 3" latigo strop. I gave stropping a go today after watching a few demonstrations on youtube but im not sure if my technique is correct and i don't want to ruin the edge, is there a certain sound its meant to make to tell me if i am doing it correctly?

Congrats on your first shave. Always a gratifying experience, even when we bleed. My only advice would be to work through using two hands to shave. If you can leanre to shave with two hands, IMHO it is worth the effort.

Good Luck!!

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Originally Posted by issimonete

Bonbon i purchased the razor in the razor and strop set and got the 3" latigo strop. I gave stropping a go today after watching a few demonstrations on youtube but im not sure if my technique is correct and i don't want to ruin the edge, is there a certain sound its meant to make to tell me if i am doing it correctly?

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I can tell you nothing significant about sound, it vary with different strops or blades, as I know you have very good strop. All I can tell that you need to feel little drawing effect and don't lift spine while stropping and try to make as little pressure as you can. Maybe some more experienced members will correct me.

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Originally Posted by Bonbon

... try to make as little pressure as you can. Maybe some more experienced members will correct me.

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I'm not very experienced myself, but as I understand it, the pressure on the strop is not 'as little as you can' but gentle pressure. Using a hanging strop, I hold it fairly taut (ie it doesn't sag under its own weight, but my knuckles aren't white and cracks don't appear in the bathroom wall.) When stropping, I seem to deflect the strop down by half an inch or so at the spine of the razor. It makes a soft 'frrrp... frrrp' noise, if that's any help!

This seems to be working reasonably well - at least, I'm not making the razor duller by stropping, and it seems to be holding its edge from shave to shave. HTH.

There should be NO pressure applied to the razor during stropping, only the razor's natural weight on the strop. All your hand does is move the razor up and down the strop.

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Originally Posted by Matt69

I'm not very experienced myself, but as I understand it, the pressure on the strop is not 'as little as you can' but gentle pressure. Using a hanging strop, I hold it fairly taut (ie it doesn't sag under its own weight, but my knuckles aren't white and cracks don't appear in the bathroom wall.) When stropping, I seem to deflect the strop down by half an inch or so at the spine of the razor. It makes a soft 'frrrp... frrrp' noise, if that's any help!

This seems to be working reasonably well - at least, I'm not making the razor duller by stropping, and it seems to be holding its edge from shave to shave. HTH.

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I shall attempt to use left hand next shave and see how that goes, if i don't reply for a few days someone please send an ambulance around my place and hopefully ill have enough blood left to pull through!

as for stropping, i'm applying as little pressure as possible and trying to lead with the spine so that the edge is just trailing behind and sliding across the leather, this gives a slight sound like Matt is describing, i hope this sounds correct, please let me know if it's not.

I have also heard people say that you should not shave with the same blade in two days as it needs to rest, is this true?

Welcome. Soon you Will have a colletion of 100 razors and 20 hones for a unknown addictive reason :)

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Originally Posted by issimonete

I have also heard people say that you should not shave with the same blade in two days as it needs to rest, is this true?

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Theoretically-yes, but I think this is not a problem if you have one. For example I have few razor but I can use one week one razor, second other.

Stick with the both hand cheek approach. Great simple strokes to get both hands comfortable with the razor. Wait until the cheek stokes are not only good, but you feel comfortable handling the razor. Move onto the next basics until the new hand positions are comfortable as is the changing of positions.

As for resting, I have not heard any solid evidence that supports a need for it. You would need to either apply force are some really high temperatures to make a change during its rest.

I am at the 6 month mark and have one razor ... Been thinkin really hard about the dovo diamant, I think it will contrast nicely with my dovo prima. And a scuttle by next winter. Something about a warm face massage before going out in the cold seems like it will be nice.

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Originally Posted by LameBMX

Stick with the both hand cheek approach. Great simple strokes to get both hands comfortable with the razor. Wait until the cheek stokes are not only good, but you feel comfortable handling the razor. Move onto the next basics until the new hand positions are comfortable as is the changing of positions.

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4th shave under the belt and i can shave left cheek with left hand much better now and with no major nicks yet. So far i have managed to get the closest shave on the cheeks that i have ever had, but the neck area is giving me a fair bit of trouble. I think this is because the hair on my neck grows up from the neck for about 1.5cm then grows from right to left of my neck and then from the chin down, the hair grows normally, as in downwards. When i use a DE safety razor i am especially careful to follow the grain on my neck because otherwise i get bad ingrown hairs and razor bumps. I'm good at doing this with a DE but i feel like i'm carving my neck up with the straight trying to do this. Could someone please give me some advice on grip or how to shave this area?

Also, thanks for the welcomes and advice that has already been given, i am taking it all on board!

Hello and welcome,

About pressure during shaving--as long as your razor is as sharp as a razor should be, you don't need any more pressure to remove hairs than you need to scrape away the lather. Just aim to remove the lather and the hairs will follow. If you aim to remove the hairs, burn will follow.

At one point I put that advice into haiku form, but don't remember where and am not feeling so creative tonight.

The grain on my neck is all over the place, too. I generally do my first pass downwards, and start my shave at the collarline then work upwards. This means I always have dry skin to grip and stretch as I continue toward the jawline. If I'm feeling ambitious, I'll do a second neck pass going upwards.

Stretching is a big factor; make sure you're getting your skin taut. One person suggested doing a sort of chokehold at the base of your neck then lifting your chin for a good overall neck-skin tightening. I tried that, and it works, but for some reason it hasn't become a regular habit.

Good luck and congrats on your progress so far!

It is excellent that you are learning to shave with good theory.

I first learned to shave from my father long ago, who learned it from his father, etc., and I don't think any of them got a good lesson on how to shave properly, as it were. I was taught to use only my dominant hand to shave and I've shaved that way for a good long time.


As far as stropping is concerned, I use a leather stuck to a piece of hard wood. Back and forth motion with little or no pressure, and it is silent. I can get razors sharp as the dickens this way. There are many different ways to hone and strop, and I think the fun part is trying to find out what ways work for you and for which blade. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by roughkype

Stretching is a big factor; make sure you're getting your skin taut. One person suggested doing a sort of chokehold at the base of your neck then lifting your chin for a good overall neck-skin tightening.

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Thank you, this is great advice and helped me shave the neck area last night. Before when i shaved i did not pull the skin tight on my neck and i think this is why i was getting such irritation because the blade could not glide easily over the skin, now when i pulled the skin tight it was much better and the hairs came straight off!

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Originally Posted by issimonete

Thank you, this is great advice and helped me shave the neck area last night. Before when i shaved i did not pull the skin tight on my neck and i think this is why i was getting such irritation because the blade could not glide easily over the skin, now when i pulled the skin tight it was much better and the hairs came straight off!

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That is good news. I feel ya, my hair only grows right in the goatee area, and even that has something odd about it. right under the jawline is horrible for me. I have tried to pull my nose down to my adams apple, and tried to pull my adams apple up to my nose, but it just refuses to get super smooth. I must honestly say, outside of my couple months, I just get it to pass visual inspection and not much else.

I just had a nice little eye opener. My right hand has been doing most of the work. my left I have slacked on and only have done the left cheek area, sometimes I will leave the comfort zone a bit. Not often enough. So I injured my left thumb, it was a fight to do the left cheek with my right hand. Made me realize that even after I am better, it would be good practice to learn to do whole face with either hand. per my namesake, I never know what sort of injury i may receive on any given sunny day.

Like many others my hair grows in lots of wired and wonderful directions. When I first started I found it helped to split my face into different areas. For example upper and lower cheeks, top lip and bottom lip, chin, left, right and middle lower neck, left, right and middle jaw line. This helped me learn the correct angle of attack for each area until I could get a good WTG pass. Then I moved on to ATG pass again learning the correct angle for each area and finally the ATG pass. Just take your time and if it doesn't feel right stop and try it a different way and there is nothing wrong with finishing your shave off with a DE or what ever you used before your straight.

http://img.tapatalk.com/ae66e290-2f71-89e0.jpgCongratulations! I've been using a straight for a couple of years now. I remember that first shave and it was a scary experience. You did better than I. I discovered the hard way
That I can't rock out and shave at the same time without risking serious injury, it required total presence and awareness. Your off to a great start, a word of caution however. Beware the hone, it will come up soon, if it hasn't already, and it can be very costly(second mortgage)
No kidding, thousand dollar rocks. I had a tough time reigning
It in. I have Japanese Natural's as wallpaper. On my phone

Thanks for the support Vektor. I'm slowly getting used to straight shaving, especially the chin and neck areas which are hard to get a close shave on without irritation which i think is due to my technique but i'm getting better, especially with my left hand which is okay as long as i place the razor carefully as it doesn't seem to know where it is in space. when i'm looking in the mirror and moving the left hand to place the blade but it seems to have a mind of its own and does something different when watching it in the mirror if you know what i mean.

I was wondering about the honing and which stone to buy, apparently a norton 4000/8000 grit stone is a good beginner's hone? not sure if i would have the money for one of these japanese naturals right now though?

Slowly both hands will be second nature in the mirror.