Thread: 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 !..........................

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!!

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?

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.

Originally Posted by Bonbon

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

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.

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.