Not quite there yet...

Well, today I made a nice (Rookie?) mistake.

I spent about an hour and a half honing a 19th Cent. Old English Silver Steel blade last night and had it to where it was popping leg hair a good 1/2" to 1" above the skin. I brought it upstairs stropped it on CRO2, linen, and leather. So I thought to myself, why not shave with it tomorrow morning. So I put it in my rotation for this morning, and went to sleep...

This morning I get up, go downstairs let the dogs out, feed the cat, grind and start the coffee, then go back upstairs to set up my shave equipment and take my shower. So I pull my brush off the stand and put it in the bowl and run the water 'til it's nice and steamy, filling the bowl with the brush in it, letting it soak up the hot water. Then I get into the shower, the Tom's Sage lathered up nicely today and I had a beautiful warm steamy 7 minute shower.

After my shower I dry everything but my face and go directly to the sink where I make a fantastic lather out of some L'occitane Soap and Some Queen Charlotte Vetiver Cream. It was a luxurious lather with all the silky glide and soft cushion that you could imagine. I massage it into my face with the badger brush and get ready for a wonderful shave.

I get the razor set and put it to my right cheek with my dominant(right hand). And what happens?

:gaah:

I must not have had the razor quite sharp enough as I was a little too high on my sideburn, it caught the hair and dug nicely into my skin right at the base of the sideburn. It's not terribly deep, long, or messy, but that is not what you want on a Tuesday morning with a freshly honed blade. Oh well, back to the old hone stone!

Ouch! Probably a bit late for this now, but JimmyHAD's old barber advice in this post is always good to pass along:

An old barber told me to hold the razor securely but lightly enough so that is if it pulls the razor will flex in your fingers and be less likely to nick. He also told me to never force it if it does pull.

Worked for me as well when I was still trying to figure out the nuances of using/sharpening different razors; caught a chin whisker ever-so-slightly during a shave and sure enough the flex gave me enough time to catch my breath and put the razor down. Had it been a few weeks prior I'm sure I would have had a nice little cut.

Whip that razor back into shaving form and give it another go!