Thread: Cut of the Day

Don't waste your money on a Gold Dollar; get a starter blade from whippeddog.com--tell him what you're doing, and maybe he'll dull it back a bit for you. Won't cost much less than a piece of junk, and you'll end up with a piece of steel you can actually use as a razor later on.

If you trained in martial arts, you've probably got better than average muscle control and body awareness. Most of us didn't have that coming in, and we've survived. Like pixelfixed says, don't overthink it. Just keep your attention in the moment, show the blade some respect, and start slow. Sideburns to jawline first, and finish with whatever you shave with now. Increase the amount you shave with the straight as you get more comfortable with it. No need to switch technologies 100% on your first try.

Best wishes and happy shaving.

Originally Posted by johnmrson

No pics I'm afraid but inattention got me this morning. Wrong blade angle and wrong stroke angle and the 13/16 Klas Tornblum straight took a decent sized gash out of my moustache area. It took about an hour to stop bleeding all together. I must have looked a right dill sitting on the train this morning with a big piece of tissue stuck under my nose.
First time in quite a while I've cut myself but even though I'd consider myself quite an experienced straight shaver, it still happens.

I've been shaving with a straight for a year or so. Mostly there are no issues with cuts. The same couldn't be said with cartridges - I shaved with them for 20+ years and still cut myself nearly every time.
Every now and again, I'll nick myself with a straight. The culprits are usually the same. Either not paying attention and mess up my angle for a brief moment, rub a pimple or some such blemish, and recently every time I run a razor over CrOx I'm guaranteed to have a nick. Weird how that is not the case when I skip the CrOx and even have an edge that is more keen from a variety of progessions (mostly naturals).
Point is - it happens. It would happen with the carts, it happens with DEs + SEs and it will happen with straights. After all you are scraping your face with a dang sharp object.
And as johnmrson pointed out, it happens to even the most experienced of us.
Relax and enjoy trying a variety of tools to get the job done. I guarantee that you will not scrape your face off (unless that is your intention).

Originally Posted by Machete

My current plan goes something like this - gonna buy a fairly cheap one, maybe a 'gold dollar' or something, grind the edge butter-knife blunt, then practise a bit.

My primary concern is things such as slicing off the end of my nose, slicing an eyeball, that kind of thing... If I can get through a few dozen practise shaves without any incidents I'll sharpen it back up enough to be scary, not enough to shave, just like a sharp knife, then repeat. If still good then I have my eye on the Boker bone-scaled King Cutter (Edelweiss or whatever it's called).

I dont think that's a good idea, I only ever cut myself with dull razors. If its properly sharp you don't have to worry about it catching and skipping... you just guide it around your face carefully and the hair comes off. I'd buy a cheap known good shave ready blade straight up and skip the disappointment of having a dull razor.

Read the first shave post in the beginners section and be careful

Just so you know, I'm a UK ex-pat living on the island of Borneo. You'd think it would be easy to find retro stuff, cut-throats and all that here. Nope.

We're behind the marketing curve but only by a few years, so Mach3 is the premium still, no Quattros or Fusion just yet.

Well as part of my adventures in retro shaving, finally managed to snaffle an old-fashioned ra... a safety DE razor.

Allegedly made in France (that'd be the Chinese section?) it screws together with a blade between. I also bought a long-handled sleek-looking black thing of the same sort of design but that turned out to be horrid lightweight plastic. Urgh.

I'd already hunted down a pack of Gillette blades, so stuck one in there, lathered up with my faux badger brush and maca root stuff from Bodyshop...

Just the weight of the razor, go with the grain..

Results:

1 tiny nick on my head, bled for a bit, nothing much but left a little scab.

3 nicks while trying to work around my rather sharp, sticky-out Adam's apple.

Mild razor burn on left side of neck

Mostly baby-butt smooth, apart from areas missed.

The above from one WTG, followed by an ATG pass, same as I do with my Gillette Mach3

None of that is especially horrific, though even now, a few hours later, my cheeks feel a tad tender or sensitive. What is more striking though is that I can do the same shave in the same or less time with a M3 - and without ANY nicks, burn or missed bits anywhere. I don't think there's any doubt that the modern cartridge systems are safer.

With the DE I was acutely aware of cutting hairs off my face, whereas with the M3 it's more like rubbing them off. Nor can I say it left my skin feeling less sensitive or tender, because this one shave reminded me what "shaving burn" means, a term I'd learnt to dismiss or forget. I don't get that "burn" thing, that's something that happens to other people - until today.

Mmmm.

I was also reminded that to do around my ears I take my glasses off, not a problem with an M3, but meant leaning up close and peering intently with a DE...

Question - is it better to ding a straight blade against ones glasses or to cut one's ear? I suspect you guys would rather cut your ears

A "double edged safety razor", albeit a cheap thing from China costing about 1 UKP, should at least hold the blade more or less at the right angle, and being new from the packet should be at least as sharp as anything I'm likely to get from DIY honing/stropping. As such I take this as a (possibly safer) representation of my first few weeks of learning to hold an open blade at the right angle.

There's not much water pressure in that particular tap and it still clogs up, which was a disappointment.

My impression is that a straight razor is probably a great tool for a barber, though I'm not so convinced about shaving yourself with a mirror. I've also realized I "need" a brighter lightbulb in my study bathroom...

Those are the negatives.

The positives:

It may have been a ridiculously cheap DE but I loved the rubbery grip and hefty weight of the thing. I'm even keener now on the adjustable Murkur.

The feeling of cutting, rather than rubbing hair off, was unsettling and yet strangely satisfying. I truly enjoyed both the raspy cutting sound and the silence of the second stroke.

I've decided Bodyshop's 'Maca root shaving cream' isn't that great. Eco-friendly and kind to dolphins perhaps but I suspect others are better. That's a positive, as I'm still hopeful, and yes I'll be ordering from abroad somewhere. I also suspect a real badger hair brush would improve the experience.

The biggest takeaway positive though was the feeling of having literally shaved.

I shaved with danger, a close-shave, all that. A feeling of being acutely aware that I'd just waved a literally razor-sharp blade across my head and face, a tenderized, zesty, alive feeling that's hard to describe. I can see it being addictive.

I've decided to take the plunge, I'm gonna get the Boker.

And the best shaving cream I can find!

Probably won't use it every day, probably stick the the M3 for my head for a few weeks or months but I DO appreciate the pleasures of a fine instrument, a keen blade and indeed the hobbyist aspect.

Hooked? No, more like nicked.. Fact is, my first ham-fisted attempt didn't go too badly, and where it went well it went great. If I CAN get to the stage of brushing up some later, a quick strop and then rasping off last night's whiskers, without blood or drama, I'll be a happy camper.

I still think you're all crazy though

What a terrible night I had yesterday! I was doing a clean up and polish on a vintage razor after a long day at the office, my hand slid out abruptly as I was cleaning the insides of the scales with a q-tip and I ended up getting my thumb and index sliced. The index got the deeper cut.

The bleeding wouldn't stop, so I went to the ER. At triage, the nurse cleans it up and tells me I will need stitches. I get bandaged up, wait 3 more hours to see a second nurse, who cleans it up again, and then another 4 hours to see a Doctor.

The Dr. tells me, ahh it's a minor cut that should close well on its own and that I wont need stitches. The nurse puts some polysporin a bandage and I am off home. I was happy to hear that I wouldn't need stitches, but I just wish I could have been told that before spending the entire night in an ER waiting room.

Well here it is, First Blood, and I hope the last! I have learned a valuable lesson or two, and surely it could have been much worse.

Originally Posted by Badgister

What a terrible night I had yesterday! I was doing a clean up and polish on a vintage razor after a long day at the office, my hand slid out abruptly as I was cleaning the insides of the scales with a q-tip and I ended up getting my thumb and index sliced. The index got the deeper cut.

Holy sh.... and then luck again.

I am not too afraid of cutting while shaving. It can happen, but my attention is with the razor.

However, concentrating on another part of the razor and accidentally touching the blade or reflex like trying to catch a falling razor is what I am very afraid of.

Another fear is that others cut themselves with one of my razors. I normally don't have kids in the house, so no special precaution is necessary. But lately I have been overnight guest at friends who have kids. After the 11year old had seen me shave, I told him: "I tell and show You everything You want to know, but please please please do not touch it". A straight razor is very tempting for an 11 year old boy. ... ended up hiding it in the car.

Badgister, wow, sorry for your cut. Yep, it doesn't need to be shaving-sharp to do some damage.

I suspect that ER visits are kind of like a lottery. When I broke a leg I didn't end up with any hardware because I happened to get an ER doc who wasn't that into plates and pins and such. Another orthopedist told me he'd probably have pinned it... but it's just as well I got the first one because it's 15 years later and it all healed up fine.

Yeah, in your place I definitely would want those hours of my life back. Better places to cool your heels than an ER. Hope it mends well for you. Looks like you might have to adjust your grip for a while.

Best wishes to you!

Thanks guys. It was actually shave ready when the damage occurred, I wasn't even sure I was actually cut, until the few seconds after the blood started gushing.

I shaved upon arriving from the ER in the morning with the same razor that sliced me. My way of showing it who's boss.
Despite the awkward hold I had on the razor, it was an excellent one pass shave.

There ya go! Ding it on the tap if it's still acting uppity.

Youch.

Right in the most sensitive part of the finger too... Sorry for you dude.