Thread: My first straight shave

Thanks for the help everyone! I had some time last night so I followed mparker's advice and I'll shave tomorrow morning. Like Josh said, if it still pulls, I repeat the process until I get it smooth. I also went back over Lynn's video for technique tips and I'll be following one other tip he made.

Take it slowly, maybe just one section of my face at a time until I get used to it. I can do my neck and my sides fairly well so I'll do that and take just one swipe at my chin until I get that angle/motion down comfortably. Then I'll move to taking a 2nd swipe. Repeat until I can get the whole chin well. Then I'll work on the lip area. I'll be shaving for at least 40 more years, Lord willing, so there is no rush. If it takes my 6 months or a year to get a BBS shave, I've got the time.

I'm determined to make this learning process fun


BTW - I'm getting more comfortable with my stropping technique. I don't think I'm putting too much pressure on the strop and the spine seems to stay flat, as does the edge. It's no where near perfect but improvement is a good thing.

Originally Posted by jscott

3: stropping: good lord sonny, don't be raising that spine up off the strop or you will definitely be dulling (rounding) the edge.

I can attest to this fact.
And if you do this on a pasted strop, the edge disappears like butter on a hot plate. To quote these unforgettable words: 'it seemed like a good idea at the time'.

It took me only > 500 laps on the belgian blue and > 200 laps on the yellow coticule to restore it (nearly there... check out 'seeking advice on honing a dull razor if you want to know the details).

I could have done it with a lot less laps if I had used 1000 grit sandpaper for establishing the bevel, but I didn't have any lying around over the weekend.
And I could use the practise so I decided to be patient...