Thread: Most recent attempt

Having just gotten my razor back from Lynn I tried again tonight with the best success yet.

I was able to get the with the grain pass and cross grain pass with no difficulty. I nicked myself with the against the grain pass right at the jawline but it wasn't too bad and it is the only one (still have to learn the best angle and to lighten up on the pressure).

I haven't been willing to try an against the grain on my upper lip yet so until I get comfortable holding the razor and get a better feel for just the right cutting angle for my face, I'm going to leave it at the with/cross grain passes on the sides of face and the with/against passes on the neck. I'll leave the ATG passes on the chin and upper lip for a while.

Razor burn was minimal and limited only to my neck which means I must have done more scraping than shaving (a pressure issue again, I presume).

I'm just going to take some of the tricker spots slowly until I get used to the angles, pressure, skin stretching and handle positions. I'm certainly learning more about my face now than I have in the past 36 years.

Originally Posted by steve

I haven't been willing to try an against the grain on my upper lip yet so until I get comfortable holding the razor and get a better feel for just the right cutting angle for my face, I'm going to leave it at the with/cross grain passes on the sides of face and the with/against passes on the neck. I'll leave the ATG passes on the chin and upper lip for a while.

Sounds like a pretty good attempt. The first shaves are always tricky, it's just such a foreign skill compared to a cartridge razor or DE. Generally as long as you escape without major injury it's a good shave. Worry about BBS once you can shave without injury.

Everybody's face is different, but you may find out that you don't actually need an against-the-grain pass everywhere. I don't need one on my upper lip at all, I just do a cross-grain pass from the sides in to the middle and that's all I need for BBS in that area. Figuring out exactly what each part of your face needs is a large chunk of the learning process.

Against the grain on the upper lip is a trick. The best advice is only to do the areas on ether side of your nose, as Charlie Chaplin would have, and to shave up at an angle outward clear of your nose. As for that bid right under the nose, read this for my suggestion. Mostly I'd say don't think about trying it for a while at least. Wait until you're ready.

X

If you go through the barbers manuals you learn to true shaving direction orientation for each piece of the face. Going against the grain on the upper lip is a good way to end up with a variety of facial pieces left on the floor.

Try a very slight "scooping" motion in the cavity under the nose and a very slight scything motion on the section under and to the sides of the nose.

I know this will raise a howl of protest but I find that if I remove the lather from my upper lip before shaving it the razor will grab and shaves the whiskers much, much, much better. Not only do I do this as the typical water only pass but I'll dab a towel on it to dry off excess water. But be careful, your very nick prone at this moment. It does leave a BBS shave on the upper lip though going WTG.

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

I know this will raise a howl of protest but I find that if I remove the lather from my upper lip before shaving it the razor will grab and shaves the whiskers much, much, much better.

I do my whole against pass with water only. A good cream will leave my face more than slick enough.

X

Originally Posted by AFDavis11

If you go through the barbers manuals you learn to true shaving direction orientation for each piece of the face. Going against the grain on the upper lip is a good way to end up with a variety of facial pieces left on the floor.

Where can I find these barber's manuals? It will be interesting to see how they recommend shaving my most problem areas.

Originally Posted by xman

Against the grain on the upper lip is a trick. The best advice is only to do the areas on ether side of your nose, as Charlie Chaplin would have, and to shave up at an angle outward clear of your nose. As for that bid right under the nose, read this for my suggestion. Mostly I'd say don't think about trying it for a while at least. Wait until you're ready.

X

Very interesting X. Think I'll wait a while before attempting graduate level shaving though

Originally Posted by steve

Where can I find these barber's manuals? It will be interesting to see how they recommend shaving my most problem areas.

The very top menu, Library/help files and documents

. . . and then go into the Permanent Archive/Barber Textbooks. The textbook from 1964 should be mandatory reading for all straight shavers.

reading through them now. Very interesting.