First SR shave last night.

[Rekt]

Original post got deleted due to me using naughty words. Apologies. Also gives me a chance to reword and gather thoughts. Now on to the meat and potatoes.

Last night was my first SR shave and it did not go how I imagined it. Side question, did anyone else's go the way they thought it would? Mine all started with the strop. May be the price I pay for being cheap but I just used denim jeans. Did the HHT and it did fine. No complaints from it.

Started to hydrate my mug. Put some cold water on my face and rubbed it in. Let it sit for a min then dried it off. Threw some grim blades smolder pre shave on. Aw yeah smellin fresh, feelin confident.... sort of.

Next it was the lather, put some water on my brush and swirled around in my grim blades smolder. Completely not knowing what I was doing started going to town on the stuff. Now I've never used shaving soap before so stupid me is just thinking " a little water on here, swirl around in the soap, start putting it on my face and break out the blade!". So I do so. Wrong. Stinkin. Answer. Water to soap ratio was all wrong. My soap was drying on my face. Starting to get a little annoyed, my cats and wife start hanging around. Now I feel pressure.

Time to break out the blade. I open her up and get an unsettling feeling. Gotta do this. Put the blade to my side burn. Catches. Not good. Soaps dry. Throw some water on it, try again. Blade starts sliding and cutting hair. Alright, alright, alright. I'm cookin now, start knocking out my right side. Now I get to my chin and stare in the mirror at it deciding my plan of action. I got nothing to do dive in, no sliding or cutting. Fair enough, I'll move to the left side. First pass down my left side and cut a mile right in front of my ear and it pours. Now I'm irritated. Go to wash my blade and my cats are in the way and knocking things over and the wife is just starring at me. Now I'm angry. I try to finish my left side and realize my left hand only works for itself sometimes.

Go back to my chin and this time the blade sinks into it. Nice deep cut. Awesome. Now I'm infuriated. So I say forget it I'll try again later and finish with my cartridge razor. So now I'm a little defeated and going to try again when I get a real strop. I tried stropping today and doing the HHT with no luck. I'm just defeated now guys.

Who else had theirs go way south? What did you do to fix it?

 

[Jnatcat]

Congrats on the first shave but slow down, the learning curve is alot more than using a DE/SE razor so try just the flats of your cheeks for awhile and then move slow, average rule of thumb is 100 shaves until you get comfortable, I have be at it for several years now and for me it's the only way to shave, its a bigger challenge adjust more rewarding.

 

[Doug57]

Congrats on the first shave but slow down, the learning curve is alot more than using a DE/SE razor so try just the flats of your cheeks for awhile and then move slow, average rule of thumb is 100 shaves until you get comfortable, I have be at it for several years now and for me it's the only way to shave, its a bigger challenge adjust more rewarding.

Yup...slow down...one thing at a time. I'm a little less than a year in and am still learning every day. You'll get there.

 

[Rekt]

Thanks guys, I thought it was a grip it and rip sort of deal. Will definitely take it slow. I didn't realize it would be like that.

 

[Desertlifter]

If you grip it and rip it, you might have to stitch it.

Ditto on pacing. I spent a few weeks just on my cheeks before I tried my upper lip and chin. Fast forward a few months, and I am closing on my one year anniversary with straights. I've never enjoyed shaving more nor have I had more comfy shaves. You will get there.

 

[jderimig]

Me 3 weeks in and starting to get real good shaves comparable to my good (not best) 3 pass DE shaves. For the first few shaves be happy with achieving unclose shaves with no cuts. Meaning slow, spine almost against the face and many beard reduction passes.

In a short time, your muscle memory will start to develop, you will then comfortably use more angle and the shaves will get better and better.

Then you will never go back to shaving any other way.

And don't forget to stretch the skin. This you can practice without shaving anytime during the day.

 

[dmatcuk]

Take your time and watch your angle when shaving. Also, don't be afraid to go back and re-lather your face. If you are going slow, your lather may dry up some. Just hit it with the brush again, or maybe a little water and the brush. You will want a slightly wetter lather for straights than what you would use for DE or Cart razors. The spine of your blade should be about a spine width away from your face. If you are getting any tugging, adjust your angle or add some lather. That is assuming that your blade is shave ready sharp. I have no experience with Blades Grimm other than their pre-shave and soap (which I enjoyed very much). Careful with the strop. You may round your edge and then you will have miserable shaves no matter what you do. Remember, you are doing hair reducing, not hair removal. So keep an eye on your blade pressure. Have fun and enjoy the shaving problem. There is no harm in finishing up with another razor while you are learning.

 

[Lmarkow]

Congrats on the first shave!

Now:

1) Learn how to make a proper lather. Practice! I'm not kidding. It's important.
2) Stretch your skin with your off hand.
3) Keep the spine of the razor almost on your face while you're shaving.
4) Just shave where you're comfortable at first. Try just your cheeks, finish up with your usual razor. Then increase what you shave as you get more comfortable.

You're trying to learn a fine motor skill. Take your time, be careful, but have fun. If you get uncomfortable, put the razor down, take a breath, and decide if tomorrow might be a better day to do more.

Good luck!

 

[BSAGuy]

Not a bad start. Ban the wife and cats until you get more practice.

 

[Rekt]

I had my second shave attempt this morning. Went way better this time around. Was able to shave my chin and right side without issues. Didn't want to push my luck so I finished with my normal razor. May buy a DE and ditch cartridge all together.

This morning I did a more watery lather. A little too watery but, I made it work. Kept the spine close to my face and that helped out a lot.

Thanks for the tips guys. I appreciate it.

Can someone give my pointers on starting the lather with the grim soap?

 

[seattleshaver]

I don't know anything about Grim Soap but you can try doing most of it right on your face. Get you face covered with the soap (using your brush of course), put more soap on the brush and then whip up a lather on your face. You can look at YouTube videos if necessary.

When the soap starts to dry out just wet your brush a little more and refresh it. Take it easy on your neck until you get the rest of the shave down. I switched to a DE for touch-ups when I first started as well.

 

[alex1921]

I started last month. First stropping put few cuts in the leather, now sanded off. First shave was very irritating, I tried keeping the blade at the lowest angle possible but it was tugging and pulling. I followed an advice I read on the forum, keep shaving. Stay away from the DE, except the chin. I cant get a smooth one there yet. Each time it got better. Trying to shave as often as possible and of course using a razor that has been honed by a pro is a must. It does get better
One thing on HHT, even edges from pros wont cut my hair consistently- too soft. Now I just pull a loose badger hair from my brush and test on that.