First straight razor shave!

[MissJames]

I did it!

It took me 2 hrs, and the alum block stung like the dickens! But no bleeding and no missing fingers

Am I supposed to start one of those journal things?

 

[dpmtherrien]

If you think a journal will held your technique then by all means start one.

 

[Obiwan]

Congrats. Not sure a journal is needed (won't hurt of course). It's just important to observe results and pay note to the variables (product, tech., etc.)

 

[Greyfox]

 

[sgtslaughter]

Congrats! And welcome to the wonderful world of straight razor shaving!

 

[Luc]

Excellent! As for the journal, that is up to you. If you want to share your experience and have questions, you can either start a thread when a problem happens or keep a journal and post your questions as you go.

 

[NewBlader]

Keep at it, persist, but at the same time, don't push it or force it if you start getting frustrated. Always feel ok about putting the razor down for the day. If you start getting nicks or getting frustrated, time to stop for the day. But don't give up!

I'm one month into straight shaving and have gotten to the point of getting fairly good shaves with little or no nicking. It just takes me way too long and sometimes I'm over-shaving. I figure that if I persist and keeping going, within a few months I'll be fluent in it. I'm doing a shaving journal, mostly for my own personal tracking. If someone else finds it of interest, or motivating, then that's cool too!

 

[sanfranciscian]

congratulations, though not necessary i am sure we would all enjoy reading your journal.

Ian

 

[le_paulo]

It took me 2 hrs, and the alum block stung like the dickens!

Am I supposed to start one of those journal things?

My first time took 2 hours too and at the end of it I was pale as a ghost from the adrenalin. I don't think it's possible to hold one's breath for 2 hours but I damn well near managed it. And yes, the shaves do get quicker.

As for the journal, there's quite a few straight shave beginners who've done them and they are an inspiration and encouragement to the other beginning and improving shavers. That, plus the old hands seem to chip in at the right moment with sound words of advice, personalised just for you

It sounds like you've already read a few so you'll know what I mean.

 

[NewBlader]

Hi MissJames,

I'm a new straight razor shaver. I'm a white guy with typical white guy beard hairs, and typical white guy hairy legs. I don't normally shave my legs, but I did try a few patches to test out the razor. I found a few things that might be of use to you:

• Leg hairs and beard hairs are very different. Advice for beard shaving may not apply always to leg shaving
• I never lathered my legs. This was just "let's see what happens if I try my razor", so it was completely dry. Guess what, it just popped the hairs off, with a feather-light touch, no irritation, one pass.
• I conclude, from my very limited experience, that, unlike with beard hair, you might be better off dry shaving your legs. Just use a feather-light touch and an aggressive angle.
• It also seems like a fantastic way to shave leg hair. It was like it just fell off, effortlessly, leaving no stubble, no irritation

This, from a regular beard shaver who has also tried a few square inches of leg shaving. Oh I also used it to shave my chest once, and same thing, the hair just drops off and it works fine dry.

 

[Seewhathappens]

Had my first couple of straight shaves this weekend, and my following observations follow:

1. My first shave, I had no cuts, but I also didn't get that great of a shave.

2. Second shave, I had a solid WTG pass, and got cocky and went ATG. Nicked myself up a couple times on the neck, and will be putting off further ATG passes for a while

3. My razor seems to tug/pull a lot around the chin area. I dont know if this is because I am not stretching the skin enough, or the razor I have isn't as sharp as need be. I bought it off of one of the members who honed it before shipping it, so this probably isn't the issue. I am wondering if I "rolled the edge" while stropping, but I have no idea if I did or not i guess. (How can you tell?)

4. It is really fun and just looks awesome. Going to pick up a nice beautiful llooking straight once I get my craft down pat.

5. When going ATG, I realized that I really had no idea how to hold it. Going WTG I obviously know how to hold it, and it surprisingly felt pretty natural the first shave (even with the left hand)

6. I used Mitchell's Wool Fat for the first time today, and it was really great. The scent is awesome and it makes the skin suuuper soft. I know some people have trouble lathering it, but I found it to be very easy. (Followed Mantic's video and it was no problem)

 

[Seewhathappens]

in regards to my "rolling the edge" comment, I kept the strop taught so that wasn't the issue