Can't see! Any tips?

[muddy250]

Went a little further with the dovo today, 2 wtg + 1 xtg pass on the cheeks, close! And two wtg on my neck, not close but I'm going little by little and happy so far to still have ears.
Biggest problem I have is that I find it hard to see the blade in the mirror, my hand gets in the way but worse than that is that I can't wear my glasses and shave...I'm trying all sorts of grips including holding it like a spoon to get under the chin but I just can't see the cheek area properly. I did use my left hand and surprisingly it was easier than reaching across. Any tips?

 

[Aquanin]

I think you are experiencing what most beginner straight shavers experience. It was frustrating for me at first too, but trust me, its just something that you get used to. The more you shave the more you will get the correct grips for you. Keep at it and it will get better.

 

[jlander]

Practice. I know it sounds trite, but it's the only way.

I don't wear glasses so can't help you there.

 

[paul.c]

Open your eyes silly. I Know that you are scared, we all were at one time, but it is so much easier to shave with your eyes open.


Just making fun, sorry. It is like they said the practice and use of the razor is all that will get the muscles and mind trained. Stick with it and you will be fine.

Best of luck

 

[muddy250]

You're not far off there, eyes shut indeed....

Practice. I know it sounds trite, but it's the only way.

I don't wear glasses so can't help you there.

Cheers, I'll work it out!!

 

[dpm802]

Instead of wearing glasses while I shave (I'm 20/400 in my GOOD eye,) I got one of those 1x/3x magnifying mirrors with the flip-over handle that can be hung on the wall, stand up on the counter, hold in your hand, etc. I prop mine up on a little chest of drawers at shoulder level and I get about 6 or 8 inches away when I shave.

Even if you have 20/20 vision, having a magnifying mirror is a valuable tool to have in your shave den. It lets you look at your skin up close in detail, and see exactly, precisely what's going on and how good a shave you just gave yourself.

These mirrors are very cheap and easy to find in any drugstore or supermarket. No shave den should be without one.

 

[norman931]

The magnifying mirror sounds like something I might try, but from another 20/400 guy, my advice is:

Wear your glasses. I never wore mine during all the years of cartridge shaving, but I now wear them whether shaving with straight or DE. It just helps to be able to see what you're doing, and where the razor is.

 

[muddy250]

Thanks Both,
I never thought of a magnifying mirror. My situation is less than ideal, the lighting is from the back so I'm shaving in the dark, with poor eyesight and a straight razor...just found an extending mirror I can fix to the wall so will be able to pull it out and get the light in a better place. Should improve things!

 

[pedalpowersailing]

I wear glasses and Str8 shave, like everything in Str8 shaving you need to practise and get used to it. My suggestion is wear them and start as you mean to go on.
As you get more experienced glasses will not be an issue, getting the hair off your chin or some other difficult place will be

good luck, slow, deliberate, patience

 

[muddy250]

I wear glasses and Str8 shave, like everything in Str8 shaving you need to practise and get used to it. My suggestion is wear them and start as you mean to go on.
As you get more experienced glasses will not be an issue, getting the hair off your chin or some other difficult place will be

good luck, slow, deliberate, patience

Thanks. I think it's just a matter of sorting different grips for different places so I can get around the frames. It'll come I'm sure. As you say... slow!

 

[Dandaman]

Ever consider contact lenses? I use disposable lenses that I change every 2 weeks. I only need one solution for cleaning, wetting, storing, disinfecting, etc. And I see better with contacts than with eyeglasses: I get sharpness closer to 180 degrees side to side and up and down. Contacts never fog or frost up and don't tend to give any starburst effect at night w/ bright light sources. My contacts are soft and very comfortable. It goes without saying they are not in my way when I shave (though I'm DE only at this point).

 

[Etoyoc_Rebmos]

I agree with the contacts post. They don't fog up or attract dust/grease like glasses and you can see clearly while shaving without having to mess with soap on the lens.

 

[muddy250]

I agree with the contacts post. They don't fog up or attract dust/grease like glasses and you can see clearly while shaving without having to mess with soap on the lens.

Not something I've ever thought of seriously as I can't stand to touch my eyes. Might be something I have give more consideration to now tho!
Cheers!

 

[tg16]

Just a quick word of advice. If you have progressive lenses like I do, its virtually impossible to shave with them on due to the loss of peripheral vision while wearing the progressive lenses. I ordered a mirror that flips over to a magnified side and hangs on the wall. Contacts weren't really an option for me.

 

[Morbo]

Not something I've ever thought of seriously as I can't stand to touch my eyes. Might be something I have give more consideration to now tho!
Cheers!

I wore only glasses for years before finally buying contact lenses. I didn't like the idea of putting something directly on my eyes like this, but you get used to it pretty quickly, and except when I wear them somewhere very dry for a long time, it's very comfortable. At first I had problems putting them in, now it takes me about 20 seconds. Definitely worth it.

 

[Dandaman]

Putting them in your eye or touching your eye, is 90% a mental thing. At least w/ the soft contacts. From experience, a couple of general contact lens caveats: make sure your hands are clean (wash them) and make sure the soap is completely rinsed off your hands. Also, the tiniest bit of dust or cat fur or whatever on the lens will seemingly be magnified a hundred times when it is trapped between the lens and your eye. Make sure the lens is rinsed clean too. Finally when removing the lens a gentle pinching motion gets them off easily (again, the soft lenses).

 

[norman931]

Just a quick word of advice. If you have progressive lenses like I do, its virtually impossible to shave with them on due to the loss of peripheral vision while wearing the progressive lenses. I ordered a mirror that flips over to a magnified side and hangs on the wall. Contacts weren't really an option for me.

Most people who wear bifocals (like me )should have an old pair of single vision glasses that will work fine for shaving. If not, you can ask your optometrist for an inexpensive pair of single vision reading glasses. I wore contacts for several years, but I do A LOT of reading, and glasses work better for me.

 

[Bertilak]

... Biggest problem I have is that I find it hard to see the blade in the mirror, my hand gets in the way ...

No one has really addressed that part (unless the "just practice" posts count). Unfortunately I can't address it either.

I have tried "pseudo" straight razor shaving using now four different shavette variations and can't get past the problem of not seeing what I am doing! My big fat fist blocks my view in the mirror. This has stopped me in my tracks trying to learn straight razor shaving.

So, I bring this point back up hoping someone has an answer.

 

[muddy250]

No one has really addressed that part (unless the "just practice" posts count). Unfortunately I can't address it either.

I have tried "pseudo" straight razor shaving using now four different shavette variations and can't get past the problem of not seeing what I am doing! My big fat fist blocks my view in the mirror. This has stopped me in my tracks trying to learn straight razor shaving.

So, I bring this point back up hoping someone has an answer.

Tried again tonight and to see the left side of my face is all but impossible out of the corner of one eye so switched to hold the blade left handed, much easier and I seem to have no issues controlling it that way much to my surprise. Right side and neck is easy to see and shave

NEXT thing is the chin... the blade is obviously sharp in so far as it passes the hht after a light strop on my leather belt (no strop yet) BUT I'll be dammed if I can get it to cut the whiskers on my chin, it just snags up while the swede in my HD just glides through them. Just bad technique born out of fear of lopping a piece off?

 

[Bacchus]

Just because it passes the HHT doesnt mean that it is ready to shave, likewise, even if its a great shaver, it doesnt mean that it will pass the HHT