Feather DX first shave...
- Thread starter jm4851
- Start date
No pressure and keep the angle very shallow. That's it. That's my advice. The DX will make you learn what shaving without using pressure means.
keep the angle very shallow = like lay the razor flat against your face shallow. Full disclosure I'm less than 10 shaves in with SR... I have to constantly remind myself to close that angle and NO pressure!!
Move slowly - but do move and focus Danielson..... Focus.
Start with easy shaving... cheeks and only WTG until you get success at that. Raise the level of difficulty slowly. This learning curve is long and steep and a SR is a wicked teacher.
Stay with it though... it's its own form of meditation
Move slowly - but do move and focus Danielson..... Focus.
Start with easy shaving... cheeks and only WTG until you get success at that. Raise the level of difficulty slowly. This learning curve is long and steep and a SR is a wicked teacher.
Stay with it though... it's its own form of meditation
Ron R
I survived a lathey foreman
I would suggest the Kai Protouch guarded or the Feather Proguard, I found the same thing with my Folding Kai style shavette, naked blade is very hard and when I used the Kai Protouch it helped a lot and enjoyed my shaves more.
The guarded blades are awesome and will still bite if technique is off.
Have some great shaves!
The guarded blades are awesome and will still bite if technique is off.
Have some great shaves!
- Thread starter
- #5
Congrats on your first shave! Just take your time and try to pay attention to basics:
This is about hair reduction.
Use a light touch. Don't try to remove all the hair in one stroke. As an experiment, just try to remove the lather and you may be surprised at how much hair is removed.
Remove the blade and work on your hand position. Even air shaving can be helpful.
Shave with the grain.
Try just using the DX for one pass and then touch up with your DE (if you have one). And try other way around.
Have fun. With a little practice things will gradually fall into place.
This is about hair reduction.
Use a light touch. Don't try to remove all the hair in one stroke. As an experiment, just try to remove the lather and you may be surprised at how much hair is removed.
Remove the blade and work on your hand position. Even air shaving can be helpful.
Shave with the grain.
Try just using the DX for one pass and then touch up with your DE (if you have one). And try other way around.
Have fun. With a little practice things will gradually fall into place.
I am now experiencing PTSD from the one time I used a Shavette with a Feather blade.
Straight razor shaving is actually a whole lot easier than that.
Straight razor shaving is actually a whole lot easier than that.
Shallow angles help protect you from one type of cut but not another. You might need to increase the angle to get over a mole, for example.
I found the Feather blades too sharp out of the pack. Very easy to nick yourself. But after 4 or 5 shaves they lose some of their excessive sharpness. A milder edge is much more forgiving and easy to shave with. Kai Captain mild and Schick Proline work best for me.
Are you using any skin stretching techniques? Skin-stretching, a good slick shaving soap, and light pressure are the key. The blade must always be moving while it's in contact with your skin or it will cut you.
To begin with, just try shaving your cheeks until you start to get a bit of a feel for the razor.
I found the Feather blades too sharp out of the pack. Very easy to nick yourself. But after 4 or 5 shaves they lose some of their excessive sharpness. A milder edge is much more forgiving and easy to shave with. Kai Captain mild and Schick Proline work best for me.
Are you using any skin stretching techniques? Skin-stretching, a good slick shaving soap, and light pressure are the key. The blade must always be moving while it's in contact with your skin or it will cut you.
To begin with, just try shaving your cheeks until you start to get a bit of a feel for the razor.
Big fan of the Protouch MG - plenty sharp and close and (much) easier to stay out of trouble (and limit damage should a mishap occurs).
I’ve got plenty of SR shaves behind me, but I’m still not comfortable shaving with my Feather AC folding razor. I just prefer a SR experience more.
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
You could take a look at this thread which shows my experience of learning to use the Feather Artist Club DX for a month of shaves. Good luck 
www.badgerandblade.com
Artist Club August
I often use a Feather Artist Club DX in my rotation but always finish up with a DE for the final tidy up pass; this is due to my lack of skill with the Feather. It looks like I will be continuing to work at home for at least the next month so it occurred to me that this is a great opportunity to...
www.badgerandblade.com
Congrats on getting the first shave done! It's kinda like the old adage: "Every morning eat a live toad. Nothing worse will happen to you all day." 
You can't only go up from here, but there's a lot more up than down you can do!
One of the other posters in this thread, @Ron R , said that when he first got his Kai clone he put an AC blade in it spine out. That let him feel where the edge would be and get used to holding and moving the razor without worrying about getting sliced. I think that is an absolutely genius idea!
The next piece of advice is to concentrate at first on keeping your angle really narrow (razor almost flat to face). Think of it for right now as "wiping away lather" instead of "shaving." You will shave, but for right now it's way more important that you learn technique and get in some muscle-memory practise.
I'm pretty early in the learning curve myself. I use both 1/2DE and AC barber straights to shave my head. I also keep a safety razor loaded for the spots that I'm just not confident of getting, like around my ears. One thing I can surely attest is that a barber straight will give you an excellent close shave, but it takes longer than a safety razor. Think of it as "gradual hair reduction" instead of "shaving." Then you'll be comfortable with the process.
Oh. One final note from recent experience. Even if you're head shaving and have pretty tight scalp skin like I do, you'll need to stretch the skin. This works best if you work in patches -- again thanks @Ron R -- so that you can stretch around the lather and do that patch, then rinse/relather/do the next patch. For stretching I usually use a folded wet washcloth to get traction on the skin. Didn't do that last Friday because I'm too much of a he-man to use a sissy washcloth.
So I put a nice slice in one finger by changing direction when I hadn't intended to, and my finger was in the way. Much deeper and I would have nailed the tendon. Either use the washcloth or get a stainless-mesh skinning glove.
@Slash McCoy suggests doing two WTG passes. This is good because since you're not using as much pressure as a safety razor, you will shave a narrower track with each stroke. Two WTG passes will make sure you've reduced the bulk as much as possible, so that going ATG will not feel like chopping grass with a dull machete.
O.H.
You can't only go up from here, but there's a lot more up than down you can do!One of the other posters in this thread, @Ron R , said that when he first got his Kai clone he put an AC blade in it spine out. That let him feel where the edge would be and get used to holding and moving the razor without worrying about getting sliced. I think that is an absolutely genius idea!
The next piece of advice is to concentrate at first on keeping your angle really narrow (razor almost flat to face). Think of it for right now as "wiping away lather" instead of "shaving." You will shave, but for right now it's way more important that you learn technique and get in some muscle-memory practise.
I'm pretty early in the learning curve myself. I use both 1/2DE and AC barber straights to shave my head. I also keep a safety razor loaded for the spots that I'm just not confident of getting, like around my ears. One thing I can surely attest is that a barber straight will give you an excellent close shave, but it takes longer than a safety razor. Think of it as "gradual hair reduction" instead of "shaving." Then you'll be comfortable with the process.
Oh. One final note from recent experience. Even if you're head shaving and have pretty tight scalp skin like I do, you'll need to stretch the skin. This works best if you work in patches -- again thanks @Ron R -- so that you can stretch around the lather and do that patch, then rinse/relather/do the next patch. For stretching I usually use a folded wet washcloth to get traction on the skin. Didn't do that last Friday because I'm too much of a he-man to use a sissy washcloth.
So I put a nice slice in one finger by changing direction when I hadn't intended to, and my finger was in the way. Much deeper and I would have nailed the tendon. Either use the washcloth or get a stainless-mesh skinning glove. @Slash McCoy suggests doing two WTG passes. This is good because since you're not using as much pressure as a safety razor, you will shave a narrower track with each stroke. Two WTG passes will make sure you've reduced the bulk as much as possible, so that going ATG will not feel like chopping grass with a dull machete.
O.H.
All in the interest of safety... I practiced shaving my belly. (Seriously, plenty of extra-long hair there and smooth wide surfaces!) As said, don't scrape your moles unless you like doing minor triage. Also, just like DE's don't do side to side unless you want a near painless crease and a lovely set of butterflies or sticky fingers trying to superglue things. And yes, the flat of your blade on your skin is perfect - it's amazing how fast a razor forms a Vacuum to that skin while you try to slide carefully along.
I have to remind myself a straight razor and the DX were really made for another person to have at on some other poor sods face. Please be careful, practice carefully, time improves all, including wounds.
I have to remind myself a straight razor and the DX were really made for another person to have at on some other poor sods face. Please be careful, practice carefully, time improves all, including wounds.
Short answer - Shallow angle, light pressure and don't shave unlathered skin. If you miss a stripe of stubble, relather and get it on the next pass. And SLOW down.
Real answer- You can know all the tricks in the book, but you won't know how to execute them worth a damn until you practice, practice and practice. Shave at LEAST every other day and use nothing but the feather. By the end of the month you'll be able to do WTG . Blood doesn't necessarily mean you don't understand something fundamental... Just that you're yet unseasoned with the feather AC.
Once you can shave with that feather shaving with a traditional straight will be trivial.
Real answer- You can know all the tricks in the book, but you won't know how to execute them worth a damn until you practice, practice and practice. Shave at LEAST every other day and use nothing but the feather. By the end of the month you'll be able to do WTG . Blood doesn't necessarily mean you don't understand something fundamental... Just that you're yet unseasoned with the feather AC.
Once you can shave with that feather shaving with a traditional straight will be trivial.
Have you shaved with straights before?
If not, I recommend you learn on straights before shavettes like the DX. Shavettes are more tricky.
If not, I recommend you learn on straights before shavettes like the DX. Shavettes are more tricky.
