Well, the GD straight arrived on Saturday (thanks again Krodor) when I was out of town so I didn't get a chance to shave with it until this morning. I was definitely nervous once I lathered up (Speick soap) and had the straight in my hand, but I was at the point of no return. 
To my surprise I got through two WTG passes with only one tiny nick (under the jawline). I was amazed at how easily the razor cut with no pressure and that it wasn't as scary as it appeared. Gripping the razor wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be for the first time ever holding a straight. It seems to have a great edge on it (but what would I know at this point). I was impressed with how it shaved and proud of the fact I didn't mutilate my face!
I decided not to fully shave my mustache area with the straight. After about one or two stokes, the angle felt too awkward and I didn't want things to take a turn for the worse and ruin my first shave. Everything I've read said this is a difficult area to get the hang of, so I finished up with my Futur. I ended up with the tiny nick I mentioned and a little bit of razor burn on my neck, but overall it went 100x better than expected!
I look forward to future shaves and learning the ways of the straight. I'm eventually going to start looking into beginners strops and definitely get into learning more about the art of straight shaving. Money is a little tight at the moment, so I will have to put my straight shave plans on hold until the summer (i'll also have more time to learn since I'll be on summer vacation). I plan on using the GD to learn and practice, and i'll eventually get a nicer razor once I know what I'm doing.
Once again I just wanted to thank Krodor for giving someone like me the opportunity to try a straight shave. I look forward to future shaves and learning the skills needed to eventually become skilled enough to use a straight on an everyday basis.
To my surprise I got through two WTG passes with only one tiny nick (under the jawline). I was amazed at how easily the razor cut with no pressure and that it wasn't as scary as it appeared. Gripping the razor wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be for the first time ever holding a straight. It seems to have a great edge on it (but what would I know at this point). I was impressed with how it shaved and proud of the fact I didn't mutilate my face!
I decided not to fully shave my mustache area with the straight. After about one or two stokes, the angle felt too awkward and I didn't want things to take a turn for the worse and ruin my first shave. Everything I've read said this is a difficult area to get the hang of, so I finished up with my Futur. I ended up with the tiny nick I mentioned and a little bit of razor burn on my neck, but overall it went 100x better than expected!
I look forward to future shaves and learning the ways of the straight. I'm eventually going to start looking into beginners strops and definitely get into learning more about the art of straight shaving. Money is a little tight at the moment, so I will have to put my straight shave plans on hold until the summer (i'll also have more time to learn since I'll be on summer vacation). I plan on using the GD to learn and practice, and i'll eventually get a nicer razor once I know what I'm doing.
Once again I just wanted to thank Krodor for giving someone like me the opportunity to try a straight shave. I look forward to future shaves and learning the skills needed to eventually become skilled enough to use a straight on an everyday basis.
