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First shave with a straight razor. WARNING - images of a bloody face but no bleeders.

Hi All

I had my first shave with a straight tonight and all things considered I am impressed because there was no bleeders just nicks. I shaved with a Gold Dollar 66 bought from buca3152 shave ready and stropped. I haven't gotten around to learning how to shave with both hands yet but based on the fact that I am right handed and I do more damage to the right side of my face proves the point that shaving with both hands is an excellent idea for those that can and eventually I will learn.
I shaved with my right hand for both "north/south" then "south/north" passes and then finished of the shave with a 1932 Canadian Tech with a Bluebird blade (4th shave). I am almost certain that my angle changed as I was doing under my nose. With any razor I use I normally shave under my nose "nose to ear" then "ear to nose". Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments are welcome.

Pictures

The big scar is on the right side of my face.

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Don't be too hard on yourself, it was your first straight shave. From your pics it looks like angle and pressure were the culprits. I'm just going to throw it out there, I'm not a fan of Gold Dollar razors, there are too many reports of inconsistency with quality. I picked up a 100+ year old WH Morley for $30.00 and it shaves like a dream. I would go to YouTube and watch videos of straight razor shaving to look at peoples technique. The people I watch are Lynn Abrams, geofatboy and jockeys41. Hope that helps.
 
Yup takes about 3 months of shaves to get really good at it... But the first time you hit your mark... It's so money! I started out just doing wtg then the rest with a de razor... Keep at it... I've been straight shaving for over a year and cut the shizz out of my ear last night... Your first attempt was better than mine
 
Yup, you got all of the tough spots. Things will get better, if you keep at it. You might want to try just shaving your cheeks for a bit. That way you'll get used to holding the razor. As you get more comfortable you can move to other parts of your face. In the mean time you can finish up with whatever you usually use. Remember to stretch your skin with your off hand, and try to keep the spine of the razor as close to your cheek as you can. These two things, together with a slicker, wetter lather, should get you going a bit more comfortably.
 
Pressure and angle as was said earlier are the most likely culprits. Especially with a heavier razor like a gold dollar adding any additional pressure is unnecessary and will just magnify technique errors.

Pressure and angle will come with time, but don't rush the process. In the first week or two, don't even feel it necessary to shave the whole face. As soon as it feels you are not in control of the razor and that you don't know what's going to be the out come of the stroke, quite and finish off with a DE. Also, don't use ANY agt strokes for at least a month. Go only wtg for a few weeks and then carefully experiment with xtg. Only move on to the next set of strokes when your hand feels comfortable doing it.

Your timeline may be longer or shorter than the number of weeks I gave here, but don't sweat it. As the great Bruce Lee said, "be like water".
 
It's gonna be hard following up the info you already got, but I can share my first month as well.

I decided to shave at night in the beginning. This allowed me to control a couple of things: 1) rushing, because I no longer had to worry about getting out the door to work, 2:) If I felt like I "had" to touch-up, I could do it in the morning. I never really did #2, though, as I didn't wan't to fall back in the grasp of DE's.

During the first month, of shaves not calendar days, I really did like Mark said - only WTG passes. I would think about trying an XTG pass, put the razor in my hand and the grip just didn't feel good. As Mark said, I aborted, and did the normal. One day when I went to try, the grip didn't feel like it was going to slice my face off, and I did a swipe. I tentatively did the other side and called it good right then and there.

Over the next 70 shaves or so is when you will start to get the grips down to a semi-comfortable feeling. Keep at it, it will come.
 
That cut just below your mouth - I remember getting one just like that once when I wasn't stretching my skin properly and I had the angle a bit too steep. Looking at your photo now I can almost feel it again!
 
WTG 2 passes is a good idea until you get used to holding it in your hand and moving it around. The pressure and stretching is very beneficial. And keep the angle as low as still cuts.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
Hi All

I had my first shave with a straight tonight and all things considered I am impressed because there was no bleeders just nicks. I shaved with a Gold Dollar 66 bought from buca3152 shave ready and stropped. I haven't gotten around to learning how to shave with both hands yet but based on the fact that I am right handed and I do more damage to the right side of my face proves the point that shaving with both hands is an excellent idea for those that can and eventually I will learn.
I shaved with my right hand for both "north/south" then "south/north" passes and then finished of the shave with a 1932 Canadian Tech with a Bluebird blade (4th shave). I am almost certain that my angle changed as I was doing under my nose. With any razor I use I normally shave under my nose "nose to ear" then "ear to nose". Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments are welcome.

Pictures

The big scar is on the right side of my face.

View attachment 405953View attachment 405954View attachment 405955View attachment 405956View attachment 405957
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Hi All

I had my first shave with a straight tonight and all things considered I am impressed because there was no bleeders just nicks. I shaved with a Gold Dollar 66 bought from buca3152 shave ready and stropped. I haven't gotten around to learning how to shave with both hands yet but based on the fact that I am right handed and I do more damage to the right side of my face proves the point that shaving with both hands is an excellent idea for those that can and eventually I will learn.
I shaved with my right hand for both "north/south" then "south/north" passes and then finished of the shave with a 1932 Canadian Tech with a Bluebird blade (4th shave). I am almost certain that my angle changed as I was doing under my nose. With any razor I use I normally shave under my nose "nose to ear" then "ear to nose". Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments are welcome.

Pictures

The big scar is on the right side of my face.

View attachment 405953View attachment 405954View attachment 405955View attachment 405956View attachment 405957

You will in time learn to make "shaving faces" to help in stretching and leveling the skin. For under the nose, pull the nose up and mash it back as if you were trying to blend it into your forehead. Like a piggy face. Now you can go N-S with the razor's spine touching the nose at the beginning of the stroke. This is still a high initial shave angle but as the stroke commences you make a scooping swooping rotation of the razor as the spine clears the nose, and end, at least, with a nice low shave angle. Master this stroke and it is a very good beginning to routine straight shaving. Practice other shaving faces as you stretch the skin while you shave.

I suggest that within a few days at least, you ditch the training wheels. Suffering through a day of not being well shaven is a very good penalty for not shaving well. Make your mistakes cost you something. Don't reward your bad shave with a nice easy DE shave. Total immersion, at least after the third shave or so, will greatly speed up your learning.
 
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