First SR shave

[GearNoir]

@GearNoir Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm new to straight razor shaving and this forum. I couldn't get past 1 cheek on my first try last week! I also got my first razor from WP and I'm sure it came down to my technique and lather. I can't wait to try again tonight!

Welcome on!

Glad to hear you find this helpful. There are plenty of great folks here willing to give pointers and between them and watching some YouTube videos, I’m determined to get this thing figured out! It is both a frightening and thrilling experience to be shaving with a naked blade that can do as much damage as it can make one quite GQ in the manliest of ways. I look forward to the day I can achieve a BBS solely by SR.

I’m not familiar with WP, did you mean WD perhaps? Whipped Dog? Larry is a great guy, very friendly, and very prompt in service.

I’m still mindful to let my face/skin rest at least a day’s length to keep from further injury. I usually shave every other day. I’ve shave 4 was tried next-day after #3. I didn’t push the shave too much and it went ok (except the one cut I mentioned). If I could get to a point of being able to shave daily, that would be awesome!

 

[MOtastic]

Ha! yes, whipped dog. He is very good to work with. I've used Proraso cream forever and I never had an issue. That being said, I'm pretty sure it was too dry. I ordered some Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap to try. It just arrived yesterday, so I want to give that a try. I'm also going to not use my pre-shave oil as I think that's not helping, but making things worse.

 

[GearNoir]

Ha! yes, whipped dog. He is very good to work with. I've used Proraso cream forever and I never had an issue. That being said, I'm pretty sure it was too dry. I ordered some Mitchell's Wool Fat Soap to try. It just arrived yesterday, so I want to give that a try. I'm also going to not use my pre-shave oil as I think that's not helping, but making things worse.

Awesome! Let us know how it goes, if you don’t we’ll assume to send the paramedics!

Yes, I thought I’d try preshave on my 4th shave, but it really reduced the glide on the first pass. Works excellent for DE shaves otherwise, but these days I don’t even really use it much for those either. Never woulda known though unless I tried!

The suggestion here for slicker-than-normal (slow slicker than you would have for DE shaves) lather really helped things.

 

[GearNoir]

SR shave #5:

It is really weird that I’ve been doing this for a week already. It feels like much longer for some reason!

Today I pulled out the TOBS Sandalwood which, other than a gift set of AOS Sandalwood that got me started into wet shaving 3ish years ago, was my only soap/cream for the first 2 years of my journey (yes, this is that same tub). I don’t use it as much anymore, but I’m glad I did today. It was a good reminder of why it’s such a loved cream for many here - very quick to lather, good protection, and can be made super slick.

Today was also the best shave I’ve done to date. Except for the immediate under the chin area, I achieved a CCS/SAS in all areas in two passes - WTG and XTG! Boy was that a nice surprise! No nicks or cuts!

On the other hand, in my preshave strop, I gave her her first small slice. That was sad...the hardest part of stropping for me so far has been resisting the urge to lift the spine off of the leather each stroke up or down. It just seems natural to do so for some reason.

In all a great day for SR shaves!

 

[kingfisher]

Sounds like you are learning pretty quickly. I'm still shaving with the Feather SS kamisori while awaiting a verdict from Larry about my cheap straight. It is supposed to be delivered today. Crossing my fingers.

 

[skimonster]

SR shave #5:

It is really weird that I’ve been doing this for a week already. It feels like much longer for some reason!

Today I pulled out the TOBS Sandalwood which, other than a gift set of AOS Sandalwood that got me started into wet shaving 3ish years ago, was my only soap/cream for the first 2 years of my journey (yes, this is that same tub). I don’t use it as much anymore, but I’m glad I did today. It was a good reminder of why it’s such a loved cream for many here - very quick to lather, good protection, and can be made super slick.

Today was also the best shave I’ve done to date. Except for the immediate under the chin area, I achieved a CCS/SAS in all areas in two passes - WTG and XTG! Boy was that a nice surprise! No nicks or cuts!

On the other hand, in my preshave strop, I gave her her first small slice. That was sad...the hardest part of stropping for me so far has been resisting the urge to lift the spine off of the leather each stroke up or down. It just seems natural to do so for some reason.

In all a great day for SR shaves!

I found that when I was perfecting my stropping technique, that it helped me to concentrate on leading the stroke with the spine, which then becomes the focus. The bevel will follow along nicely!

 

[JWS VII]

On the other hand, in my preshave strop, I gave her her first small slice. That was sad...the hardest part of stropping for me so far has been resisting the urge to lift the spine off of the leather each stroke up or down. It just seems natural to do so for some reason.

I had the same urge--it just seems unnatural to keep the spine on the strop...until it doesn't. Just takes practice and a bit brain/muscle retraining. Also, don't feel too bad about the strop. Poor man's are supposed to be beat up (mine looked terrible by the time I was finished with it)! Plus, now that there is a little nick, the pressure is off to keep it pristine With a little sanding and hand rubbing it will be as good as new.

Sounds like you're making good progress.

 

[GearNoir]

Sounds like you are learning pretty quickly. I'm still shaving with the Feather SS kamisori while awaiting a verdict from Larry about my cheap straight. It is supposed to be delivered today. Crossing my fingers.

Fantastic! I hope that happens for you. As for learning quickly. I’m happy things are progressing nicely for me. I was afraid at this going totally south before I started. At the same time, my slice a day ago was a subtle reminder not to rush things.

I found that when I was perfecting my stropping technique, that it helped me to concentrate on leading the stroke with the spine, which then becomes the focus. The bevel will follow along nicely!

Thanks for the insight! Yes, I do lead with the spine, but for some reason my natural inclination is to pick the whole blade up off of the leather at the end of the stroke to set up my next stroke, instead of flipping the edge over, keeping the spine in contact with the leather. Practice, practice!

 

[skimonster]

Fantastic! I hope that happens for you. As for learning quickly. I’m happy things are progressing nicely for me. I was afraid at this going totally south before I started. At the same time, my slice a day ago was a subtle reminder not to rush things.



Thanks for the insight! Yes, I do lead with the spine, but for some reason my natural inclination is to pick the whole blade up off of the leather at the end of the stroke to set up my next stroke, instead of flipping the edge over, keeping the spine in contact with the leather. Practice, practice!

Exactly, practice is the key. You will get proficient soon enough. Its when you try to hasten the process that the mistakes will happen. Kick back and enjoy the ride.

 

[supertrunker]

Slow the stropping down. i was told to imagine you are stretching the metal of the blade, so you go slow and concentrate on that, then concentrate on the turn and positioning it to stretch it on the return stroke.

As for the shaves themselves, sounds like they are doing fine - my early shaves were all one step forward then one back - till maybe shave 15, because if i managed a cut-free shave i'd try something different next time; i dunno an XTG pass on a cheek say at which point i'd cut myself ...and so on.

The price of progress.

T

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #6:

Today was a Cella day!

I was especially interested in today because I saw that Cella is the one and only software product Maestro Livi packs into his shave sets. That’s as good enough reason as any to try the combination of Cella/SR right? Oh, and they are both Italian products, what’s not to love about Italy?

No disappointments today! Cella performed (and smelled) as wonderfully as it usually does, even with the added slickness. I finished well within my normal shave time and had no cuts or nicks...from my SR anyway though I did nick myself with my Piccolo, go figure! Really trying to nail down jawline angles though. The extreme curve is proving to be quite challenging for obtaining closeness.

 

[skimonster]

Shave #6:

Today was a Cella day!

I was especially interested in today because I saw that Cella is the one and only software product Maestro Livi packs into his shave sets. That’s as good enough reason as any to try the combination of Cella/SR right? Oh, and they are both Italian products, what’s not to love about Italy?

No disappointments today! Cella performed (and smelled) as wonderfully as it usually does, even with the added slickness. I finished well within my normal shave time and had no cuts or nicks...from my SR anyway though I did nick myself with my Piccolo, go figure! Really trying to nail down jawline angles though. The extreme curve is proving to be quite challenging for obtaining closeness.

A technique that has served me well for getting those jaw lines, is after I shave my cheek areas, and am ready to hit the jaw line, I stretch the cheeks upward, pulling what would be the normal jaw line above, and shave that area. Then when you relax the skin, the area you just shaved is now below the jaw, and you can take if from there. Works for my anyway.

 

[lslick23]

This video helped me tremendously!

 

[GearNoir]

Shaves 7&8:

SR shaving has changed my soap habits to this point. I used to use just a soap or two over the week with my special soap only on Sundays. Now I’m rotating my soaps for each shave, still using the special soap only on Sunday though. Where the rotation began as an attempt to find which soap worked best for SR, I’ve found that they all do a good enough job for me, so I rotate soaps now just for fun.

The last two shaves have been weeper free, only a nick or two overall. I am getting much better at my lip/mouth area. Now getting a consistent SAS-DFS the last couple shaves everywhere except the chin. Still doing last pass with a DE though for BBS, so it’s not an issue.

I’m finding that my SR is a lot more forgiving than when I started. Either it has lost its ultra sharp feel or my technique is markedly better or both...probably both, but my strokes are a bit more free and the blade isn’t as quick to grab. Kind of like some DE blades that mellow a little after a few uses, but still give many great shaves successively, kind of like they are in their sweet spot.

 

[kingfisher]

It sounds like you are coming along nicely. My razor is still not here, but I will likely be starting next week.

 

[GearNoir]

Shave #9 (from Thursday, late on this one):

Proraso Red day!

Today prep was great, lather was great, ATG was not so great. I tried doing a full ATG pass after my WTG and only got about 1/2 the way through before needing to stop and switch it XTG. I just haven’t gotten the angle for this yet. Even on my normally easy areas the alum block brought out a lot of burn, almost as bad as my first shave. Needless to say, I had some irritation signs for a few hours, but the shave was fine in all other aspects.

 

[supertrunker]

My ATG is done shaving the right side with my left hand etc and i keep the spine almost dead flat on my skin else i rash myself badly. With my less than stellar technique, i tired of the alum block experience !! and ditched it entirely and now just use witch hazel as a splash afterwards.

But i didn't even try ATG until maybe shave 15 or 20, so you're miles ahead of where i was.

T

 

[GearNoir]

My ATG is done shaving the right side with my left hand etc and i keep the spine almost dead flat on my skin else i rash myself badly. With my less than stellar technique, i tired of the alum block experience !! and ditched it entirely and now just use witch hazel as a splash afterwards.

But i didn't even try ATG until maybe shave 15 or 20, so you're miles ahead of where i was.

T

Yes, flatter the blade is ATG, the smoother it at least seems to be. The real trouble is finding a hold where I can do that without being tempted to apply pressure. I probably look like a circus side show with the contortions I’ve tried.

I like the after-rinse feel that the alum leaves fortunately and it helps me know where I went too hard. I’ll keep with it for now.



Shave #10:

TOBS day!

Nice easy shave today, passes moderately smooth. No stoppage or restarts on my strokes. But of course just as I begin to feel settled a little...I got myself with a poorly placed stroke set up! Jabbed the razor point into my skin for a minor slice. Thankfully not a gusher!

Today was a good day for WTG and ATG passes. Noticeably more stubble removed when rinsing my razor between strokes.

 

[skimonster]

Yes, flatter the blade is ATG, the smoother it at least seems to be. The real trouble is finding a hold where I can do that without being tempted to apply pressure. I probably look like a circus side show with the contortions I’ve tried.

I like the after-rinse feel that the alum leaves fortunately and it helps me know where I went too hard. I’ll keep with it for now.



Shave #10:

TOBS day!

Nice easy shave today, passes moderately smooth. No stoppage or restarts on my strokes. But of course just as I begin to feel settled a little...I got myself with a poorly placed stroke set up! Jabbed the razor point into my skin for a minor slice. Thankfully not a gusher!

Today was a good day for WTG and ATG passes. Noticeably more stubble removed when rinsing my razor between strokes.

Sounds like your coming along well. I've found that no matter how long you have been straight shaving, not keeping your mind on the task and hand, or becoming lackadaisical about things can result with a bite!

 

[GearNoir]

Sounds like your coming along well. I've found that no matter how long you have been straight shaving, not keeping your mind on the task and hand, or becoming lackadaisical about things can result with a bite!

Indeed!

Shave #11:

Sundays are the best days...I give myself the AOS Sandalwood treatment!

Today I went for the gusto some, only 2 passes - one SR ATG and a DE ATG cleanup. I did OK. Not a whole lot of growth to work with after one day but there was some stubble washed off with my SR rinses and no cuts or nicks. I consider that a win! I was however going so slowly and carefully on my SR pass that my lather started drying, lol.

Having the realization that I’ll need to balsa strop soon to refresh my edge, adding the next layer of complexity to SR shaving. Some pro shavers can go for months just stropping, but I’m no pro. Scary to think I could ruin my whole experience to this point with a bad balsa stropping...going to wait as looooooong as possible...