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First straight shave completed

Hi,

Started shaving with a DE 4 weeks ago and decided to buy a straight from Larry @ whippeddog a fortnight later ....

Managed my first straight shave this weekend without losing blood or flesh. Must say that it was fairly nerve wracking at first but I enjoyed the experience as with most of us it appears half the enjoyment is in just taking the time to do the job.

My first DE shaves I managed while being tentative but soon realised I need a bit more commitment with the straight. Closest analogy I can think of is that it is like hand milking a cow - you need to be firm and confident, faffing won't get the job done.

Going to have to figure out my hands etc. because everything seemed to get in the way of everything else and then trying to look in the mirror made it even worse. Was like some bizarre game of twister. Anyone got tips on how you train your left hand without losing an ear - mirror just confuses my left ?

So already keeping any eye on Larry's straights for my "backup" :) and looking at second hand stores for a few to practice my restoration skills on. Don't have a brush AD yet but the razor one is kicking into life.


Next big step is the first strop to get the blade ready for this weekend ...

Appreciate all the help and advice that is so freely available on this forum.
_______________________________
Robin
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Congrats!

Practice will help you being better with time. It feels very strange at first using your non-dominant hand but it will get better.
 
Congratulations on your first straight shave and welcome to B&B! You will see that with practice, shaving with your non dominant hand will become so natural that it will feel awkward to attempt to shave those parts of the face with your dominant hand. I have found that it pays off to learn to use your non dominant hand because it is much easier to keep track of what you are doing if you do not have to worry about your arm being in the line of sight. Keep up the good work and keep us posted.
 
Going to have to figure out my hands etc. because everything seemed to get in the way of everything else and then trying to look in the mirror made it even worse. Was like some bizarre game of twister. Anyone got tips on how you train your left hand without losing an ear - mirror just confuses my left ?

Robin,

your hands re always going to be pretty much in the way.. you have to look for those eye angles and move your body and head to catch a quick glimpse of where you are at.. sometimes I kind of look to the side, head angled up or down, through the triangle made by my arm.. or around it using the same side hand as face to shave. I get a quick glimpse, get confidence i am in the right place and use muscle memory to move on..

good luck...
 
Thanks gents,

Just completed my second straight shave this evening - have been leaving the straight for the weekends as a treat especially since I am still refining shaving with a DE.

Well this week I shaved the left of my face with my left hand on the basis that a DE is probably a safer way to train my left hand. Even shaved with a butter knife in my left hand :)

Has paid off as I managed to do my left cheek and half my jawline with my left hand. I have found that as soon as the mirror confusion sets in I just close my eyes relax and let my hand do the right thing with positioning the blade. Still used the DE for my adam's apple and under my left jaw.

Was brave enough to go against the grain on the right with great success - helping that I use confident strokes.

Also means that my stropping didn't completely stuff up the razor as I did that for the first time on my shaving blade. Have been practicing with an old razor in need of restoration.

I already have 5 straights in need of restoration and have shaved using a straight only twice - and my second shave ready is on its way from Larry :biggrin1:

Thought I didn't have a brush AD - but I have started looking for old handles to restore. And coticule investigation has begun.

Might have to revisit me telling my wife that old school shaving is cheaper.

cheers
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Robin
 
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