First Straight Shave Questions

[Crouse229]

Finally got the wild hair to try my first straight razor shave. The razor was pretty wickedly sharp (big thanks to ambrose and his nice work making it shave ready). One of the hardest parts for me was concentrating on the shave and not noticing the (i think it's called a square point or whatever that 90 degree scalpel is on the end). Being a skinnier guy, it was hard to come around the windpipe and not dig that little point into the side of my neck. I got a couple "surprises" that made me slow down even more.

My first set of questions are:

1. How do you keep your face from drying out? - Maybe it's just because i took so long with the shave, but i kept having to add a little water to the brush and "re apply" as i moved around the face. It could be a mixture issue as well, but i've never had a problem with the DE shaving before. It's the Proraso green tube.

2. Are there any tips for going through a tough beard? - My chin/lip area are really thick, but the neck, and cheek area is not. The neck and cheek area was smooth as butter, and then it felt like trying to hack down a rainforest on the chin/lip area, and it seemed to bounce around a lot. The razor is a full hollow ground i believe. I had read on here that going more towards the wedge is better for thicker areas, is that something worth exploring?

I think those were my two biggest obstacles so far. Moving around the face will just take practice i'm sure.

 

[strr]

On your first question the soap will dry out a little towards the end. Mine does the same thing. What I learned from mparker is to keep a little bowl or mug with hot water to dip the very tip of the brush in whenever you need to re-lather.

On your second question I think the more experienced guys can help you more. I have tough beard hair all around esp. on my chin, neck and lip. On my neck I do one pass with the grain, one across and one against. My chin I do the same way. The rest of my face get one with and then one against.

Take your time and learn which way the hair grows when your stubble comes back in. Its very helpful to know how your beard grows in.

 

[mparker762]

1. How do you keep your face from drying out? - Maybe it's just because i took so long with the shave, but i kept having to add a little water to the brush and "re apply" as i moved around the face. It could be a mixture issue as well, but i've never had a problem with the DE shaving before. It's the Proraso green tube.

Not a big deal. Straight passes take a bit longer than a DE pass, and especially so when you're just getting started. Just rewet the lather and keep going.

I had read on here that going more towards the wedge is better for thicker areas, is that something worth exploring?

Wedges aren't better for shaving thicker areas. They're just easier for beginners because they're less sensitive to problems in sharpness, prep, and technique (actually they just mask some of the symptoms of these problems, but when you're just starting out that's close enough). Since you're a beginner you might want to invest in one, but they're really not needed. They are pretty cool though, so this may be a good excuse to get SWMBO to sign off on another acquisition.

With full hollows, keep the angle low and make sure the razor is really sharp. If you're putting off these tougher areas till the end, then you might want to consider focusing on using the heel of the razor, since it tends to be the least-used area of the blade.

Also, you may want to experiment with skipping the WTG pass in these tough areas and just try an XTG pass right off the bat. I know it sounds counterintuitive but straights don't cut whiskers the same way as a DE so many (most?) of the DE "rules" don't really apply to straights. My upper lip and chin are most easily dealt with using XTG passes only, on my chin I do two XTG passes, the first one L->R and the second one R->L, with no WTG or ATG passes needed.

 

[Crouse229]

thanks for all the good advice, sounds like practice and experimentation is the way to go for now. i'm sure in the weeks to come i'll have a few more detailed questions as other issues arise.