First Straight shave thoughts

[Sikario]

So I had my first straight shave today. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I did one good pass with the grain and then switched to my DE to finish off XTG and ATG. So a few observations/thoughts...

1) The razor felt like it was almost "stuck" to my skin... like when a window is really wet and some plastic gets stuck to it or provides resistance to being moved but then finally gives way... almost vacuum like if you know what im saying. Is this normal? Does this mean my angle was not steep enough?

2) I felt holdin the razor was a bit awkward.. I couldnt see what i wsa doing really in the mirror so i was kind of shaving "blind". I imagine this can be fixed with review of technique and more practice and comfort development.

3) mycarver did a fantastic job... this razor is sharp but so comfortable to shave with. It smoothly glided across my skin and did a fantastic job of mowing down the hairs. Im glad I found him to put a spin on a Gold Dollar as my first razor. I feel it was money well well spent and his reputation is well earned!!!

 

[kirisute]

im a relative beginner too but I have some ideas that might help:

try "loosening" your lather a little bit for the stickiness issue...ive found if my lather is too thick (not wet enough) then the razor tends to feel sticky.

be careful changing angles too much...start with the blade almost flat your skin then change angle till you feel the razor start to cut....too much angle will only result in cuts and scraping/pulling your beard...so starting shallow and gaining angle is a better way of achieving good cutting. don't aim for the "mystical" 30 degrees you read about all over the place...aim for what angle suits your beard and your face.
also don't be afraid to alter the grip if you feel you need to....if it works for you and you find a more comfortable grip then go with it.
try not to revert to your DE razor to finish off...it will hinder your learning curve of straight razor shaving....learn to get the bits that are hard to do; learn to take your time and master it instead of thinking "ill just finish off with my DE".

as for shaving blind: try holding the hand your stretching your skin with above your razor hand instead of below it; especially for sideburns etc....stretch them up instead of down...from your hairline. I tend to stretch upwards from the top line of my ear; shave a couple of strokes; then move the stretching hand down to the shaved section and stretch again....its allows full view in the mirror because your reaching over your head.

you don't say if you are swapping hands or not..if you are not swapping your hands then I would recommend you give it a go and start to learn to do so now...again it really helps with viewing the mirror.

youll probably get better answers from more experienced members but these are things ive fund have really helped my technique.

 

[dpetrzelka]

Regarding issue 1 - it may be that your angle is too shallow. A hollow ground blade can form a vacuum of sorts if laying too close to the skin/lather - try an ever so slightly steeper angle

 

[noahpictures]

1. Use as flat/shallow angle as possible. No more than the width of the spine. Use confident (fake it), efficient strokes in a pulling motion.

2. That's normal. There is no way you can see the blade at all times unless you shave with point towards your nose during most of the shave. Watch Chimensch's video in the sticky.

For me forgetting some of the lessons of DE shaving helped, for example shaving with WTG, XTG, ATG. With straights I shave North to South, South to North plus touch up. Much easier to get the right angle and shaves are more comfortable and take less time.

 

[smalltank]

make sure your lather isnt too dry or goopy..whipped cream is the idea..always strop before n after with the WEIGHT of the blade only...if you feel you need to strop in the middle of a shave...send it out to be honed again...enjoy the shaves!

ST

 

[Sikario]

Hey thanks for the responses.. I failed to update after my recent shaves. I had a much better shave last sunday. I like was suggested above decided to say screw WTG, XTG, ATG and just went straight to the up and down then down and up. Its agreeably much better. I was starting to become frustrated but will keep with it. It is certainly an acquired skill