First Straight Shave Yesterday

[brianrush50]

Well, I got my Boker from SRD freshly sharpened by Lynn Abrams and tried it out yesterday for the first time. I was quite cautious with it and only went south with it. Finished up with my Merkur Slant. Had a hard time going down and over the chin in front; could not decide the angle. Anyway, decided to make a go of it again this morning. I don't know if I wasn't keeping my skin taut enough or had one too many espressos or just what, but I managed to carve a red line in my right cheek. At first, I said, "gotta put this thing down" but then I said, it's not gonna get the better of me. Well, it did. I have four or five such red line carvings now. . Helluvala close shave, but paid dearly. My second application of shave cream turned orange as I brushed through the cuts. I'd watched GeoFatBoy on u-tube again this morning for another demo and was paying attention to moving my non-shaving hand down the face to keep it ever tighter as the razor went down, but somehow managed to cut up pretty good.

Is it possible that my razor too sharp for a newbie? Or is it like chef's knives, where the sharper the better and less chance of knicking? Gotta figure out my story for when I go into work tomorrow looking like scarface.

Also, I'm not sure how to handle the razor and what angle to apply when shaving my upper lip especially the philtrum.

Any advice?

 

[global_dev]

the sharper it is, the less pressure needed. the less pressure needed, usually the less nicks, cuts etc. however the flip side is that with sharpeness, finesse is needed. just takes practice.

i might ask the honer what the finisher was. that may make a bit of difference, just a minor bit though as the key is in the bevel at the low end, not teh finisher at the high end,

 

[brianrush50]

the sharper it is, the less pressure needed. the less pressure needed, usually the less nicks, cuts etc. however the flip side is that with sharpeness, finesse is needed. just takes practice.

i might ask the honer what the finisher was. that may make a bit of difference, just a minor bit though as the key is in the bevel at the low end, not teh finisher at the high end,

Thanks, Jon. Don't believe I was pressing too hard, probably lacking finesse. I'd wet shaved with DE for over a year and thought I was pretty decent, but whole new ball game here. I believe Lynn Abrams finishes on a Naniwa 12000 as I've seen his videos on honing with one and he sells them on SRD. It cut right through my arm hairs mid-length standing upright.

 

[global_dev]

Practice is truly important. Perhaps get a second to be able to maintain a good idea of sharpness.

 

[jpcwon]

Thanks, Jon. Don't believe I was pressing too hard, probably lacking finesse. I'd wet shaved with DE for over a year and thought I was pretty decent, but whole new ball game here. I believe Lynn Abrams finishes on a Naniwa 12000 as I've seen his videos on honing with one and he sells them on SRD. It cut right through my arm hairs mid-length standing upright.

An edge coming off of a Naniwa 12k will be laser-sharp, so you need to be careful. Some like it, some don't... I personally sold my naniwa 12k as I didn't love the crispness of the edges it produced (I too carved up my face!! ). I'm more fond of the "dull" sensation that a coticule edge produces (even though it's not dull at all, it just feels like it is)....YMMV and all that...

 

[Kentos]

Congrats on the transition to straights!

IMO the blade will only leave a long cut if you use a slicing motion with too much angle. These things are so sharp just the natural shake in you hands and arms will cut if the blade is left stationary on your skin.

For now concentrate on taking passes perpendicular to the edge, and once the blade is put to skin start your pass already.

 

[wherndon]

What is a philtrum? I started out with just my cheeks and only going south, till I got the hang of the angle and pressure needed.
I have a shaped beard and a stash, so I don't have to worry about my chin too much, only the upper part of my chin and then my lower lip. Next I have to worry about between my nose and stash. I do WTG between my nose and stash, very careful short strokes, just a little at a time. It requires a very steep angle, but so far I have not hurt myself in that part of my face. My lower lip I go ATG, angain trying to be slow and careful.
New blades can be a blessing, or a curse. I thought I was doing pretty well, Friday night, with a blade I had never used before. You can see the result in my pic.
Slow and easy, slow and easy...

 

[Kentos]

What is that fuzzy thing on your lip?

 

[AjaxLepinski]

Congrats on the new blade! Here's my two cents...
Keep the blade as flat against your face as possible - keep it under 15 degrees. You'll get a better shave and the edge will last longer.
I agree with Wherndon; just shave your sideburn area and cheeks until you get a feel for it - do this for at least a week or two. Finishing with a DE is OK.
I takes confidence to shave the upper lip and it takes a lot of weird angles to safely clear the chin of stubble. Don't try to progress too quickly.
Every stroke is an act of will and requires hyper-focus. You have to know where the blade is every millisecond or you will get cut...
My girlfriend walked by in her knickers (pun intended), broke my concentration and I wound up with a leak. Distractions will hurt!
It took about 30 straight shaves before I got my first socially acceptable shave and another 30 for my first DFS so, keep the faith brother!!!

 

[wherndon]

What is that fuzzy thing on your lip?

My only redemption is that I still have a lip.

 

[Krodor]

What is a philtrum?

philtrum is that ridge that runs between your nose and upper lip. I first make my lip go as far over my teeth as I can, then kinda smile. It flattens out my philtrum well enuff.

I grew up calling it a "sniffleridge" as learned in a book of sniglets.

 

[Gustav]

Congratulations on completing your first shave, as others have already pointed out it is all a matter of practice. It will get easier with every shave. The red lines might be because you are moving around your wrist too much instead on holding it still. Next time, try locking your wrist and doing the strokes by pulling down your whole arm, this should help you to keep a more consistent angle and help you to avoid the little sideways movements of your wrist that may be the cause of red lines.

 

[MikeA]

I'm on my second month of straight shaving. I have had a couple of red lines and it's been pressure and bad angle each time. It gets easier to judge both with practice, keep it up.

 

[brianrush50]

An edge coming off of a Naniwa 12k will be laser-sharp, so you need to be careful. Some like it, some don't... I personally sold my naniwa 12k as I didn't love the crispness of the edges it produced (I too carved up my face!! ). I'm more fond of the "dull" sensation that a coticule edge produces (even though it's not dull at all, it just feels like it is)....YMMV and all that...

Thanks, JP. It's good to know of your preference for coticule edges; I've heard that natural is better than synthetic but no idea why. I'll be needing to get a finisher pretty soon I believe. Suggestions welcome.

 

[brianrush50]

Congrats on the new blade! Here's my two cents...
Keep the blade as flat against your face as possible - keep it under 15 degrees. You'll get a better shave and the edge will last longer.
I agree with Wherndon; just shave your sideburn area and cheeks until you get a feel for it - do this for at least a week or two. Finishing with a DE is OK.
I takes confidence to shave the upper lip and it takes a lot of weird angles to safely clear the chin of stubble. Don't try to progress too quickly.
Every stroke is an act of will and requires hyper-focus. You have to know where the blade is every millisecond or you will get cut...
My girlfriend walked by in her knickers (pun intended), broke my concentration and I wound up with a leak. Distractions will hurt!
It took about 30 straight shaves before I got my first socially acceptable shave and another 30 for my first DFS so, keep the faith brother!!!

Thanks for the advice, Ajax. I'm doing north and south now and still having trouble getting over the hump of my chin. I know what you mean about the concentration; I have to have the bathroom doors locked as I dont' want any interruptions. I used to shave with NPR on the radio, but for now just concentrate. I am keeping it about 15-20 degrees for right now.

 

[brianrush50]

Congrats on the transition to straights!

These things are so sharp just the natural shake in you hands and arms will cut if the blade is left stationary on your skin.

Yes, I'm laying off the double espressos before SSS now.

 

[Lmarkow]

Congrats on your first shave. I blame my red lines on the cat. This works fine, except with the folks who know I don't have a cat. Enjoy the journey.

 

[brianrush50]

Well gents, I managed to get a BBS shave today with four passes. I decided to shave in the evening as I only did one pass this morning with my DE. It wasn't without a couple nicks, but man, what a shave. I can't stop faceturbating. I'm hooked on straights!

 

[Paxaddict]

As a newbie of a week, let me see if I can help out a bit.

My first two days I never shaved anything below my chinline and nothing inside of the edges of my mouth. Stuck to the cheeks only, and those two days really helped before I tackled anything else.

Preshave work is vital. Make sure you either take a shower or a hot towel to your face before you shave. It'll help open your pores and get your hairs standing up ready for a cut.

Just as important as angle (which is tricky in, well, lots of areas) is the motion. You should always be moving your razor forward. If you go side to side with the blade (a sawing motion) than the super sharp blades will cut right into you. Try taking smaller swipes, to help with this. about an inch or two, and it's up to you to find the right speed. Not recklessly fast, but you don't want to be slow about it either, or the nervousness in your hands turns to shaking, and you have a natural sawing motion. So nice smooth, short strokes, with the blade nice and flat. Not pressed into your skin, but pretty darn flat.

Don't be afraid to stop! Cutting yourself up isn't helping you learn to shave, it's helping you learn to be discouraged. If you cut yourself two or three times in a row, set the blade down. It's not admitting defeat, you'll be back tomorrow, but sometimes you gotta walk away. Pull out the cartridge, finish your shave, and come back tomorrow.

I sliced my upper lip this morning. I took a breath, reloaded and tried for the same pass again, and just ended up slicing the same cut deeper. I went to work with a cartridge shave. Doesn't mean I failed, but today wasn't a good day for a straight. Don't try to rush the learning process. If you walk away one day learning how to angle the blade on one part of your face, or the speed you need, or stroke length that works for you, or an aftershave you hate, or a soap you love. If you learn anything from the shave that morning, even if it's just getting better with your off-hand, then you've gained a victory. Don't let it feel like defeat.

 

[brianrush50]

Don't be afraid to stop! Cutting yourself up isn't helping you learn to shave, it's helping you learn to be discouraged. If you cut yourself two or three times in a row, set the blade down. It's not admitting defeat, you'll be back tomorrow, but sometimes you gotta walk away. Pull out the cartridge, finish your shave, and come back tomorrow.

Doesn't mean I failed, but today wasn't a good day for a straight. Don't try to rush the learning process. If you walk away one day learning how to angle the blade on one part of your face, or the speed you need, or stroke length that works for you, or an aftershave you hate, or a soap you love. If you learn anything from the shave that morning, even if it's just getting better with your off-hand, then you've gained a victory. Don't let it feel like defeat.

Thanks, Paxaddict. Very insightful. It's all about mini-victories along the way to the holy grail of ultimate BBS. Not too many red lines these days but I have a number of bumps on my face that get sliced off and weep a bit. I got a great shave last night; in the cheeks and neck it was BBS, but mustache and chin point needs work. I don't do the fools' pass yet. You're right; the learning process builds on each shave and I find myself getting better technique each time. Haven't tried the non-dominant hand much yet, though.