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How many shaves did it take before you were satisfied with your SR Shave ?

How many shaves did it take with your SR before you started to notice that you were getting a BBS or DFS ?
Im on my 4th shave. I still feel the hairs after the shave and I finish off with a DE to mow it down. Mostly under the neck, but also on the cheeks. Chin shaving is the most challenging.

So far - I've not nicked myself with an SR yet.
 

Ravenonrock

I shaved the pig
Lets just say it was a bunch. Did the DE cleanup for a bit and then just stayed with whatever I got from the SR, took off the training wheels. It didn’t take long until I was getting close comfortable shaves. Several weeks of daily shaving and I was feeling pretty good.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I'm not sure of your routine @discomike but it's important to SR shave daily. If you miss a day you will need more SR shaves to get to the same level.

It took me about 30 daily SR only shaves to reach the stage where I was reasonably consistent in achieving DFS results all over. By 100 daily SR only shaves, I could consistently get BBS results all over.

BBS presented a problem for me in that it was so close with a SR that I had nothing to shave 24 hours later. I was really enjoying my SR shaving so had to do something about it. I dropped my last pass, an ATG, and replaced it with a second XTG. This gave me something to shave 24 hours later. Since about then, my daily shaves are now normally WTG, XTG+fool's pass and a final XTG in the opposite direction. This gives me a DFS+.

A DFS+ for me is no roughness felt over my face, except when feeling ATG, and some spots where there is no roughness felt even ATG.

I now do not shave to try for the smoothest finish. I shave for the enjoyment of the shave. I still learn something new with almost every SR shave.
 
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Your question is subjective. I highly doubt that any of us with only 4 shaves in with a straight razor had ever achieved what you seem to be striving for. And I cannot for the life of me give you an exact number of days, weeks or months.

Straight razor shaving on day one and on day 5000 requires patience no matter what the skill level.

This is a journey and not a race or a competition. Be patient with yourself.
 
It just kinda happens. Be careful what you wish for, because once it happens you’ll be on the hunt to acquire new and vintage SRs, new soaps, etc. Enjoy the journey towards addiction😁
 
I am on my 3rd year of shaving 99% of the time with a SR. Tempted to say "anytime now".

Actually, I am kidding, but being a BBS nut and an absolute perfectionist, I always strive to improve thus never feeling entirely comfortable.
 
By the time i started getting dfs was about 3 weeks. But it was also hit and miss as i still hadnt learned 100% how to handle the blade and was still trying different things.

After 2 months i think it started to come together. I finally found the best way to handle the blade and the passes that worked good fo me. But still i was not getting BBS.

To this day BBS is not that important to me. Ive learned to shave enough to satisfy me and swmbo and this means i dont ever have irritation. I shave daily as the whiskers/barbed wire stubs grow quickly. So even if i did get BBS i still have enough to shave daily so i had plenty of shaves to learn with.

You are just starting. You have a long way to go. After 100 shaves you will thing you got it. Then at 200 shaves you will know you didnt know much at 100. So keep at it. 3 years in and all will be 👍.
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
How many shaves did it take with your SR before you started to notice that you were getting a BBS or DFS ?
Im on my 4th shave. I still feel the hairs after the shave and I finish off with a DE to mow it down. Mostly under the neck, but also on the cheeks. Chin shaving is the most challenging.

So far - I've not nicked myself with an SR yet.
Around 100.
 
So, the problem with straight razor shaving is the quality of the edge dictates the quality of the shave. Stropping is how the edge is maintained daily.

It can take several month to a year to learn to strop to the point where you are consistently improving the edge.

So, regardless of your shaving technique, stropping plays an equal or greater part.

Bottom line, a year from now your shaves will be greatly improved, how ever great you think they are now.
 
It just kinda happens. Be careful what you wish for, because once it happens you’ll be on the hunt to acquire new and vintage SRs, new soaps, etc. Enjoy the journey towards addiction😁
Already there my friend !!! I have maybe 100 soaps and creams (mostly acquired in sample form), 9 straight razors, and 2 strops. Wow... what dedication I have to the shaving world as a rookie !!!!
 
I'm not sure of your routine @discomike but it's important to SR shave daily. If you miss a day you will need more SR shaves to get to the same level.

It took me about 30 daily SR only shaves to reach the stage where I was reasonably consistent in achieving DFS results all over. By 100 daily SR only shaves, I could consistently get BBS results all over.

BBS presented a problem for me in that it was so close with a SR that I had nothing to shave 24 hours later. I was really enjoying my SR shaving so had to do something about it. I dropped my last pass, an ATG, and replaced it with a second XTG. This gave me something to shave 24 hours later. Since about then, my daily shaves are now normally WTG, XTG+fool's pass and a final XTG in the opposite direction. This gives me a DFS+.

A DFS+ for me is no roughness felt over my face, except when feeling ATG, and some spots where there is no roughness felt even ATG.

I now do not shave to try for the smoothest finish. I shave for the enjoyment of the shave. I still learn something new with almost every SR shave.
To the original OP, I've been at it a month or so and the DE training wheels came off in the last week or so. That's not to suggest in any way "I'm there." I'd be lying if I said I felt absolutely comfortable. I'm not scared, but only time will help me develop the dexterity to wield this thing to my advantage. ATG for me is ear to mouth/nose and I'm still playing with different grips. They're working "OK" but I haven't hit nirvana--far from it. Stretching the skin is mandatory. I started out only pulling up on the sideburns, but I'm treating my face more and more like modeling clay now. I'm finding that any place that's hard to reach, is made accessible with the proper stretch. I'll let you know when I get there. :) Hopefully you're still around in a few years. Heck, right now I'm just happy not nicking or cutting my face anymore.

As @rbscebu said, and echoed by my mentor--this sport is one of perishable skills. If I don't shave for one day, I'm set back more than two. Practice does make, well, better.

I've stopped worrying about when I'll get there. The zen master and many others have learned me that it's the journey--not the destination.

I should learn something every day. Bob says, "He not busy being born is busy dying."
 
All good advice from everyone. My first shave was that I had tug even when going WTG and yet I still had stubble. It was not exactly a clean perfecto shave. I would need help with the DE for that, but I resisted until my 3rd & 4th SR shave. First shave - multiple passes which took 45 mins before giving up to "complete" the shave. Second time - still stubble, but not as much. I mowed down more than I did compared to my first shave. I handled the razor much better this time around and took just 20 mins. Looked like a cleaner shave. But I still have stubble when I go atg. This is where I am at now.

What I've noticed and the challenges I face so far with my SR shaving is that:
on my 2nd shave with an SE - I notice I dont get razor burn. And with SR shaving, I now know what razor burn is because I never really noticed it with DE shaving. if I get any razor burn, it feels mild. It is usually in the neck area.
I shave with very little blade angle - I guess I must since I am still a rookie
I dont do the fools pass. Mustache guy here. That aint goin anywhere.
I am still challenged when shaving ATG
I feel tugging at the chin area when I go ATG
I feel I need to use some angle when going ATG to try and get a decent clean shave
I use only one hand on shaving on both sides of the face. I have trouble when trying to use my other hand to shave on the opposite side of the face. I know - using both hands to shave is really how one gets an effective SR shave.
Face stretching with SR shaving is quite a challenge for me compared to DE shaving
I use facial muscles to help stretch out my skin. Helps compensate whenever using the hands to stretch the face is not ideal for me at this time.
@rbscebu recommends daily shaving. A bit hard to do as I may not want to shave (or do anything after) after working a busy work day.
I watch alot of SR shaving on youtube
I have to constantly dry my hands in fear that I may cut myself with an SR after each shaving pass
I have yet to cut myself with SR shaving
Stropping gets me tired after doing 25 laps on the linen and 50 laps on the leather. Haa haa.

This is what I've noticed so far.

If anyone has anything additional to add, I would love to hear it !!!
 
I'm no expert, far from it. I was told to do the cheeks only and finish with the DE. I was told to first get used to the SR. It takes humility to start slow. For the first 2 weeks the SR touched nothing but my cheeks. Everything else was completed by my trusty friend, the DE. I went away from the DE VERY slowly. Used it every day until the SR felt right.

Trial by fire, sink or swim, learn by immersion--they are all fine for first day on the job, learning Spanish or piano. I had great guidance when I was told not to perform a complete shave with the SR.

I hope my message comes across as I intended, and doesn't seem like I'm finger-wagging. This is just my opinion, taught to me by someone who knows way more than I. I'm sure there are plenty of guys who learned by using a SR for the entirety of the shave. If I went that route, my face would look like I was shot by a scattergun with a roll of toilet paper.
 
I know - using both hands to shave is really how one gets an effective SR shave.
Not everyone agrees with me, but I find this to be entirely dependent on the direction of your passes (which should be determined by your growth). I'm right handed and shaved for a long time with just my dominant hand. I've experimented with using my left hand but the only time I've found it to be useful is when I'm shaving right to left on the left side of my face. And even then, I only do that about half the time. My passes are, more or less, north to south, right to left, and south to north. My advice with off-hand shaving, is do it if it makes sense. Don't do it because everyone says you have to.
 
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