My first shave.

[taffy]

Well i thought tonight is the night to get a straight shave under my belt so i looked at my 3 shave ready straights and picked on the 1 i had first a western bros, had a shower, prepped my face with st james hot towell treatment, st james pre shave oil and loaded my vulfix up with st james cream (thought i would use the whole st james family) brushed the lather well in and picked up my straight, after looking at the wiki on here i held the razor by the way its shown on the wiki and straight away felt akward but carried on and put the razor to my face and heard the the sound of a staright for the first time, did my cheeks but forgot to pull on my skin so had another go and did okish, but the left hand side blew me as i found left handed to much on my first shave, so did my right hand side of my neck, no cuts which amazed me, though finished of with my merker slant for another 2 passess so in conclusion: i have a lot to learn, holding the razor correctly with both left and right hands, angles of the blade, the position on my arms which seemed to block my vision a bit, holding the whole blade on my face instead of just the end piece, but i cant wait to try it all again tomorrow, though i have to strop for the first time as well now.

 

[Pumpkin]

Welcome to straights! As long as there was no carnage it was a good shave

Practice using both hands...I've found it definitely makes things easier (I can see more in the mirror). Check out the wiki at SRP for some other grips

 

[JPM]

Congrats on completing your first shave!

 

[mattbikes1]

Good job! Sounds like it went fairly well. Can't wait to hear about tomorrows strop and shave. Take your time and enjoy.

 

[kg4ghn]

It just gets easier!

One thing I do differently between straight and DE is how I stand. When I shave with a DE I just stand facing the mirror and do my thing. When I shave with a straight I can see a lot better if I turn my body ~45 degrees to the mirror depending on which side I am shaving.

I.E. If I am shaving the right side of my face I will stand facing the left side of the sink so that the right side of my face is directly facing the mirror. It helps me to be able to see around my arms, plus the sink in my bathroom is in a recessed area that isn't very wide so I have more room that way.

One thing I have noticed in watching several videos of people straight razor shaving is that everybody does it differently. You will figure out your own way.

 

[Woodash]

Heck! At least you didn't wind up in St. James Infirmary (I guess you have to be of a certain age to ...oh nevermind...).

I've been shaving with only a str8 for a ~month and the most difficult thing for me - bar none - was to develop my own kind of 'system' for holding the razor and shaving every part of my face WTG, XTG, and ATG. This was the tough part, but things eventually dial in, and then you figure out how to do it mo' better over time....

Good luck.

 

[alabamalawyer]

Congrats on getting started. It takes time and practice but hang in there and you'll get the shave you want.

 

[Greyfox]

Congrats on your progress.

 

[sanfranciscian]

congrats, 3 weeks in myself, just keeps getting better. YOU are off to a great start and you will be amazed how fast it comes to you.

 

[michiganlover]

Congrats on starting this new, and fun adventure.

I am a straight razor newbie myself, with about 30 shaves under my belt.

 

[taffy]

Thanks guys for your comments and your posts on other threads as i read everything and learn from them, so my first decent shave was all down to you lot

 

[taffy]

Dont think my 2nd was as good as the first, though still no cuts, i am putting it down to my stropping, i am going back to the wiki tomorrow for another look at stropping and shaving as tonight i got totally confused on how to hold the razor and could not even put it in my left hand, though again i really enjoyed it, so back to studying tomorrow and another go tomorrow night.
ps glad i bought a cheapish strop

 

[JPM]

Keep at it, it will improve.

 

[taffy]

Cheers, i have the urge to get this right

 

[Ender Wiggins]

Congrats on your first couple straight shaves from another straight newb!

 

[taffy]

Congrats on your first couple straight shaves from another straight newb!

Thanks, love the shave though need a lot of learning.

 

[mikromicke]

Good work!!!

I'm one month in and am still trying to find the best way of holding/moving the razor. Everyplace except for the chin is decent now after the first pass but I still have issues trying to find a good way of doing and XTG.

It's a lot of fun though

 

[Trawlerman]

Congrats to you Taffy. Sounds like you're off to a good start.

I just had my 1st Straight Shave yesterday afternoon and completed my 2nd today. They were quite successful but not without a few minor cuts

It is difficult to get the angles but I guess a lot of practice is needed before we work it out fully. I've been reading a lot of the stuff on SRP and watching the videos on YouTube. Been very helpful so far.



BTW, my family are Welsh and grandfather was born into a coal mining family in the Rhondda Valley at Nant-Y-Glo (Blaenau/Tredegar area). I sometimes get called Taffy too

 

[taffy]

Congrats to you Taffy. Sounds like you're off to a good start.

I just had my 1st Straight Shave yesterday afternoon and completed my 2nd today. They were quite successful but not without a few minor cuts

It is difficult to get the angles but I guess a lot of practice is needed before we work it out fully. I've been reading a lot of the stuff on SRP and watching the videos on YouTube. Been very helpful so far.



BTW, my family are Welsh and grandfather was born into a coal mining family in the Rhondda Valley at Nant-Y-Glo (Blaenau/Tredegar area). I sometimes get called Taffy too

Hi taffy and i bet a lot of miners used straights as well! hope your shaving keeps going well.