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My first straight shave - what I learned

My Dubl Duck Satinedge came in the mail today. Naturally, the first thing I did was go upstairs to shave with it.

So I get there, grab my Filly strop, and start stropping...to notice that I have gotten part of the strop wet. :001_rolle I'm hoping from here it gets better.

I start stropping the razor, and I hear feedback when I strop one side, but not the other. I am pulling as taut as I can with my weak (left) hand, but to no avail. One side sounded like it was getting missed.

I put the razor down on a flat surface, washed my face with Glyce Lime Oil Soap, scrubbed the dirt out, and then lathered up with some Mama Bear's Awakenings. I figure that, if it's a rough go, at least my face will tingle and feel cool.

I gripped the razor in the manner shown in Joel's straight razor write-up here on Badger & Blade. Using my left hand, I stretched the right side of my face and started to shave. It felt...different. A little more tug and pull than I thought would happen, but I know it was honed before I got it, so it had to be user error. I progressed and things were going okay, save a few times the scales got in my line of sight and I couldn't quite see where I was shaving, but that was an easy fix. I even got my left hand involved and shaved the left side of my face. So far, not bad.

Soon enough, the tug and pull that was only happening occasionally started happening incessantly. I was getting a little bit peeved at the whole thing but I'm no quitter. I rinsed my blade off carefully, dried it VERY gently on a terry cloth towel, and returned to the strop. I made sure to try and put equal pressure on both sides. Because the strop is narrow, I did an x-pattern to make sure I covered the whole of the blade.

I relathered my face and tried again, this time, actually dropping the mild amount of nerves I had and shaving the goatee area, mustache, and neck. That even includes the dangerous Adam's Apple area. I took it slow, and was blown away. I know it's said that stropping is a major part of your shaving comfort, but you don't really know it until you try to develop some technique and add some more pressure on the strop, though being careful not to apply too much.

I then got one small slice right at the intersection of my right nostril and my septum. With all the fun I was having, i was moving the blade a bit too quick, and ran the blade, ever so slightly, parallel to my face. There, however, was very little blood, and the nick closed up during the shave. Impressive.

I splashed on some Aqua Velva and oh WOW did it sting. And this was just with one WTG pass. Despite that, I was and am very satisfied with the shave itself. Here is what I have picked up on already:

1. Don't be nervous.

This is much easier said than done with something like a straight razor in your hands for the first time. Make no mistake about it, the best way to mess it up is to be nervous about messing it up. Two or three times during the shave I had to stop and collect myself because I didn't want to slice my face open. After I told myself "Shane, it's just shaving!", that sort of thing went away. Nerves are the enemy of this whole thing.

2. Get your stropping technique down.

Man, this is everything as far as I found out today. It's a delicate balance, but it is well worth the trouble to learn, as this is how you prepare the razor for shaving. You don't want to be namby-pamby with it, but you obviously don't want to drive the edge into the leather and roll it or dull it. Apply enough pressure that you are getting physical AND aural feedback. When I stropped the second time, I got an audible "WHING!" sound from the razor. Also, you WILL nick your strop, as I did just once today.

3. Use lather that's nice and wet.

DE users can get away with this to a point, but I don't think you can fool a straight razor with dry lather. Make sure that stuff is nice and shiny going on your face, and relather if necessary. Tying into this, NEVER shave an unlathered area.

4. Take your time but don't dissect it.

This ties into number one somewhat. If you tell yourself "It's just shaving!", then it eliminates the fear of it, and what you're left with is a whole lot of fun.

5. Don't expect BBS. Or DFS. Or CCS. Not on your first try, anyhow.

This is something I expected going in. I can easily load up a fresh blade into my R89 and go three passes with no big deal about it. After one WTG pass, I took that as what I got for the day. That particular result is presentable enough, but I know it will get better as my technique does.

Well, those are basically the main things I got from the whole experience. For what it's worth, I found straight shaving a little easier to learn than DE shaving. It seems a lot more intuitive, as there is no middleman involved; that open blade will do whatever your hand tells it to do. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. After today's shave, I'm thinking it's blue skies ahead from here.

Now, onto the next razor...and strop...and some hones...maybe some pastes...:thumbup1:
 
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Yay that was very informative and good to think about.

I think I need to get a better hang on stroping I guess, I also just started straight shaving.

Thanks for sharing!
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
Staff member
Good to see that you joined the ranks Shane!

Your tips are good! Specially #5. A close shave almost never happens on shave #1 and the person is often disappointed by that. It's a lot of practice!

I'm surprised that you had to strop the razor as normally a honemeister will send it pre-stropped (unless you didn't listen and decided to strop it!). Was it water on the strop when you strop it or the oil that most honemeister coat the blade with so it doesn't rust during transport?
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Thanks for that, great write up!
I loves me a Satinedge!!
It sounds like you did pretty well, and more importantly have a good attitude about it, which is half the battle won.
Keep us posted on your progress!
 
Great write up Shane and glad you joined the Str8 ranks! :thumbup1:

I would have never thought to strop mid-stride on my first shave attempt...good thinking :smile:
 
I'm two weeks into straight shaving and absolutely love it! Things started to come together in my mind after a week or so, and after two weeks I may not be in the same ballpark as far as my shaving results compare with my DE's, but I am in the parking lot of said ballpark!

You've got a great attitude, and sound like you've done your homework! Congrats and enjoy. Perhaps you might consider keeping a shave journal here in the straight razor forum. You have a great writing style that could help draw unsuspecting noobies into the fold!
 
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Alacrity59

Wanting for wisdom
It is addictive Shane.

I too find it important to have the . . . "just do it mentality" . . . if you rest the blade on your face and breath . . . you will do that little horizontal movement that will give you at minimum that little cat scratch line. I've never spent more than ten minutes once I've started passing the blade over my face . . . and sure I've had some of those cat scratches and ear nicks but I attribute my success to having the blade in motion before touching down on my skin. (and the usual prep, pressure, and blade angle)

Even though I'd learned about pressure with shaving with a DE I had to learn yet again with a straight. And I had to learn about pressure at every step . . .

I wanted to wipe the whiskers from my face in one pass . . . Nope. . . this did not work . . . think light light light . . . cut hair and miss skin.

I wanted to hear and feel the stropping do something. Nope . . . for me you can push a very little bit but I don't finish very light my blade tugs.

On the hone . . . very much the same thing . . . a very light touch to finish just works better for me.


My 2 ¢

I look forward to hearing how you progress.

Mike
 
Congratulations on your first shave and the write-up which contained some things which I need to consider more closely again. I shaved yesterday and being a bit tipsy, I did some sloppy stropping and was punished with powerful razor burn on my neck. The shave quality was ok it was just not as smooth.

I also particularly liked point no.3. I find I am having to pay attention to lathering again. When DE-shaving you can get away with sub-standard lather but in str8 shaving nice wet slippery lather makes all the difference.

Do not worry too much about the tugging feeling, perhaps I am inexperienced but I have never had a shave where it feels like your dragging a warm knife in a vat of temperated butter. It does however help if you do confident rapid short strokes instead of slow long strokes. Try it you will figure it out.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
Shane, the only thing I'd add is that the next time around, go for a second pass. The blade should feel much smoother on the already reduced stubble. Joel will strangle me for this, but you can even do a first pass with a DE and use the straight for the second pass. When you're not focusing on the pulling, you can concentrate on the technique.

It's a lot of fun. Congrats!
 
... but you can even do a first pass with a DE and use the straight for the second pass. When you're not focusing on the pulling, you can concentrate on the technique.

Gotta say that sounds like a very good idea for the first few shaves from my vantage point :thumbup1:

First few shaves are about learning technique anyway vs. any real "shaving" of the beard.
 
Second shave under my belt just now. I stropped that sucker for about 50 laps on the Filly, and it stayed sharp the whole time. I decided to be a bit adventurous and go two passes, WTG and XTG. Let me tell you, it panned out quite well. Didn't get as close as I'd like, but again, practice makes better. I didn't cut myself at all, not even a weeper. I feel like if I did the things with a DE that I've been doing with a straight, I would have cut myself or given myself some serious irritation. Seriously, it's been a lot of fun, and I'm only two shaves in.

Gents, I'd look for a couple of DE razors on the B/S/T in the next few weeks...
 
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