I shaved with Gold Dollar 66 straight razor three times without stropping.
My first shave was only on the cheek.
On my second shave, I shaved more areas. I watched some videos on straight razor shaving before the third shave. I practiced grips and tiny strokes with the razor on my bare face as I watched videos. On the third shave, I was learning to navigate.
On the third shave, the edge was tugging my skin and my hairs so much that I got a small nick from the tugging. The nick healed quickly because it was tiny. I had to use my DE safety razor to finish up. My DE razor blade was running on my face so smoothly that I could feel the stark difference between a sharp edge and a dull edge.
What I learned:
My first shave was only on the cheek.
On my second shave, I shaved more areas. I watched some videos on straight razor shaving before the third shave. I practiced grips and tiny strokes with the razor on my bare face as I watched videos. On the third shave, I was learning to navigate.
On the third shave, the edge was tugging my skin and my hairs so much that I got a small nick from the tugging. The nick healed quickly because it was tiny. I had to use my DE safety razor to finish up. My DE razor blade was running on my face so smoothly that I could feel the stark difference between a sharp edge and a dull edge.
What I learned:
- A sharp straight razor has potential for a smoother shave than a DE safety razor.
- A straight razor can't keep a sharp edge for three shaves without stropping. A dull edge can nick my skin by tugging hairs.
- It is more difficult to navigate with a straight razor than with a DE safety razor. It was hard to shave under the nose because the angle was steep right under the nose. I almost nicked right under my nose because the angle was steep, but I pulled away the edge before it nicked under my nose.
- A straight razor needs more lather and more lubrication than a DE safety razor.
- I need to buy a leather strop if I want to shave with it again.
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