Starting on cheeks? & how sharp?

[mr. s]

Ok, so I am going to be getting my first usable straight this week from the generous offer from California Cajun , but naturally I am unsure of a few things and a little scared.

First of all, do any of you just shave the easy parts of your face, then get the neck/chin with the DE?

Next, how do I know what is sharp enough when stropping?
I actually have a King Cutter which I picked up at an antique store, but I don't know if it should be honed first or if it is just needing a stropping.

Finally, I have been using a DE for a couple months now and I am really feeling confident about my shaves, although I am not perfect. Should I keep DE shaving for a while or just jump into the straights?

Any advice for the newb?

 

[Shangas]

Ok, so I am going to be getting my first usable straight this week from the generous offer from California Cajun , but naturally I am unsure of a few things and a little scared.

First of all, do any of you just shave the easy parts of your face, then get the neck/chin with the DE?

No. You do all your face with a straight-razor. Skimping and chickening out with a DE will only mean that you'll never learn how to do the tricky bits. It may be difficult to start with, but you'll figure out the correct angle and approach to land your razor properly and get a good shave all over.

Next, how do I know what is sharp enough when stropping?
I actually have a King Cutter which I picked up at an antique store, but I don't know if it should be honed first or if it is just needing a stropping.

The only way to know if a razor is sharp enough is to shave with it. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it's not sharp enough. From what I've read, not much stock should be placed in 'sharp-tests' such as the famous 'hanging hair test' because the results can be misleading.

Finally, I have been using a DE for a couple months now and I am really feeling confident about my shaves, although I am not perfect. Should I keep DE shaving for a while or just jump into the straights?

If you're confident about DE shaving and if you're confident enough about shaving in general, I don't see why not. I shaved with a DE for eight months before doing straighting. I think what DE shaving can teach you, is how to handle blade-angles with relative safety, before you unleash yourself on the unguarded steel of a straight-razor.

 

[Gustav]

Shangas has done a good job answering your questions but I do not agree with him on the first question. Before I could complete my first complete shave with a straight razor, I did shave the easy bits with a straight and then completed the shave with a DE until I felt secure enough to tackle the hard parts. IMO, you should never push yourself into doing anything that does not feel right for you. What is the sense of pushing it, only to end up with a massive cut somewhere and chucking in the towel before getting the chance to taste the sweetness of straight shaving when instead you can chicken out and head back for more when you feel confident.

 

[mr. s]

Thank you for the responses. I will probably take a little bit of each of your advice. I'll give it a go on the easy parts to begin, then I'll decided if I am ready to go on. I can't always chicken out, but if I am losing too much blood I will probably pause till my next try.

 

[gull]

I also don't agree with Shangas. Shave with a straight on only one portion of your face at a time and then finish with a DE. Gradually add on parts as you feel confident and soon you'll be shaving your entire face without a DE.

 

[Wid]

Only do as much as you are comfortable with. That's not being a chicken; it's called staying within your limits. Smart imo.

 

[BlackAngus]

I've got to agree with Gustav and gull...the trick to straight shaving, at least for me, was getting comfortable with it. The more comfortable you are, the less likely you are to cut yourself, and the more likely you are to keep at it and learn how to get a great shave. Take your time, pace yourself. You will be rewarded.

 

[mdunn]

im with shangas - just go for it!

so long as you stay aware of your angles and pressure, theres no reason you cant go for a WTG pass. Using a straight looks a lot harder than it is.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Well...Shangas is this forum's own Polynikes of Str8 shaving. This guy is the only guy I've found in two years that found his first str8, honed it himself and had good shaves in under a week.

That flat out doesnt happen with like 99% (pulled that number out of my rear) of the other Str8 Newbs....Shangas....you're my "brother in arms" with a str8 but I can't agree there. Touching up with a DE is OK! And in fact, as you learn your technique more and more...you'll find it all works out in the end and you gradually start to put down the DE.

In fact...you just motivated me to get on a post I've been wanting to do for some time now...about this very subject. Stay tuned...

 

[Shangas]

I apologise if my advice was bad or misleading. I was merely echoing the advice that I read elsewhere, and which I believed made sense, said advice being not to skimp with the razor and touch up with a DE, because doing this would not teach you how to handle a straight-razor with enough...finesse...for want of a better word, for when you have to shave tricky areas with a straight, later on in life.

 

[dakotaev]

Ok, so I am going to be getting my first usable straight this week from the generous offer from California Cajun , but naturally I am unsure of a few things and a little scared.

First of all, do any of you just shave the easy parts of your face, then get the neck/chin with the DE?

Next, how do I know what is sharp enough when stropping?
I actually have a King Cutter which I picked up at an antique store, but I don't know if it should be honed first or if it is just needing a stropping.

Finally, I have been using a DE for a couple months now and I am really feeling confident about my shaves, although I am not perfect. Should I keep DE shaving for a while or just jump into the straights?

Any advice for the newb?

Just keep this in mind for your first straight shave, its probably going to suck, along with the 2nd and 3rd and so on. Don't lose heart, you'll get that Ah-HA moment and things will start clicking. Having the basics you've probably learned DE shaving will put you a bit further ahead however!

Good luck and keep with it! If you're like most of us, in no time you'll be addicted!

 

[BEAR DEN]

I would add that you will need to know how to strop your razor. Even the one your receiving shave ready.

You maybe should get a practice strop so that if by chance you nick it you still have another one to go to.

You can take your time with becoming comfortable with areas of your face but stropping is done for every shave.

 

[Luc]

I don't think Shangras first answer is good or bad. It's the type of thing that you should do if you feel confident. It it doesn't feel right, by all means, don't for it. There are no right ways or bad ways to do this. DE or not, you need to start somewhere. If you only use a straight, you will learn quickly where combining both will give you a longer learning curve. Again, one or the other, it's all right, there are no rules.

 

[gull]

I apologise if my advice was bad or misleading. I was merely echoing the advice that I read elsewhere, and which I believed made sense, said advice being not to skimp with the razor and touch up with a DE, because doing this would not teach you how to handle a straight-razor with enough...finesse...for want of a better word, for when you have to shave tricky areas with a straight, later on in life.

Don't worry Shangas. I think I read that advice in the sticky here iirc. I don't think it's bad advice and OP is potentially someone who would benefit greatly from it.

 

[Seraphim]

I will add here that the razor you bought at the antique store is 99.99% in need of more than just a stropping to get it shaving again. Stropping does not really sharpen the egde, as much as it maintains an already sharp one.


Other than that, try using the real shave ready straight, and see how far you can get feeling comfortably. Don't go in overly cautious, "Oooh, I'm just going to shave my right cheek, and then bail for the DE.....", Go ahead and shave your right cheek, and then the left, and then the chin, or however you want to progress, and see how it goes. If all goes well, do it all. If things turn south, well then, you have your DE as a backup, a plan B, a fallback. I just don't think you should necessarily make it part of the plan A to begin with.


I've had a couple of beers, so I'm being even more opinionated than I usually am!

Just enjoy it, that's what it's about, not bravado or anything else.

 

[Woodash]

The correct answer :

Shave as much as you're comfortable with right now. If you need to finish with a DE, that's fine. At some point, though, your skills will improve, but you're now relying on the DE as a bit of a crutch. Now is when you should think about going 'cold turkey' with the str8. Your skills will soon click in much better at that point. MHO, of course.

 

[Shangas]

Don't worry Shangas. I think I read that advice in the sticky here iirc. I don't think it's bad advice and OP is potentially someone who would benefit greatly from it.

Thank you, Gull. Now that I reconsider it, it was here at Badger and Blade that I read that. But never mind, it's neither here or there.

A razor purchased second-hand will almost certainly need a honing before it's ready to shave. As Seraphim has said, stropping will only re-prepare the edge so much, honing will have to do the rest.

 

[Bay Rum]

Ok, so I am going to be getting my first usable straight this week from the generous offer from California Cajun , but naturally I am unsure of a few things and a little scared.

First of all, do any of you just shave the easy parts of your face, then get the neck/chin with the DE?

Next, how do I know what is sharp enough when stropping?
I actually have a King Cutter which I picked up at an antique store, but I don't know if it should be honed first or if it is just needing a stropping.

Finally, I have been using a DE for a couple months now and I am really feeling confident about my shaves, although I am not perfect. Should I keep DE shaving for a while or just jump into the straights?

Any advice for the newb?

That is exactly what I did until i felt comfortable with the razor. I wasn't afraid i was just overly cautious. Let me warn you that at one point I got to cavalier and cut myself but good. I kept on adding real estate to my saving . Once i got my stropping down I was able to do one complete pass save the chin. From there one day I said what the heck and just did three complete passes. Haven't looked back.

 

[mr. s]

I appreciate all the advice.
Honestly, I will probably shave my entire face the first time. If I decide to do anything, I am the kind of person who wants to do it all.
As concerning the stropping, I think I need to check some youtube videos for that. I just realized that I have never watched it done. I should have a $20 strop coming in the mail this week. I'd love to be doing this by friday afternoon. I would still be concerned that I am not using a sharp enough blade. If I knew that there was a newb shaving DE with a blade that was not sharp enough I would CRINGE. Perhaps I should find a straight shaver in my city and see if they mind me passing by for a chat and some instruction.
Unless there are some guidelines to sharpness that I should know about?

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Thank you, Gull. Now that I reconsider it, it was here at Badger and Blade that I read that. But never mind, it's neither here or there.

A razor purchased second-hand will almost certainly need a honing before it's ready to shave. As Seraphim has said, stropping will only re-prepare the edge so much, honing will have to do the rest.

Shangas,

Don't get me wrong bro....this advice is commonly doled out with the thinking that Str8 users will rely too much on the DE as a crutch.

I disagree with that line of thought....I should also add that my disagreement is not mainstream with commonly held B&B thought.

But...that's what's great about this forum....able to have a gentlemanly debate on such issues!