Straight Newbie with a couple questions

[Shavehappie]

For Christmas my family bought me a straight. Today I went for my first shave after a decent amount of YouTube and research. While I got what I would consider a CCS/SAS, there were some issues. First the sideburns I couldn't see the razor so lining it up was pure guesswork. Second finding the right angle seemed hit and miss. Figure this is a learning curve thing though but any tips would be more than welcome.

The shave went smoother than my first DE shave. Only a couple minor weepers, offhand use is a bit off. That seems normal for newbies though. Really digging this, the thing I like most about wetshaving is the meditative experience and the straight only seems to add to that.

 

[Avenolpey]

Sounds like a successful first foray. Take care stropping and dry the inside of your scales and whole razor with tissue. Any droplets of moisture left will be rust spots by morning.

 

[Shavehappie]

Thanks for the reminder. I went right back in and dried the scales.
Think I'm gonna try Chimensch's method for the sideburns today. The neck and chin were rough but not seeing the blade was awkward. If there is a tip for lining the blade up on the sideburns and upper cheek I'm all ears.

Merry Christmas fellas.

 

[Avenolpey]

In a couple weeks your current challenges will be faint memories. Just keep going, don't get careless and everything will improve.

 

[Shavehappie]

The second technique I tried for my sideburns worked like a charm. Have gotten closer shaves on my neck the last couple times. Now I just gotta fine tune around my mouth, gotten a few weepers there each time. Mostly a pressure issue I think.

Also I stopped the blade for the first time on the second shave and it seemed to improve the sharpness a bit. Taking it slow and steady as I know it will improve with time and patience.

 

[Tea-bott5000]

What is Chimensch's sideburn technique? I'm going to be launching my first foray tomorrow morning.

 

[Shavehappie]

He uses his left hand on his right side and vise versa. There is a video in the wiki here. The video/thread is for his 30 years of straight shaving and is very helpful. It goes through his daily route from start to finish.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/136249-Chimensch-s-30th-Anniversary-Shaving-Video