Time to get started

[Drybonz]

Well, as of today I guess I have everything that I need to get my first straight razor shave.

Trying to think of last minute questions or things I need to prepare, but I guess I need to just go do it and then re-evaluate.

Wish me luck.

 

[Zephyr]

Good luck!

I'm sure you will be doing fine, I had my first straight shave on saturday, so I don't have much advice to give you other than don't rush, and watch your angle and pressure.
At least for me it went way better than expected.

 

[johnmrson]

Good luck.

 

[Shangas]

I got an ambulance on speed-dial.

 

[Luc]

Good luck! Please post your experience!

 

[Zephyr]

I got an ambulance on speed-dial.

All you have to do is to turn on your computer, log onto B&B, post a message that you need an ambulace and wait, can't be any quicker!

 

[Shangas]

I'm sure he'll be fine. So long as he remembers hot water, face-prep, good lather, skin-tugging and correct angle and pressure.

 

[raccoonandbrush]

May the force be with you!

 

[Drybonz]

Ok, I'm back.

It was no problem, really.

First pass I was very tentative, WTG of course... very slow pass... when I was done... no blood, felt fine... but not so smooth.

Second pass, WTG again... the initial "fear" of the razor is wearing off and now my goal is to get smooth. I play with the angle of the razor a bit until I discover that nice "scritchy" sound on my face. Ok, I got this... second pass no blood and I have some clear spots on my face.

Third pass... I am now determined to leave saying I got a great smooth straight razor shave on the first shot. XTG. Starting to get comfortable holding the razor at different angles. I decide I want to get my cheeks really smooth and go ATG... there's no doubt I'm getting cocky at this point. Cheeks are good... next I go to under the nose and chin cleanup... Ok, now we have a couple tiny red dots under the nose and one on the chin.

I stop to evaluate the situation and decide I have some minor burn on my neck. Time to do the right thing and stop. I finished my touch-up pass with my DE.

I finished my post-shave with a little alum on the dots and witch hazel and balm as usual. Face feels fine... burn is not worse than any DE shave I have had and better than many.

As I finish up and I'm running my fingers over my face I notice one spot, on the upper part of my left cheek, that is really smooth... like more smooth than I can get with my DE... like "was there ever really hair there" smooth. So this spot on my cheek is my inspiration for my next shave.

*edit* Also, I didn't nick my new strop.

 

[Zephyr]

Well done!

Congratulations with the first straight shave!

 

[Drybonz]

Well done!

Congratulations with the first straight shave!

Thanks, man.

 

[sanfranciscian]

congratulations, that sounds far more productive than my first.

Ian

 

[Drybonz]

congratulations, that sounds far more productive than my first.

Thanks! If nothing else, I got the jitters out and got the feel for the razor without needing any stitches.

Next time I can start working on my technique to try to get it a little smoother.

I found that under my nose was the toughest spot, but I think I know what I need to do and just need practice.

I'm in a place too where I'm not sure if the spots I was having trouble getting smooth were mostly poor technique, or if the razor was not sharp enough, etc... not sure if other people had that question when they started out.

 

[Shangas]

Hey Drybonz,

Great work! Proper straight-shaving has been achieved when you hear that soft "scritchy" sound you describe. It's the sound of the razor-edge slicing off all your stubble as you run it over your face. So long as you feel the scritcy and hear the scritchy, you should be perfectly fine. It should something something like a knife scraping across toast.

 

[Luc]

Nice work!

 

[Drybonz]

Thanks guys... on my first pass I was being very cautious, and had the angle too steep... second pass, as I got a little braver, I moved the angle out just a bit and got the scritchy sound.

It's seemed a lot like DE shaving to me in that you can feel and hear when your razor is doing its job right.

 

[Drybonz]

I guess my question for tomorrow is... linen and leather, or just linen, and how do I know when I have stropped enough? I have read a huge variation of answers on how much to strop.

Thanks, as always, guys, for the help.

 

[Shangas]

I've found stropping to be really subjective. How much is enough? Nobody can really tell you, I've found. But basically...

If you think it's not enough. You haven't done enough. If you think it's enough, then double what you've just done. Better more than less.

It's seemed a lot like DE shaving to me in that you can feel and hear when your razor is doing its job right.

I've found that statement to be very true. You'll know you're shaving right when the blade runs smooth and you can feel the soft scritchy noise of the blade cutting the hair. You can also hear it. Like rasping. If you don't hear it, you're doing it wrong. Best of luck for the next shave.

 

[dakotaev]

Congrats on a what I would call "Successful" first shave!! My first straight shave was terrible and I had such bad razor burn I had to skip several days to let my face recover. Not much blood, just irritated pink skin.

If you don't hear it, you're doing it wrong. Best of luck for the next shave.

To add to this:

Either you're doing it wrong, or you're BBS by that point and you don't need to keep going

 

[Gustav]

What a great start, well done!