What would you do different?

[Rancor16]

I just got my straight in the mail today, and am about to embark on my straight shaving adventure =). Before I do however, I was wondering if you vets out there would mind posting what you would have done different when you were beginning, just to help all of us beginners out a little bit. I've seen many of the vids and guides (Joel's, Jockey's etc.) but it would still be nice to get some more input from experienced straight shavers before I risk my neck .

 

[professorchaos]

I wouldn't do a thing differently except switch to tallow and lanolin much sooner. So my advice is to use both hands and get that first shave out of the way. It is the hardest one.

 

[holli4pirating]

Yea, I wish I'd started with better soap/cream, and I also wish I'd learned to make a good lather before I actually tried shaving.

 

[Poulin]

I'd cut back on the amount of coffee I'd had that morning prior to my first straight razor shave.

 

[tg16]

Maybe watched fewer videos and avoided the information overload. After all was said and done, the only two videos that helped were Joel's and one other. I was fortunate to be surrounded by tallow and lanolin.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

I never would have sold/traded my two favorite all time straights... Thiers Issard 5/8 "Super Gnome" and a Puma Special 6/8 #89. Focus on fewer products and bought a Tony Miller strop earlier.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Read less reviews and advice online, and just bought something and used it.

 

[Alacrity59]

I had to learn all over again with a straight what I "knew" with a DE. Lightness of touch.

 

[The Knize]

I would have had may straight professionally honed rather than doing it myself--more for peace of mind than anything else, but random miracle I seemed to do okay.

I would learn from the beginning to use two hands probably, although it does not seem like a big item.

 

[JPM]

I'm more a newbie than an experienced straight shaver, but the only thing I probably would have done differently was not try to get a great shave the first couple of times. I kept going after spots on my neck that still felt rough and ended up with alot of irritation that made each subsequent shave rough.

A decent 2 pass shave is good enough at first, IMO.

 

[Klarion]

Do-over with what I know now?


-Start off with two shave ready straights; my very first one really was not. When I found a second, I was out of action for a while when they were both getting honed. I got into straight shaving when the Le Grelot 1/4 grinds were beginning to become scarce. I missed out!

-Get a nice strop and a cheap strop immediately. One to learn on, and one to look forward to when my technique got on point. I did that, but it was red latigo/cotton from Tony Miller with a practice strop; I wish I'd gotten horse hide/linen instead, since I've found out I like the smoothness of horse butt.

-Grab some better soaps at the beginning. While having a thick, cushioning lather is wonderful for a DE, I favor slickness more so with a straight.

 

[Will P.C.]

I would have done more work on looking for a razor from somebody who was experienced and freshly honed that razor instead of trying to save a few dollars by taking what I thought was a good deal. In the long run, I spent more money because I had to send that razor to be honed by someone who knew what they were doing

 

[domino]

I don't use hot water to shave with any more. I now prefer a cold lather shave with Tabac ...

 

[Rancor16]

I've got a few of my own now:
1. Buy a razor with a rounded tip. All those guides weren't joking when they recommended a round.
2. Embrace the stretch. It will reward you in the end.

 

[AFDavis11]

It's hard to say, hindsight being what it is. As crazy as it sounds I think starting with a shave ready razor would have helped a bit, natuarally, but also:

1) I think I would have purchased a barber hone and learned how to shave for about a week, then re-honed the razor to its shave ready condition without stropping. That way I would have had a baseline for really sharp.

2) Added the stropping in later.

3) Thrown the 4K side of the Norton out the nearest window

Ultimately between the barber hone, the strop, the 8K hone, the 4K hone, the shaving, and the prep there was a problem with combining all the tools and knowing what each tool really did. It all just melded into a storm of confusion in my head. For a long time I thought I needed to meld the honing, stropping, prep, etc. together to get a good shave. I thought my progress was being hindered because I didn't know how to combine all the techniques into a perfect shave.

Now I can hone the razor to shaving perfection without touching a strop, let the edge degrade a bit over time, and fix the edge with a strop. Keeping all the skills separated has allowed me to understand each one much better. And also allowed me to understand the destruction that both a strop and a 4K hone can do to an edge. It is the destruction of the edge by an individual component that became unclear because I was always honing, stropping, prepping, and shaving, as if it could only be done in combination. Which I have only recently discovered is the biggest myth in straight shaving.

 

[Huxley]

Im not a vet far from it but the one thing i would do differently hmm buy a better razor, no sense in skimping out what you plan on buying later on.

Also try and enjoy the moment, take my time and focus at the task in hand, rather than rush things just because i want to play with my technique.

 

[southernmail]

I'd cut back on the amount of coffee I'd had that morning prior to my first straight razor shave.

Straight or safety, shaving before coffee definitely ensures a steadier hand.

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Good luck Rancor...just finished str8 shave #6 so we're in this together!

 

[The Knize]

I'm more a newbie than an experienced straight shaver, but the only thing I probably would have done differently was not try to get a great shave the first couple of times. I kept going after spots on my neck that still felt rough and ended up with alot of irritation that made each subsequent shave rough.

A decent 2 pass shave is good enough at first, IMO.

Excellent point!

 

[Disburden]

I wouldn't obsess over thinking that straight razors would automatically give you BBS like a knife through butter, without any kind of effort (like in the videos). It's a hard road to travel with a lot of learning to do.