First straight shave, ups and downs.

Bazz

Bazz

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291
Hi all, so i had my first shave today with a proper straight razor that @Fergiebilly supplied for me and there were positives and negatives, that said i didn't expect to nail it the first time!

So positives, no blood, no irritation, hair was removed and my nose/ears are right where they were before i started.

On to the negatives, the biggest i seemed to have was that i just seemed to lack lubrication, the blade dragged and felt as though it was just getting stuck on my beard, especially noticeable on my chin and jaw line. Pre-shave was the same as i do for a DE shave, warm water wash, a few drops of shave oil rubbed in then lathered up with Proraso soap, in part i think that the problem occurred due to the fact i was taking extra care and therefore time that the lather was drying out, but even after re-lathering the dragging still occurred. Being that this was my first time i'm very open to the idea that there may have been a large amount of user error with the blade angle etc.
Other than that the only other problem areas were around the lips, especially the top lip and under the nose.

I still finished off with a couple of passes with my R41 to get BBS and the razor has been stropped and oiled and put away until Sunday when i get the time to have another go, in the mean time if you have any tips or pointers they will be gratefully received.
 
Bazz said:
Hi all, so i had my first shave today with a proper straight razor that @Fergiebilly supplied for me and there were positives and negatives, that said i didn't expect to nail it the first time!

So positives, no blood, no irritation, hair was removed and my nose/ears are right where they were before i started.

On to the negatives, the biggest i seemed to have was that i just seemed to lack lubrication, the blade dragged and felt as though it was just getting stuck on my beard, especially noticeable on my chin and jaw line. Pre-shave was the same as i do for a DE shave, warm water wash, a few drops of shave oil rubbed in then lathered up with Proraso soap, in part i think that the problem occurred due to the fact i was taking extra care and therefore time that the lather was drying out, but even after re-lathering the dragging still occurred. Being that this was my first time i'm very open to the idea that there may have been a large amount of user error with the blade angle etc.
Other than that the only other problem areas were around the lips, especially the top lip and under the nose.

I still finished off with a couple of passes with my R41 to get BBS and the razor has been stropped and oiled and put away until Sunday when i get the time to have another go, in the mean time if you have any tips or pointers they will be gratefully received.
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It takes a while to nail it, it is a good idea to start of slowly by just shaving your flat bits, ie your cheeks and finnish off the shave with your DE razor. Once you are happy with the results you can move on to the more challanging parts of your face.........don't try to run before you can walk! :) there are some great YouTube vids of straight razor shaving to watch and you will get some valuable pointers there.
It can take up to 100 shaves with your straight razor before you can be said to be proficient at shaving with it so don't rush it, take your time to get it right. :) P.
 
Aim for a Good Glide & Lubrication..Proraso Does have the Habit of Drying Out..Soap is All Personnel..I Always Use a Good Quality Tallow Soap..Valobra or Vitos or Summit..Also..Ya Often Need to Adjust You're Lather as You Go..o_O

Prep is All Important with an SR..Most Guys Reiterate the Importance of Prep..Also..It Takes Time to Learn to Shave with an SR..You are Starting from Scratch & Forget Everything to Do with Safety Razors..:)

As Far as I Am Concerned..90/95% of the Learning with an SR is on the 1st WTG Pass..I Would Recommend WTG Passes Only Until You are Cleanly Shavin..I Can Get an Almost BBS with One or Couple of WTG Passes..The ATG Pass is Only a Clean Up Pass for Me these Days..:D

Billy
 
I agree with all the comments above. Here are a few things I learned that work for me and my customers.

Warm water only. Too hot and the skin expands. I personally use luke warm water for my own shaves.

Stretch that skin!! Stretching what you are shaving is the number one way to get a good irritation free shave and while applicable to all shaving apparatuses it is most needed when using a straight.

And last enjoy it!
Shaving with a straight is a truly enjoyable process and is a great skill to have in the bank.
 
Focus on the easy parts of your face, cheeks that is, easy to stretch to flat working surface, stay there and practice until you get the feel for prep and shave, practice wtg, finish shave with R41, then when you master this, if not some kind of prodigy it will not happen in a day, no hurry, go slow, then move to the neck, finish shave with R41, when you master the neck time for the tricky chin, when you master a complete wtg shave time to bin R41, start experimenting with across and against to find a style that fits you. So my advice: go slow and you might end up a SR-shaver, go fast and your blade will probably end up on BST :)
 
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My first straight shave experience was pretty much the same. I quite like proraso, but, the humble Palmolive stick for 50p is a better bet.
A much wetter lather really helped, keep adding water. With a decent tallow soap it can hold way more water than I thought.

The problem areas were exactly the same, they are tricky for everyone at first. Keep practicing it will soon be second nature. Proper strop technique was probably the most difficult to learn. I used an ordinary table knife to practice & still have a strop left at the end of it. I've read a few making the analogy to learning to drive & that's spot on. It seems impossible at first, practice & don't get too hung up on the odd bad shave, then seemingly you are doing nothing differently & getting great shaves.
I'm 4 months in & just started with a 2 pass routine that seems to be just as good as my 3 pass, except quicker (close to 10mins now, first efforts were closer to 45mins & patchy as hell)

Take your time, you can use an R41, you shouldn't have too much bother. There is nothing better than a straight shave.
 
Take your time, I also had the same problem with thinking that it was dragging and feeling that SR was not for me, I even thought that the razor was not sharp enough to cut the hairs when in fact it was, the leather kept drying up and frustration, I kept at it and it took a while, but as others mention stick with the cheeks with WTG strokes and you will soon feel confident to progress, if it gives you confidence I am at the stage now that I don't feel any dragging and a get a clean smooth shave with 2 WTG passes, there other day I jumped in the shower, jumped out, lathered, 2 passes, dried the razor, stropped it and job done, didn't even think about, if I can do it so can you, persevere my friend and you will get there.
 
SamuraiJack said:
Take your time, I also had the same problem with thinking that it was dragging and feeling that SR was not for me, I even thought that the razor was not sharp enough to cut the hairs when in fact it was, the leather kept drying up and frustration, I kept at it and it took a while, but as others mention stick with the cheeks with WTG strokes and you will soon feel confident to progress, if it gives you confidence I am at the stage now that I don't feel any dragging and a get a clean smooth shave with 2 WTG passes, there other day I jumped in the shower, jumped out, lathered, 2 passes, dried the razor, stropped it and job done, didn't even think about, if I can do it so can you, persevere my friend and you will get there.
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^^ well said ^^
in no time it'll be sorted.
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement all, i'm starting to feel my confidence grow, 3rd shave this morning had a quick go yesterday just to try the shaving cream from Lush, that was a non starter so i didn't bother flogging that particular horse. Had another go this morning, 2 passes WTG and a very tentative ATG pass on my neck and cheeks, i used the Palmolive stick this time, so much better for this application and it is tallow based, and i achieved a passable shave, it would have been good enough for work, not quite BBS yet but definitely heading in the right direction.
I did notice at times that i was letting the tension in the skin go as i concentrated on the blade angle and positioning, so that is one area for me to practice in.
 
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