My First Straight Shave, thoughts

JayGee

JayGee

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814
Took the plunge with a beautiful Japanese Fuji branded straight. It came from our very own @Fergiebilly , so I knew it would be a good 'un & shave ready.

I went for a single WTG pass finished off with a DE for XTG , ATG.

Initial thoughts are I have a LOT to learn, made a proper meal out of it. Probably thinking about it way too much.
I thought my lather was good using a DE, it wasnt with the straight, too thick & not slick enough, sucking the blade to the cheek. More water & a bit thinner, much better.
I know the blade is super sharp,yet still found the chin and moustache area tough going, the blade felt grabby and wanted to jump. I'm thinking angle is the problem.

In a nutshell, not a natural & I need a lot of practice. Can't use my left hand very well & find it a hindrance TBH, don't know whether to persevere or just hold the razor with my right hand for both sides.

Must watch some more YouTube bids to get my grip/angle better.
 
shaunwistow said:
That pretty much summed up my 1sr SR shave. I was told it takes dozens & dozens of goes before you get the hang of it. I'm sure you'll get the knack, I may try a SR again in the future. At least you know the razor is top notch.
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Way more difficult than expected, practice, practice & more practice.
Wierdly, I thought DE shaving would be a challenge & took to it with no problems.
I bought some proraso healing gel with my first "proper" soap & have never needed it in nearly 2 years, glad I have it now!
 
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A 1st SR Shave is Like the 1st Time Driving a Car..You Wont be Able to Drive it..Many Lessons are Required..Every Shave is a Shaving Lesson..The Moustache & Mouth Area is Always a Challenge to Beginners & Can Take Some a While to Master..:oops:

Videos are Only a Referance Point..You Can Watch them All Day..The Learning is in the Practice Just like Learning to Drive..Find the Correct Angle on the Flatter Parts Like the Cheeks..The Angles on Every Part of the Face are Constantly Changing with Subtle Movement's & Adjustment's of the Blade..;)

Congrats on the 1st Shave..:D:D

Billy
 
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Thanks Billy, I was thinking when cleaning up the kit, this is just like learning to drive.
Something that seemed impossible can become 2nd nature with practice.

Intend to SR shave every evening for a while, just a single WTG pass, as slow as I like with a quick DE tidy up in the morning. See how I go with that until my proficiency starts to build.
 
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Fergiebilly said:
Aye..Modernity is All About Watered Down Crash Courses on This & That & Certificates for Instant Gratification..SR Shaving is NOT for Instant Gratification Seeking Puppies..You Will Get Rewarded with Putting in the Time..Just Like a Good Woman SR Shaving is a Treat to Behold..:D:D

Billy
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Out of sheer curiosity, how long does the SR ritual take, from pre-shave strop to post-shave strop, and fiddling in-between?
If anyone has it down to a science, it must be you. :)
 
JayGee said:
2nd shave, waaay better.
Managed 2-passes & no DE needed.

A patchy, not bad shave.
I'd say on a par with my first DE efforts.

Waiting for my strop to turn up before my next attempt.
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Aye..You Need to Strop it for Sure..There are Many Ways..My Way that Works for Me..40 Sets After a Shave..60 Sets Before a Shave..:)

Billy
 
Fergiebilly said:
I Can Do an Out the Door One Pass Interview Shave in 10 Min or So..:D

Billy
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Aye but your a fucking guru lol.

Ive used the one I got from you a good few times now (I'm a head shaver and beard grower) and there's still parts I can't even get to. I generally do top, back and my right side. After that I gotta do the rest with my de. Getting better. Only use it on my days off as I need about an hour start to finish. With my de I do a full head shave including shower and prep in about 20 mins
 
Reaver said:
Aye but your a fucking guru lol.

Ive used the one I got from you a good few times now (I'm a head shaver and beard grower) and there's still parts I can't even get to. I generally do top, back and my right side. After that I gotta do the rest with my de. Getting better. Only use it on my days off as I need about an hour start to finish. With my de I do a full head shave including shower and prep in about 20 mins
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Guru..Na..Not Me..I Cant Shave My Head with an SR..Woudnt Even Go there..Leave that Up to the "Real" Guru..:D:D

Billy
 
A (not so) quick update after a week or so of straight use with no DE "cheating" (which I think has helped a bit).

Stuff I thought was okay & clearly there was room for improvement such as;
Prep, a hot towel over lather for a minute or so before the first pass makes a big difference to the ease of cutting chin hair (in addition to a hot shower prior). I'd tried this with a DE & thought it didn't help, well it does & quite a difference.
Skin stretching is essential & often forget to do it.
Lather, way too dry, even though it felt fine for a DE.
With a confident (but not tight) grip you can feel what the blade is doing through your fingers.
Stropping, wow, what a difference. My strop took a little while to arrive as it wasn't in stock, consequently, had a couple of shaves without stropping at all & my first few stropping attempts were clearly quite poor, the last couple of shaves the blade has felt so smooth, the difference is incredible.

Still very green, I think its similar to learning to play a musical instrument in that you have to really want to do it & don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can say, "couldn't have done that any better! "
And that is why I'm hooked!
Loving it.

Strangely my skin is in better condition than with a DE even with my rough (& long winded) technique.
 
Good stuff man. Your not the only one on this journey. I'm still very new to straights and I have a big beard so it's all head and mostly areas that can't be seen. I'm in the deep end and ding everything by touch and feel. Think it's forcing me to improve at a faster rate as eyes on is a distraction to learning the feel. If that makes sense.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
Reaver said:
Good stuff man. Your not the only one on this journey. I'm still very new to straights and I have a big beard so it's all head and mostly areas that can't be seen. I'm in the deep end and ding everything by touch and feel. Think it's forcing me to improve at a faster rate as eyes on is a distraction to learning the feel. If that makes sense.

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
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Yea, it does makes sense.
Found that I was making a meal out some areas when my hand was blocking the view in the mirror, stopped stressing about not being able to see & went with the feel, much better
 
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