my first shave...

J

jcr

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35
had my first straight razor shave tonight with a 13/16 that i picked up of this forum(thanks simmo3801).

on first seeing the blade i thought it was a lot bigger than i was expecting but i found the actual shave surprisingly easy and did my whole face/neck. took a while around the chin and upper lip but i managed to shave really close and did not need to touch up anywhere after.
unfortunately i got a bit over confident and gave myself a nasty nick on the jawline below my ear:blush: tissue stuck to face as i type.

i think i need to work on lathering the soap a bit though it was quite thick and the side of the blade felt like it was sticking to it quite often.

face has a slight burning sensation now not sure if thats normal with straight shaving?

feeling quite proud of myself now:D

thank you every one for all the great advice and friendliness found in tsr it really made getting into straight shaving easy

merry christmas
jason
 
jcr said:
had my first straight razor shave tonight with a 13/16 that i picked up of this forum(thanks simmo3801).

on first seeing the blade i thought it was a lot bigger than i was expecting but i found the actual shave surprisingly easy and did my whole face/neck. took a while around the chin and upper lip but i managed to shave really close and did not need to touch up anywhere after.
unfortunately i got a bit over confident and gave myself a nasty nick on the jawline below my ear:blush: tissue stuck to face as i type.

i think i need to work on lathering the soap a bit though it was quite thick and the side of the blade felt like it was sticking to it quite often.

face has a slight burning sensation now not sure if thats normal with straight shaving?

feeling quite proud of myself now:D

thank you every one for all the great advice and friendliness found in tsr it really made getting into straight shaving easy

merry christmas
jason
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open your mouth like your angry wife kicked you where the sun dont shine, when shaving jaw,

that way you wont have to shave over the jaw line and will make it easier till you get used to it.

(that way can shave straight down from under ear and it makes it 1 stroke instead of a faf getting behind jaw)
 
Lose the beard said:
Sounds like you did quite well. The first thing I learnt when I picked up a straight was that my lather needed to be much wetter.
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Agree with the wetter soap comment. A lot of the videos show guys shaving with all of this heavy, luxurious lather. I've found that the a good soap, like MWF, on the wet side a great starting point. For me the soap and how I make the lather is at least 50% of the formula for success with a straight razor.
 
Another good tip is to have soft flannel (dry) to wipe the blade clean, ie remove the white crap off your blade, want to keep a straight out of the dirty sink water. Just wrince your razor under the tap only.
If you have hard water keep an eye on that soap scum sticking to your blade and watch your fingers when wiping the blade with the flannel.
 
I agree, sounds like you had a very good first shave! :D

You'll get the angels and lather right as you go (it's better that the blade get stuck than it nick you) and it's very easy to get that raw feeling, straight shaves can get much closer than any other shaving device - bad and good. Your skin will also adept to this kind of shaving after some time (+ your tech will get better = fantastic shaves).
 
Well done sounds like a very successful first straight razor shave, I would advise less pressure, you would be better off with a two pass lighter touch closer shave than a one pass with more pressure that seems to cause your rawness, very positive outcome for a first shave with a straight razor.

Jamie
 
All the advice is good here - angles/pressure/skin stretching etc. I use straights most days and must admit to preferring a firmer rather than wetter lather. However this is something you will resolve to your own preference. Most important of course is that the blade is in good, shave-ready condition bur proper stropping and an occasional hone will ensure this.

Sounds like you are off to a good start - but don't get too blase, these things have a habit of biting you with the slightest lack of concentration.
 
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