Hi guys! As promised, I said that I would give my thoughts and tips on shaving during my 100/100 milestone journey.
Against conventional wisdom, I started out with one of the most difficult shavettes to use and that was the Dovo Shavette. I figured that if I could tame this beast, then I would have the skills and confidence to use a traditional straight razor. For some reason, this klutz had an unforseen gift from God to have a steady hand and very little fear from using my Dovo shavette so that my first day was a successful one pass, bloodless shave. I knew at that moment that I could do this. My 16th shavette shave included my first headshave with this razor and it was successful as well such that I ordered my first Dovo straight razor from SRD. I was fortunate from the beginning that I never cut myself badly so as not to be discouraged. At approximately 50 straight shaves I joined this forum on Dec 21, 2018 and continued my journey to 200 straight shaves, consisting of 100 shavette and 100 traditional straight shaves. The following are my tips for those who want to enter straight shaving:
1. If the startup costs and the maintenance of a straight is a concern, then start with a shavette. I like Dovo, but others are less expensive and can run between 15 to 25 dollars, excluding the blades.
2. If you decide to go head on to straights, then my recommendation is to get a 5/8 round point. I would recommend a Dovo or a Böker for a first razor. Get the Dovo Best Quality or the least expensive Böker model. Also, buy an inexpensive strop because you will cut it up when you first learn to strop.
3. Look at some of the shaving videos on YouTube to help you learn to shave with a straight razor. I recommend Geofatboy, Eric Latta's Adventures in Wetshaving and Nick Shaves. There are other videos too numerous to mention.
4. Lathering is very important. With practice, you will get the right water soap mixture. I prefer a slightly more with lather than most, but you need to find out what works for your face.
5. Take your time. Slow, deliberate strokes will minimize your risk of mishaps. Don't put pressure on the blade, just enough for the razor to glide across the face and neck. Starting out, I would suggest straightshaving on weekends and nights so you are not in a hurry. As you get more proficient with straight shaving, you will get quicker.
5. Map your face. In other words, know the direction your beard grows so that you will first shaving pass is in the direction of beard growth. You do this so that you will not have any irritation.
6. Be open to different ways to shave your face to get a nice smooth shave. Also, shave according to what is needed for the day. In other words, do I really need a BBS, DFS or an in between smooth shave (IBSS) that's between DFS and BBS.
6. No matter how many straight razor shaves you have, don't get so comfortable that you lose your focus because you will cut yourself.
7. Finally, go in with the attitude of enjoying straight razor shaving from the very start and that cuts, nicks, weeps and irritation will not keep you from being a select few men who straight razor shave.
Finally, rest assure that there will be Keithmax, myself and others to answer any questions about straightshaving. Also, the rest of the nonstraightshaving 30 day crew will be cheering you on as well. Good luck and happy shaving!
PS Shaving with a shavette is different from a straight in that with a shavette it will not forgive your mistakes in regard to technique. Watch your angle of attack and land the blade flat, then lift until you are cutting hair. Peace.
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