After a long and drawn out battle with conscience, and a period of collecting the necessary tools, I finally gave it a go this morning. It was less than stellar, yet still very exciting for me. Let's just say my technique needs much improvement. Had trouble using my left hand (I'm a righty), got bit a few times too. Respect the blade! First pass wtg, followed by xtg. Finished up with my DE for fear of losing a lip. Tools used: Rudolf Schmidt Solingen 9/16 round point (picked up from Bill Ellis) Simpsons Chubby 1 best Proraso pre Coats original almond cream a few drops of blood Floris Santal ASB Guess I have some more studying to do (/me breaks out Lynn's dvd). :ashamed001
From where I'm standing your first straight shave was a success. Yes the learning curve is steep. Patience is a must. Setting the right levels of expectations while your learn the necessary techniques is important. Take it slow, dont rush the shave. Practice brushing your teeth with your left hand to gain dexterity with that hand. Stretching your skin during your shave is very important. There is no shame is finishing with a DE, many straight shavers do. Feel free to ask questions and welcome to the brotherhood. Raf
Yes another one submitted to the powah of the straight side. Welcome, you do realize that now you've started that there is no way back. It will take quite some time to learn how to truly get a smooth face with a straight so just keep practicing. Once you have had bbs with a straight you won't want anything else.
Nice one - sounds like you did really well. Your face may be a little tender for a day or so - mine was for the first couple of weeks. Could pay to shave every second day or so until your skin adapts. James.
A day later the scars are still there, but the irritation on my neck has subsided. After reading Dr. Moss' "How To.." pdf, I wonder if my failure to strop enough may have contributed to my issues? I didn't strop on the linen, and only stropped about 20 round trips on the leather. Also, I normally only shave every other day. No matter what type of blade I use, I get irritation if I shave daily. Something that's been with me all of my life (46 yo). I'll probably save shaving with a straight for weekends, when I have more time to devote to the shave. It certainly took a heck of a lot longer to shave than normal! Thanks for the encouraging words from everyone.
I have never shaved with a streaight so I really have no business giving any advice, but if it was jsut me I would want to get a teacher before I ventured out for my first straight shave. Some people learn best by having a teacher and I think, at least for myself, this is one place where I would need a teacher. Have you found a teacher? Neighborhood barbers often can teach this process. There is a barber near my home who still uses a straight although the last time I had t his done it felt like she was going to take my neck off she pushed down so hard.
I have 3 straights (one of which came from Bill) 2 are shave ready. I just don't seem to be confident enough to try and persevere until I get it right. I think that it is a disadvantage to move over from DE shaving. I can get a BBS shave with a DE and have never come close with a straight
Brian, have you tried just shaving your cheeks until you are more confident handling the razor? That's one way to start. After all, you won't get it right until you persevere You could always touch up with a DE as needed. Jordan
I also echo this advise. Shaving with a straight takes practice. Setting goals is an effective way to develop confidence. As mentioned by Jordan start with you cheeks with the grain and streching the skin. Read up on Dr. Moss's guide it is very helpful. Ask questions as needed. Raf
Perhaps you should post this in the straight shave section of this forum. I would recommend that you describe your technique step by step and perhaps the folks over there can give you some pointers. I have never used one myself, and probably will not consider it until my three year old son is old enough to realize not to touch this thing
I have a (almost) 2 year old. What I do is put my SER in a child safety draw (it is pretty high up too) and we keep the bathroom door closed, haven’t had a problem. I figure by the time he can get to the razor he will be old enough to know what it is and not to play with it, heck he may even be old enough to shave with it. :rofl
