What's new

First Shave in the Books

T

TimmyMac

So my order landed just before lunch, and while I told myself I'd shave after my jiu jitsu class and shower tonight, I had no willpower and had to take the new stuff for a spin. I tried using a safety razor like one time maybe 20 years ago, so for all intents and purposes, I'm a newb and a half here.

I loaded the Merkur 34C with the free blade it came with, soaked my brush and tried to whip up some lather. I don't think I did a great job at that, but the shave itself - holy moly! It was so smooth on my face I assumed I'd loaded something wrong. Imagine my surprise to find it really did just slice off the whiskers. I did two passes - one WTG and one XTG. I have a beard so that cross-grain is good for keeping the line straight.

My neck was not quite as successful - felt pretty smooth during both passes but did have a little blood and heat afterwards. Post-balm and I'm feeling fine.

All in all, I'm super happy. I can't believe how smooth my face is! I need to work on my technique - especially building that lather - and then I need to figure out which blade from this sample pack to try first!
 
Lockback

Lockback

TimmyMac said:
So my order landed just before lunch, and while I told myself I'd shave after my jiu jitsu class and shower tonight, I had no willpower and had to take the new stuff for a spin. I tried using a safety razor like one time maybe 20 years ago, so for all intents and purposes, I'm a newb and a half here.

I loaded the Merkur 34C with the free blade it came with, soaked my brush and tried to whip up some lather. I don't think I did a great job at that, but the shave itself - holy moly! It was so smooth on my face I assumed I'd loaded something wrong. Imagine my surprise to find it really did just slice off the whiskers. I did two passes - one WTG and one XTG. I have a beard so that cross-grain is good for keeping the line straight.

My neck was not quite as successful - felt pretty smooth during both passes but did have a little blood and heat afterwards. Post-balm and I'm feeling fine.

All in all, I'm super happy. I can't believe how smooth my face is! I need to work on my technique - especially building that lather - and then I need to figure out which blade from this sample pack to try first!
Click to expand...
Fantastic start! Good choice of beginning razors, one that will serve you well.
If you're like me, your technique for both lathering and shaving will improve pretty rapidly. There's no comparison between where I was last year and where I am now.
Congratulations and welcome to the land of great shaves! 🍻
 
Galibier_Numero_Un

Galibier_Numero_Un

TimmyMac said:
So my order landed just before lunch, and while I told myself I'd shave after my jiu jitsu class and shower tonight, I had no willpower and had to take the new stuff for a spin. I tried using a safety razor like one time maybe 20 years ago, so for all intents and purposes, I'm a newb and a half here.

I loaded the Merkur 34C with the free blade it came with, soaked my brush and tried to whip up some lather. I don't think I did a great job at that, but the shave itself - holy moly! It was so smooth on my face I assumed I'd loaded something wrong. Imagine my surprise to find it really did just slice off the whiskers. I did two passes - one WTG and one XTG. I have a beard so that cross-grain is good for keeping the line straight.

My neck was not quite as successful - felt pretty smooth during both passes but did have a little blood and heat afterwards. Post-balm and I'm feeling fine.

All in all, I'm super happy. I can't believe how smooth my face is! I need to work on my technique - especially building that lather - and then I need to figure out which blade from this sample pack to try first!
Click to expand...
Great start! Check out this Fool Proof Lather Method, along with @Marco's method. Both have been really helpful in my journey.

... Thom
 
dmshaver

dmshaver

Glad you've joined, welcome. You'll get the hang of it, just stick with it & keep trying. I'll point out an important tip, use no pressure. By that I mean to lay the razor against your face & do not push into the skin as we all learned to do when we used a cartridge razor. Pressure is a big enemy! Let gravity pull the razor across your skin. try for whisker reduction, not whisker elimination is some advice I was given & it helped me. Enjoy the learning, ask as many questions as you like. There are lots of good folks here who at one time or another were beginners just like you are now. This is a wonderful way to shave, give it time & I predict you'll love it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Proper Irish
First DE shave is in the books. I survived to tell the tale…
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
Cal
Cal
J
First shave
Replies
16
Views
849
Old Hippie
Old Hippie
ShavethAndProsper
Hi All and N00b Question
Replies
19
Views
751
gpjoe
gpjoe
Chouffleur
Easy Steps for Little Feet - Step One
Replies
9
Views
444
DEgeezer
DEgeezer
A
Razor Sharpness
Replies
14
Views
1K
gpjoe
gpjoe
Top Bottom