Woulda/Coulda/Shoulda

[CzechCzar]

Hello everybody,

About to take my first dive into the very deep waters of straight razors. First of all, thanks are in order to Dan and John, for generously offering to allow me to borrow/purchase their supplies so I don't get stuck into a financial sinkhole if it turns out that this isn't for me. Thanks B&B!

I wanted to ask the community here what five things they wish they had known when starting out. When first learning to use a safety razor, there were so many things I had to learn by trial and error. I have the basic supplies on hand, and am reading through the extensive tutorials, but I wanted to ask the community at large: what things did you learn over the course of apprehending how to straight-shave that you wish you had known at first?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[thanks]

1. Stropping is more important than you could ever imagine at this point
2. Keep a close eye on that tip
3. Good prep is paramount
4. Stropping is more important than you could ever imagine at this point
5. Seriously, if your razor feels slightly dull with less than a week and a half's worth of shaves under it's belt, you are stropping wrong or the blade isn't worth it

 

[Leche]

1. Don't be scarred but be humble.
2. Respect the straight.
3. Prep is huge including knowing your face.
4. Take your time and make sure you have made plenty of time so you aren't rushed.
5. Be alone.

The above is great advice too.

 

[Luc]

1. Buy a strop, newspaper strop is ok but nothing beats a strop!
2. Take your time
3. Ask as many questions as you can think of
4. Don't expect the best shve right away
5. Think no pressure/angle

Good advices up here!

 

[Ru4scuba?]

Good luck JJ...I'm only on #6 (maybe 7 today) so I'll refrain from advice...but post your challenges and successes!

 

[Alacrity59]

It has already been said but I did not really get it until I got it. A really really light touch makes a huge difference to me. Your intention is to cut the hair not scrape the skin.

 

[DE Shaver]

Blade stropping and maintenance is far more important for straight razor shaving than in other types of shaving. A sharp blade is a safe blade because you aren't pressing down or scraping to cut facial hair. Mastering the strop is essential.

Beard preparation is very important. As a starting tip, I would advise that you apply lather to your beard first and then take the time to strop your blade. This will help ensure that beard is adequately softened before cutting.

Stretch the skin when you cut but not too much. You want to raise the hairs a little to get a close shave. However, you don't want to pull so much that when you release, the hair retracts deep into your skin, which may lead to folliculitis later on.

 

[dmcconnell]

Great thread. Here is some advise from my 3 month learning curve:

1 - You will tend to understimate the importance of the strop, try to understand that it is not optional to be good at stropping
2 - Learn to use your non-dominant hand (hard at first, but worth it once you get comfortable)
3 - Don't try ATG until you have completed several WTG shaves without any drama (I tried to soon and cut myself)
4 - Get a pro to hone at least one razor for you so you're not fighting your honing learning curve at the same time as your str8 shaving learning curve. There is lots of time to learn to hone once you can shave safely and comfortably.
5 - Use light pressure and its ok to use several short strokes to reduce the whiskers in tough areas (lip, chin, etc). When I started, I used way to much pressure (coming from a Schick Quattro) and I figured that one swipe with the str8 should remove all whiskers instantly - wrong paradigm. Reduce the whiskers with multiple gentle strokes.