sometimes we're all still Newbies

[texaninkc]

sometimes we're all still newbies.

just got a reminder of that with today's shave. when i first started using DE's back in july i used my trusty HD to learn the ropes. One of my first vintage razors was a black beauty i picked up from another member here. I shaved with it and a blade that worked with an HD and had a horrible shave from what i can remember. I had read on the boards on starting with the lower digits and only increasing the aggressiveness when i was ready for it. I remember putting it on 2-3 and it really tore up my face. Didn't use it until....


Fast forward 6 months and over 100 shaves (today). Adjustables are in my rotation. I picked up a slim and a fatboy and used those for some time. I never used that super adjustable as it was a razor that brought me nightmares and a few days of rest without shaving.

I figured with my experience, I'd give the black beauty a shot. She had been eyeing me for weeks like it was saying I was ready. I threw a new blade in there and start going at it. Since I usually do a 6-5-4-3 with my fatboy, I thought I'd play it safe and go 5-4-3-2 with the black beauty. first two passes were fine. Definitely felt sharp but I attributed that to a new blade. Third pass is when I started to get a little messy. had a few bleeders which i chalked up to new razor/blade combo. I hardly get bleeders unless I try something new, and even then they're just weepers and it doesn't happen with every razor. So I thought, well it wasn't as bad as when i first started so let's do my final pass; besides I had turned down the adjustment to 2. How bad could ATG be on a 2 when I've done worse and been fine. Tore my face up bad. Still bleeding a bit as a write this.

So then I think, this really can't be my fault. Was this just a confidence thing and I screwed up. I looked at the blade gap and noticed that it was a little wider than I've normally seen it. I moved the adjustment knob and heard the clicks but no changes to the bottom plate when opening and closing. I pulled out my slim for comparison and the blade gap on this black beauty was as wide as the gap on my slim set on 9.

Turns out my horrible shave when I first started was due to me shaving with an adjustable set on 9. I got through 2 passes then. Today I got 4 passes set on 9...

Lesson learned:

1) stop when things start to go sour (still a newbie I guess)

2) Trust your technique and look at the other variables (this either means i'm not a newbie with certain things but still a newbie at heart)

3) buy a lot of razors to compare if something's wrong (I wouldn't have known it was a gap issue unless I had another adjustable to compare).

4) learn how to fix the razors that are not working properly (will be doing a search after I hit send on this).

5) Never shave ATG on a 9 even with a working razor.

thanks if you got this far

[salazch12]

Great post!
For me it's a pride thing. I don't like to admit that I might be doing something wrong. I have to go back to basics and approach it like its my first time.
Buy a lot of razors? I'm all for it! The wife however........

[The Don]

Great post, man. Sorry to hear about the rough shave, but I think we all learn something from your story. Thanks for sharing.

[dfollett_98]

Jose:

We all benefit from remembering we are using tools that can perform minor surgery, especially our straight razor fans! Thanks for the reminder.

Don