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Pre-n00b with a pseudo-straight

If everything goes according to plan, I'll attempt my first (pseudo) straight shave with my Sanguine shavette in the morning. I've been practicing without a blade. Right hand feels okay; left is REALLY awkward. So I'm expecting lots of blood on my right cheek tomorrow.

Fortunately, the life insurance is all paid up. If I make it through to the other side, I'll update.
 
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Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
You'll be fine...just keep the blade flatter against your skin, and don't press down as you take your pass. And don't do any back and forth sawing movements :)
 
Damn! I was looking forward to sporting a Heidelburg dueling scar. :)

Well, now I'm REALLY confused on how to hold the razor. The video in the straight razor sticky has a left hand/right cheek configuration. But then someone in the General forum just posted a right hand/right cheek. I've practiced both ways. Crossing over is just slightly less awkward (I really am a dork with my left hand). Does anyone jut shave right-handed the whole way?

I don't want to pick up any bad habits that I'll have to unlearn when/if I graduate to a real straight.
 
Well, now I'm REALLY confused on how to hold the razor. The video in the straight razor sticky has a left hand/right cheek configuration. But then someone in the General forum just posted a right hand/right cheek. I've practiced both ways. Crossing over is just slightly less awkward (I really am a dork with my left hand). Does anyone jut shave right-handed the whole way?

I shave right handed the whole way, as do some others... but the general advice is, if you can make your left hand do it properly with a little practice that is the way to go. However, either is fine. My left hand is just way too clumsy.
 
I tend to switch hands, but go right-to-right and left-to-left. Works fine for me. I have seen one video where the shaver apparently brings the heel to his ear (as opposed to the toe to his ear), and I'm not sure how one does that. I might have to practice it.

My first straight shave got me a pretty nice cut; I was pretty nervous. Just take it slow, try to find what works/feels good. Try all kinds of things; what works for someone else won't necessarily work for you. Remember to use very little pressure (enough to keep the blade to your face). Good luck. Oh, and chicks dig scars!
 
i shave left handed the whole way.... it is all what makes you comfortable.... no matter what anyone tells you it is all about the comfort....
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Here's my self-certified pass regimen

WTG Right hand Right Cheek
ATG ear to mouth Right Hand Left Cheek
mouth to ear Right Hand Right Cheek
WTG Right hand Right Cheek

Everything flipped around for the opposite sides of the face. Some parts of the face require some Yoga poses like "downward Toe, upwards Heel" and "right elbow left ear", but I digress...:lol:
 
Hey! I survived. One pass WTG with a little touch up where I botched my chin. Certainly not DFS-quality, but it would probably be fine for work. Except that trail of blood down the hall. Someone might object to that. :lol1:

It's certainly different from DE shaving. It seemed to require a much higher level of attention. I nicked myself one time under the nose from an adrenalin-induced hand-shake. Maybe I was paying too much attention?

The plan now is to try this daily until I have to report back to work on 1/3.
 
It's not so difficult really. I didn't watch any videos nor did any practice. It was easy enough when I didn't attempt any wonders and accepted a few scratches. The freedom of the movements blade and end the ease to wipe out debris just out of the blade were the best things. The only BIG difficulty was to get that blade stucked to my 8-euro cheap Shaving Stack shavette. I must try to find some better toy because I feel a bit reluctant to spend time on learning with sraights at the moment.
 
Damn! I was looking forward to sporting a Heidelburg dueling scar. :)

Well, now I'm REALLY confused on how to hold the razor. The video in the straight razor sticky has a left hand/right cheek configuration. But then someone in the General forum just posted a right hand/right cheek. I've practiced both ways. Crossing over is just slightly less awkward (I really am a dork with my left hand). Does anyone jut shave right-handed the whole way?

I don't want to pick up any bad habits that I'll have to unlearn when/if I graduate to a real straight.

As others above have said there are quite a few different ways. What may be confusing you is that dependent on the type of pass (North to South; East to West, etc) sometimes your hand switches the side of the face you're on, like Kentos laid out.

If you're looking at videos - check out the geofatboy videos on YouTube. He uses what I would call the most common way of using dominant, non-dominant hands.

If you're looking to use your non dominant hand, it won't take long to get it working just as well. In fact, I get closer shaves in the places I use my left hand and I'm a righty.
 
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