First Straight

I've been DE shaving for about 4 months now and I've decided to jump into straights. Just bought my first one from that online auction last night. The "gotta win" disease hit me and I paid a little more than I should've. I got the dovo special edition for Royal Shave. Looking forward to this new journey and the feel of taking a blade to my face.

Congrats on taking the plunge. Consider starting a shave journal to document your journey. It's important to not expect the best results when starting, as it is a learned skill. Go for comfort and efficiency. Closeness will come with time.

Oh, and it's the worst AD. Yep.

It's a journey not a race. Take your time, watch videos. It gets easier and is a lot of fun too. Make sure that the straight is shave ready, if it is not, then send it off. You will need a strop too, if you have not got one, then let the thread know and someone will recommend one for you.

I just started the same Journey you have decided to start about a month ago and I am loving it, still not perfect but getting better and better everyday, as stated ensure it's shave ready and get a strop and watch alot of youtube (Geofatboy etc..)

Congrats on stepping into the world of straights.....I also just ordered my first straight and can't wait to take this journey!

I am definitely planing on going slow and taking my time. I'm not going to go for BBS right away but just try to keep the red stuff in my face. I don't know yet if it is shave ready but I will probably send it to someone just to make sure it's GTG from the beginning. I do not have a strope yet but I was looking at the Illinois 127. Is that a good strope to start with?

It looks wide enough, and the price is right for a first time user. I've haven't cut mine yet, but everyone says it will happen.

For that reason alone I went with one that can be taken apart, allowing the leather to be replaced if needed.

I also went with a 3.5in. so that I did not need to worry about x patterns.

Hmm, that sounds like a good idea. Which strop did you get?

Congratulations!
Enjoy the journey.
-> Myron

therealJZ said:

I've been DE shaving for about 4 months now and I've decided to jump into straights. Just bought my first one from that online auction last night. The "gotta win" disease hit me and I paid a little more than I should've. I got the dovo special edition for Royal Shave. Looking forward to this new journey and the feel of taking a blade to my face.

Click to expand...

This is the exact razor I started
out with at the end of August.
Still my favourite razor. You will
like it. Good luck!

Well my razor came in today and it looks great. Tomorrow I'm sending it off to whipped dog and I'm also going to get one of his poor man strop kits.

Congrats and good luck.

I got my razor back from whipped dog yesterday and went ahead and shaved with it last night. It seemed to tug and pull a lot. Granted I did have 3.5 days of growth on my face but even when I shave with my DE it doesn't tug like that. I didn't strop it because it came ready to go from whipped dog. I did wipe the oil off the blade but stayed away from the edge. I'm guessing the tugging and pulling was caused by a combination of the growth I had on my face and poor angle?? Does this sound right??? I managed to not have any nicks or cuts, so that was a big plus. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Forgot to mention that I have really coarse hair.

therealJZ said:

Forgot to mention that I have really coarse hair.

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What was your pre-shave routine? With a course beard, you will want to make sure that your whiskers are very hydrated and soft.

Just like with DE shaving, blade angle is key and takes a while for it to click. Just shave a little bit (whatever feels comfortable) every day, and be mindful of the relationship of blade and face as you go and it will come with time and patience.

I shower and use the jack black face scrub, make my lather (in this case proraso red) and lather my face, then put a hot wet towel on my face for about a minute. I then re-lather and shave.

therealJZ said:

I shower and use the jack black face scrub, make my lather (in this case proraso red) and lather my face, then put a hot wet towel on my face for about a minute. I then re-lather and shave.

Click to expand...

Sounds like that is not the issue then. Not sure if the razor could be the culprit or if it is technique. Given that you are just no starting out, I suspect it might be technique related.

Thanks for the input. I'll just keep paying real close attention to my angle. I'm pretty sure it is technique due to me just getting the razor back from being honed and just starting off.