Ok fellas...Literally minutes ago, I just finished with my first SR shave. And by the title of this post, I'm sure you've realized the end result. But I would love to share with you the play by play....
I've been excited to have my first SR shave for quite a while, but had only acquired my first straight this past month from whippeddog. Along with my SR, I also picked up a custom badger to compliment the occasion. I am still waiting on my strop to come in, but since the razors from whipped dog come shave ready, I decided that tonight was the night to dive in.
Now...I know that is is suggested to practice on technique and muscle memory before putting razor to skin, and there are several methods in which to do so. But I have always found that trial by fire is where I gain the most knowledge. So the first time I lathered up for this razor is the first time I had done anything even remotely related to SR shaving. Right away I could tell that my angles and pressure for this procedure were quite sub-par. My angles started off way to deep, i was catching skin but thankfully not peeling myself like an orange. My first pass I had decided to go through all of the angles of my face, not just do cheeks and stop at upper lip or jaw line. I was in this to learn, so I needed to gather as much info as possible about all of the real estate of my face. Surprisingly enough, and much to my relief, I found that I am actually feeling more comfortable under my jaw and close to my jaw than on the straight aways of my cheeks, which is supposed to be the hard areas that make novices nervous. This is confusing to me, of course, but gives me hope in the fact that straight aways will be my biggest obstacle, and those should be picked up rather quickly. I lathered back up and decided that my second pass would be with my Merkur 38c for clean up because my face had endured enough punishment for the evening.
When it was all said and done, I had only drawn blood twice with the SR, once on my dominant side cheek, and the other under my weak side upper lip. I feel good about it, and I am remaining hopeful in that my efforts will culminate into valuable experience making the next attempt (I'm hoping within the next couple weeks) less fierce. If you are curious about what I used, you can find the custom badger and sight unseen WD straight in my profile pictures. Feel free to provide me with tips.
I've been excited to have my first SR shave for quite a while, but had only acquired my first straight this past month from whippeddog. Along with my SR, I also picked up a custom badger to compliment the occasion. I am still waiting on my strop to come in, but since the razors from whipped dog come shave ready, I decided that tonight was the night to dive in.
Now...I know that is is suggested to practice on technique and muscle memory before putting razor to skin, and there are several methods in which to do so. But I have always found that trial by fire is where I gain the most knowledge. So the first time I lathered up for this razor is the first time I had done anything even remotely related to SR shaving. Right away I could tell that my angles and pressure for this procedure were quite sub-par. My angles started off way to deep, i was catching skin but thankfully not peeling myself like an orange. My first pass I had decided to go through all of the angles of my face, not just do cheeks and stop at upper lip or jaw line. I was in this to learn, so I needed to gather as much info as possible about all of the real estate of my face. Surprisingly enough, and much to my relief, I found that I am actually feeling more comfortable under my jaw and close to my jaw than on the straight aways of my cheeks, which is supposed to be the hard areas that make novices nervous. This is confusing to me, of course, but gives me hope in the fact that straight aways will be my biggest obstacle, and those should be picked up rather quickly. I lathered back up and decided that my second pass would be with my Merkur 38c for clean up because my face had endured enough punishment for the evening.
When it was all said and done, I had only drawn blood twice with the SR, once on my dominant side cheek, and the other under my weak side upper lip. I feel good about it, and I am remaining hopeful in that my efforts will culminate into valuable experience making the next attempt (I'm hoping within the next couple weeks) less fierce. If you are curious about what I used, you can find the custom badger and sight unseen WD straight in my profile pictures. Feel free to provide me with tips.
