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First Straight Razor Shave, Observations and Questions.

I've been safety razor shaving for I suppose about two years now. Before I would hold off on shaving for as long as I could with my Mach3Turbo, but found building lather to be fun, and shortly thereafter found the whole experience to be enjoyable with my Grandpa's old Gillette. Later, I adopted all of my family's old shaving equipment, bought a Merkur Progress, and started making my own astringent:

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I've been using a Progress with Dorco ST-300's for about a year with very little variation of equipment, and decided I should give straight-razor shaving a crack. I bought a Parker SR-1 on Amazon at a "why the hell not" price (since I needed to buy a shaving bowl. I've been using my great grandfather's Old Spice mug, but am afraid to crack it).

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I used half of a Derby extra blade and lathered with Proraso and C&E Sandalwood (they do not make this anymore?).

I won't lie; I got cut in places. A long one on my neck, and a bunch of tiny cuts on my chin and my upper lip. I kept forgetting to pull my skin taught, and there was more irritation than I would have liked (although I wasn't aching). I went ahead and went against the grain which actually was perhaps my smoothest pass, but I couldn't get some angles right due to the handle being in the way.

I was impressed that I got BBS in some places, and very little stubble in other places. The balance was right and I didn't slice my neck open like some Sweeny Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street action. Anyone seen the movie Un Chien Andalou by Salvador Dali? I kept thinking of the scene with the razor in that movie (I won't spoil it), but it was very distracting.

I'm sure I'll get it down all in time, but here are the questions I had before I tackle my next shave:

How do you avoid irritation? Do you feel a straight razor come with more irritation than a safety razor?

How important is it to get the skin taught? Am I looking to do this in every pass? Should I use my hand whenever possible, or is using facial inflections sufficient?

Do you ever have the handle get in the way of some strokes? Do you alternate hands depending on the side of the face, direction, or stroke?

I'm using half-blades in this razor. Are there any certain blades that you suggest for straight razors shaves? How often do you replace your half-blades?

Anyone had experience with this razor or any other Parker? The reviews for it were nil and the reviews for the other Parkers on this site are from first-timers like myself.

Do you find yourself having to shave less with the straight razor? I usually shave every two-three days, but I feel like I don't have enough stubble to shave right now on day four.
 
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