Thread: The scariest straight shave of my life...long post

Hello everyone,

It has been quite a while since I have posted here, but I have been lurking around and buying razors still. Since I have signed up with this site I have bought 12 straight blades and completely converted to straight shaving 100% of the time. The only time I went back to cartridges was if I had a job interview (didn't want to get cut and go in with a slash on my face). Which brings me to my next topic.

I have landed a position as a 911 emergency dispatcher in Boone County, Kentucky. And on Oct 20th I had to go to the Department Of Criminal Justice Training Center for a month of straight training. Im living in a dorm and only coming home on the weekends. Although I looked at this as important training, I also viewed it as a challenge for my straight blade shaving. I had to get written consent from my dispatch director to get permission to bring a blade to the dorm. We have to be clean shaven every day. I nailed it the first week...no problem at all. Clean shaves everyday with just a single wtg pass in the morning.

What I was not expecting was for my 24 classmates to become highly interested in my shaving method. My roommate thought I was insane and was sure that I would cut myself during every shave.

Then came Wednesday night of last week, A very large individual who was rather interested In my blade approached me with a simple request...."Shave my head". Keep in mind, I have never shaved anyone but myself in the past 3 years. I made sure to give him plenty of warnings. Letting him know it is entirely possible that i may nick him a few times. The 6 foot plus tall, 300 plus lbs country boy didn't care at all. Hes only request was that i don't cut off his ears. The man had balls but that didn't keep me from being nervous.

I set up a chair in front of the sink, he insisted on having the dorm door propped open so my classmates could watch. I asked them to keep their conversations to a minimum so I could concentrate and started the process. I applied some cheap Suave vanilla conditioner to his head and gave him a hot towel presoak while I stropped my blade. I used my tweezerman brush (left the shavemac at home) and covered his dome with a nice creamy layer of Tabac. Here we go....the first stroke of this shave. As I slid the razor across his scalp I saw what scared me to death, my hand was trembling....very badly. It reminded me of the first time I straight shaved, the nervous feeling of being cut is now being viewed from a completely different angle. I am scared to death I'm going to cut this poor guy. "What have I gotten myself into I thought?". But I continued, The process has already begun and there is no turning back. On the next pass my hand is still trembling and I notice my classmates run down the hall and hear the sound of muffled laughter. They come back and continue watching, hoping...praying that I cut this guy and they get to see a bloodbath. Minutes pass and more hair is mowed down and I'm starting to gain confidence. Working from the top of his head and around I am going WTG and really starting to make some process. I felt like such a professional, asking him to angle his head and stretching his skin to get the best angles.

The major problems I started running into was not the shave itself, but the accumulation of hair on the blade. Each pass filled the blade up which would require me to rinse it off after about 2 strokes. The ears were the most difficult parts for me to get, I caught myself holding my breath and really taking my time there.

After nearly an hour of shaving, I wipe his head down and inspect my work. This is far from a bbs shave, but I managed to take nearly all the long hairs off this guys head. I was very proud of myself, not one time did he say he was uncomfortable. I didnt so much as give him a weeper. No blood at all. At the end of the process he said it felt good!!! I applied some thayers witch hazel to his head and he never complained of razor burn for the rest of the night.

I know this post is long winded, but If it wasn't for me discovering this awesome site and getting into straight shaving, I would have never been able to have an experience like this. I overcame the same type of pressure I faced so long ago on my first straight shave, and really did a good job at something I was sure was going to turn out ugly. When people asked me how the academy went that weekend, instead of saying I passed my written exam I happily would say "I shaved someones head!!"

Thanks for all the help and support guys

Heres some pics for ya




I'm kicking myself for not getting a "before" picture of his head before shaving. He had about 1/4 inch buzzcut before I started.



I used a Gotta 6/8 full hollow with Wooden scales. Now I need it honed because this guys head dulled it pretty quickly.



People gathered outside of the door to take pictures and laugh.




The red spots on the top of his head were scabs that were already there. Like I said...not one cut!!!

Thanks for reading guys

WOW, you do have guts. Good job!!!

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

WOW, you do have guts. Good job!!!

No risk no reward!!!

So let me ask some of you guys who have shaved someone else before. What would you consider more difficult? Someones head, face or legs? We can save the downstairs shaving discussion for another time. Not in the mood to cringe right now

Congrats on the job. I grew up in Boone County. Live in Brown County Ohio now. If you had cut off an ear I think he would have given you a reason to need a 911 dispatcher. He was a little bit bigger than you. I'm not a whole lot bigger than you. I'm not sure I would be confident enough to try shaving someone else. i've only been at this maybe three months. I've been doing really good till this last week and cut myself two days in a row. Took a day off and had a great shave today.
Well, done.

Yea you be a brave dude. I wouldn't have the nerve to do that.

Congratulations, I have had friends ask for shaves but I turn then down as I don't think I am ready. I think someones head is probably easier to shave then someones face but since most of us here have alot more experience shaving faces than heads it probably balances out. I think you could eliminate some of your problem by using a bic to cut the hair down to a stubble before breaking out the straight just to limit the amount of work you have to do and to give yourself a better view of what you are doing. That said looks like you did a fine job and I'm sure your patient/victim was almost as relieved to have both ears intact as you were.

Originally Posted by sgthuskey

Congrats on the job. I grew up in Boone County. Live in Brown County Ohio now. If you had cut off an ear I think he would have given you a reason to need a 911 dispatcher. He was a little bit bigger than you. I'm not a whole lot bigger than you. I'm not sure I would be confident enough to try shaving someone else. i've only been at this maybe three months. I've been doing really good till this last week and cut myself two days in a row. Took a day off and had a great shave today.
Well, done.

Yeah he was a big dude for sure, but he was very cool about it. Brown county huh? You're not that far.

Thanks for sharing and posting the pics. Well done.

Awesome job. Pity you didn't have some Bay Rum on hand to mash onto his scone. That would be nice... a Bay Rum scented scalp.

Geese Shorynot, you're a string bean compared to him!! Ah, I think I would have been nervous, too (actually REALLY nervous!).

Really nice job on his dome!! You know, my barber used to use a straight to shave around my ears and neckline after giving me a hair cut (actually he used to give me a razor cut using a straight), BUT he almost ALWAYS nicked me around one ear or the other!

If the dispatcher job doesn't work out, open up a barber shop. (Really!). It looks like you have the making to be a great barber!

Kent