Thread: First Straight Shave

Do what I do, abuse your face until it toughens up. I pretty much never nick myself, and it's not because I handle the razor well. I shove that bugger to and fro, don't bother pulling the skin taut (cause Im brushing my teeth with that hand). If women were to watch me shave, they'd scream and cover their eyes, certain that a deluge of blood was just moments away. And my face just grimaces and takes it. A few more weeks and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to stop bullets. I'm gonna shave with a rusty iron spatula I ground to an edge against a cinder block tomorrow.


I'd recommend You keep your angles shallow and work your way up until it starts cutting right when you're just starting out. Don't bother trying ATG. It'll come naturally once you get WTG and XTG down. Hard to reach spots (back of jaw, under ears) I literally just put the razor at a 70-80 degree and and scraped with the side of the blade (pressure traps the hair and it gets cut. Not the most comfortable or smoothest shave, but it works and is a ton easier than maneuvering a straight back for actual passes there your first times shaving. Also, don't be afraid to put a little pressure into your strokes. If you nick your cheeks or jaw, so what? Only place that really requires care is the neck. And if you aren't willing to risk a little pressure you will never learn how much is appropriate.


As for the windpipe. I have a long narrow neck as well. Flattening those spots doesn't happen. Learn to maneuver the tip of the razor in there for quick little swipes. You can do it with the heel too, and get a bit more at a time, but I find the tip easier to control.

This sounds exactly like me when I started, so dont worry..!

In terms of the difficult to reach areas, stretch the skin to get them.

I would say its probably a confidence thing. The razor will obviously get some resistance as it cuts through the hair, but the thing to do is to keep at it and the confidence will come.

As long as the razor is not pulling or uncomfortable to use, and it is removing hair, its sharp enough. If it does stop cutting or becomes uncomfortable to use then its time to send it out to a honemeister.

Also make sure you get your angles right on your face. Too steep or too shallow an angle and you'll get a poor shave or irritation, or both..!

But congrats on what sounds like a pretty successful first attempt and good luck for the next ones..!

Thanks all for the input. Okay, 3 shaves in the books and I do notice improvement. Nowhere near what I can do with a safety, but better than the first round. My biggest break through was actually relaxing. I noticed on my second shave that my wrist was increadibly tense. I think it's because I had this large, unprotected, increadibly sharp object on my face. Anyway, I relaxed my arm and wrist a bit and actually pivoted my wrist a bit to create a sything action. And with that, I was also putting more pressure on the razor. Huge improvement.

Thanks again.