Thread: First Str8 Shave Impressions

I got my kit earlier in the week, but unfortunately just before I had to leave the country on a short business trip. This afternoon I decided to give it my first attempt.

I took my Dovo Special out of its box and wiped off the oil haze that had be put on it by the good people of SRD. Being a bit of a germophobe, I put it Barbicide diluted per the instructions for about 10-15 minutes. I took a hot shower and put conditioner on my beard. When I got out of the shower, I rinsed the blade off well and got to making my lather.

My first impression of Mama Bear's Backyard Gazebo is that it's quite slick. I had some trouble getting the lather "fluffy" enough or creating enough of it, but I hope another read through of the wiki will help. The soap was so slick though, that I could still feel it on my face after I finished shaving and rinsed a few times! My silvertip knot from thegoldennib felt glorious, though!

As for the actual shave, it was rough at best. The first hurdle I came across that I had never thought of was shaving with eyeglasses on. I kept hitting them with my hand. Luckily I don't usually wear them while shaving so it shouldn't be a problem.

Aside from hitting my eyeglasses, I found it difficult to see with the toe of the blade facing my ear, which took some adjusting of my grip. I found myself constantly adjusting my blade angle, which was difficult because I couldn't see well. For some reason I found the left side of my face easier to shave even with my dominant right hand (didn't feel very comfortable using my left hand to shave).

I just stuck to the flats of my face - sideburns to jaw, cheeks to jaw, neck. My technique was obviously horrible and despite the blade passing over whiskers at about a 30 degree angle (judged by about 3 spine widths) the blade didn't seem to be cutting much hair. Which resulted in my newbie self making too many passes and ending up with some red bumps and a couple of minor nicks.

JimmyHAD's advice from his signature "An old barber told me to hold the razor securely but lightly enough so that is if it pulls the razor will flex in your fingers and be less likely to nick. He also told me to never force it if it does pull. Following that advice I have rarely gotten a nick" was what I kept trying to remind myself and it saved me multiple times. Thanks Jimmy!

I was trying to have patience and it took my about 15-20 minutes for my first attempt. By that time I was already getting small rust-like water spots on my blade, which was disconcerting. Any ideas on why this is or how to prevent it would be appreciated. Could it have been the Barbicide? It says it's a "rust-free" formula.

I decided that it was probably time for me to put down my straight and finish up with my Fusion. My Nivea Sensitive balm burned a bit, but never felt so good!

I stropped my razor with my SRD 3" modular paddle and thought it was a great product as well. My technique leaves a lot to be desired (stating the obvious), but I was happy that the paddle was 3" wide and that I didn't have to worry about pulling it taut. After stropping about 40 times (lost count), I used a Q-Tip to put a couple drops of camellia oil on both sides and resolved to try again on Monday morning.

Overall, it was a very rough first attempt, but I look forward to improving in the months and years to come! This skill/hobby/art seems worthy of my time in my hectic life and even worthy of waking up a few minutes early for on weekdays!

Cheers,
El Che

PS. I'll work on keeping my posts shorter in the future!

El Che, Congrats on your first shave. Like you, I am new and into this a little over a week. Stay focused and be patient. This is not a race. Keep reading the Wiki and the site and work on your technique. I found that even though my first shave was not my best, it was very rewarding and a challenge that I overcame, just as you have done today. And don't worry about your post! You just wanted to share your experience with others, that will ultimately help other noobs feel more comfortable and learn. Sorry I don't have any other great advice, I am too new!

Two thoughts:

Newer DOVOs seem to be made of a carbon steel that takes water spots very quickly. They are very good razors, except for this cosmetic problem. If the razor is wet for long they will get little grey spots. To combat this with razors I have with similar trouble I will wipe the razor with a tissue after I rinse it, to keep it a bit drier through the whole process.

As for you angle, I think 3 spine-widths is a bit much for 30 degrees. I think 1 to 1.5 is more in the ballpark you will find comfortable shaves in.

Too shallow will result in less hair shaved, but too steep will leave your skin raw and bleeding! Err on the side of too shallow, and if hair is not being reduce slightly increase the angle but do not increase pressure and you will start having better and better shaves.

Welcome to the 'sport' of straight shaving!

Congrats on your first straight razor shave.

Along with Ben's advice about drying your blade thoroughly, try stropping your razor after your shave 15-20 times on your fabic and 15-20 times on your leather strop. A bit of oil on the blade will also help retard corrosion.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

BKratchmer, I'll try wiping with tissue after rinsing.

Originally Posted by BKratchmer

Too shallow will result in less hair shaved, but too steep will leave your skin raw and bleeding! Err on the side of too shallow, and if hair is not being reduce slightly increase the angle but do not increase pressure and you will start having better and better shaves.

I think just about the only good thing I did was try to use as little pressure as possible. That just seems to click with me as something just seems inherently wrong about running an extremely sharp piece of steel against my face while putting pressure behind it. In my mind it's much more difficult to seriously cut myself if I put the minimal amount of pressure behind it. I could be wrong, but that psychologically works for me so far! My guess is that this, like most other things in life, can be summed up in the words of Yogi Berra: "90% of the game is half mental".

Originally Posted by jhenry

Congrats on your first straight razor shave.

Along with Ben's advice about drying your blade thoroughly, try stropping your razor after your shave 15-20 times on your fabic and 15-20 times on your leather strop. A bit of oil on the blade will also help retard corrosion.

I stropped after the shave and I'm sure that it helped to dry out the edge, but the spots occur mostly in the middle, concave part of the blade where my flat paddle strop doesn't even touch.

Cheers,
El Che

congrats on your frist shave you have entered the darkside. now to getting it all togeather. you set the angle of your blade by traping the scales between your fingers that will set the angle. jimmys advice has saved all of us a lot of blood so keep that up. 3 spine widths is too much imo. although my son shaves with that and more( its a hard thing to watch)and gets good shaves, 30 degrees isnt carved in stone but a good place to start. the right angle will depend on your razor , face and derection of attack. it will take time to get it right .your lather , sounds like you dont have enougf product on your brush you didnt say if you were useing soap or cream but if its soap put a bit of hot water on your puck before you head to the shower then pour that water into your cup and start loading your brush , keep swishing your brush untill you start to get thick lather on the top of your puck and then roll your brush on the edge of your cup to scrape of the excess lather and go back to clean up the rest sittin on the puck the bigger the brush the more product you need. then start building your lather slowy adding water.if when you rince your razor you see a line of lather sticking to the edge of your razor you need more water.seems to me you are going at this with the right adatude ask a lot of questions the guys and gals at srp are very eager to help. take your time and enjoy remember its the journey

Originally Posted by ElChe

I got my kit earlier in the week, but unfortunately just before I had to leave the country on a short business trip. This afternoon I decided to give it my first attempt.

I took my Dovo Special out of its box and wiped off the oil haze that had be put on it by the good people of SRD. Being a bit of a germophobe, I put it Barbicide diluted per the instructions for about 10-15 minutes. I took a hot shower and put conditioner on my beard. When I got out of the shower, I rinsed the blade off well and got to making my lather.

My first impression of Mama Bear's Backyard Gazebo is that it's quite slick. I had some trouble getting the lather "fluffy" enough or creating enough of it, but I hope another read through of the wiki will help. The soap was so slick though, that I could still feel it on my face after I finished shaving and rinsed a few times! My silvertip knot from thegoldennib felt glorious, though!

As for the actual shave, it was rough at best. The first hurdle I came across that I had never thought of was shaving with eyeglasses on. I kept hitting them with my hand. Luckily I don't usually wear them while shaving so it shouldn't be a problem.

Aside from hitting my eyeglasses, I found it difficult to see with the toe of the blade facing my ear, which took some adjusting of my grip. I found myself constantly adjusting my blade angle, which was difficult because I couldn't see well. For some reason I found the left side of my face easier to shave even with my dominant right hand (didn't feel very comfortable using my left hand to shave).

I just stuck to the flats of my face - sideburns to jaw, cheeks to jaw, neck. My technique was obviously horrible and despite the blade passing over whiskers at about a 30 degree angle (judged by about 3 spine widths) the blade didn't seem to be cutting much hair. Which resulted in my newbie self making too many passes and ending up with some red bumps and a couple of minor nicks.

JimmyHAD's advice from his signature "An old barber told me to hold the razor securely but lightly enough so that is if it pulls the razor will flex in your fingers and be less likely to nick. He also told me to never force it if it does pull. Following that advice I have rarely gotten a nick" was what I kept trying to remind myself and it saved me multiple times. Thanks Jimmy!

I was trying to have patience and it took my about 15-20 minutes for my first attempt. By that time I was already getting small rust-like water spots on my blade, which was disconcerting. Any ideas on why this is or how to prevent it would be appreciated. Could it have been the Barbicide? It says it's a "rust-free" formula.

I decided that it was probably time for me to put down my straight and finish up with my Fusion. My Nivea Sensitive balm burned a bit, but never felt so good!

I stropped my razor with my SRD 3" modular paddle and thought it was a great product as well. My technique leaves a lot to be desired (stating the obvious), but I was happy that the paddle was 3" wide and that I didn't have to worry about pulling it taut. After stropping about 40 times (lost count), I used a Q-Tip to put a couple drops of camellia oil on both sides and resolved to try again on Monday morning.

Overall, it was a very rough first attempt, but I look forward to improving in the months and years to come! This skill/hobby/art seems worthy of my time in my hectic life and even worthy of waking up a few minutes early for on weekdays!

Cheers,
El Che

PS. I'll work on keeping my posts shorter in the future!

I have been a SR shaver off and on for about a year. I use to be a DE razor user. With a SR, my shaves were tugging and pulling without removing much hair.

Try to alter your technique. By that I mean try using short and quick strokes. If that does not work, try using long and slow strokes. I only received a decent shave when I went the short/quick route. I read another thread and he said long/slow worked best for him.

Try changing things up a bit.

Also, make sure your lather is nice and hot. This does soften the wiskers and makes a better lather.

Good luck.

Welcome to SRP ElChe, and congrats on your first shave! They will be rough for awhile, but your technique improves with time. You seem to be well aware of this and have a great attitude.

Things only get better from here