Thread: First shave and no cuts!

congrats!
it only gets easier

Originally Posted by milehiscott

Congrats on the first good shave. As one with such great experience, having shaved 5 whole times with a SR, I would like to give you some free advice. I'm sure it will be worth every penny you paid for it.
1) My first shave was cut and burn free. Shave 2 had more razor burn than I have ever had in my life. You may wish to wait a day before shave #2.
2) Keep reviewing the Wiki, especially the page on grips. Every shave comes with noticing something else.
3) Before stropping, practice with a butter knife. You can't mess that up.
4) Don't strop too fast. It will go badly.
5) Don't strop too slow. The more I think about it, the worse it is. If I keep the blade moving, it is more consistent (listen as well as watch).
Keep at it and have fun.

I appreciate the advice. I'm going to spend some time with a butter knife tomorrow because I really don't want to mess up the blade. I think I'll also sit down with the razor and the wiki and go through some grips with mock strokes just to get a better feel for it.

I do have a question though. Maybe it's just me but a little while after shaving I started noticing pimples popping up specifically next to my ears and my neck. Is this just my skin getting used to the blade? Maybe a reaction to the cream?

Originally Posted by gilmored

I do have a question though. Maybe it's just me but a little while after shaving I started noticing pimples popping up specifically next to my ears and my neck. Is this just my skin getting used to the blade? Maybe a reaction to the cream?

More than likely, the pimples you're noticing is really just a type of razor burn...completely natural. Just one of the "banes of the beginner". Nothing to worry about, just a factor of your face getting used to the shave. It'll go away in a couple weeks. Keep at it!

Originally Posted by gilmored

I appreciate the advice. I'm going to spend some time with a butter knife tomorrow because I really don't want to mess up the blade.

Two things here. First, worry about the blade but don't forget about the strop. Rehoning a straight is about $20 plus shipping. A new strop can be around $60 - $100. So mind the strop as well.

Second, and this is advice given to me when I first started, take a piece of printer paper and fold it width wise unit you have a strip 1" wide and 8 1/2" long. Use this to practice stropping. When you can strop without bending the paper strip, that is about the right amount of pressure to use while stropping.

Originally Posted by Alembic

Second, and this is advice given to me when I first started, take a piece of printer paper and fold it width wise unit you have a strip 1" wide and 8 1/2" long. Use this to practice stropping. When you can strop without bending the paper strip, that is about the right amount of pressure to use while stropping.

The printer paper idea is awesome, How well does it work? Its definetly something i want to try when i get off work tonight. I've always had difficulty in telling if i'm using enough pressure. Awesome tip!

Great idea with the paper. So, I think I'll start with the paper to get a feel for the pressure then move to the butter knife to get my direction down. Thanks again for all of the advice. I'll probably give it another shot tomorrow and I'll let you guys know how it turns out.