Thread: Introduction and 1st shave report

Hi all. My name's Daniel. 21 years old from Chicago. Neat site. My primary source of intel before delving into shaving like a gangster. This is what that intel spurred:

Purchases:

Parker shavette
Shark half blades
Van der Hagen boar brush
Williams Mug soap

1st Shave:

I went against the advice I've seen on here and shaved my whole face my first time out. Took probably 30-40 minutes. No bleeding of any kind. Didn't go against the grain or anything like that, and I've got some rough stubble stalks here and there.

For the most part things went smoothly. The trouble I had was lathering the soap. I just put the puck of Williams in the bottom of a plastic disposable bowl for lack of better option. I put a little hot water on the top to soften it up for a few minutes. I soaked the brush and then just pretty much gave it a whirl for about 20-30 seconds.

I don't think I did it right, because it was sticky on the face and it started drying out and dissapearing. I had to relather like 3 or 4 times during the shave. I was paranoid that the soap was still semi-solid (is foam the 4th state of matter?). There was a bit of solid-like residue on the disposable blade after the shave.

Thoughts:

I chose the cheap-o path cause I don't have money to spend. The Parker is cool. I don't have enough experience to judge the Shark blades but it seemed alright. I thought it would be more rigid but when its not clipped into the parker it flexes all around. So far I think the boar brush and the soap are pretty ghetto. I'm going to practice lathering on my hand to get the consistency down and I'm sure that will change my opinion about the two of them.

I am a disciple that function outweighs form and I'm banking that my technique will make up for any shortcomings these inexpensive products might yield.

Thanks SRP,

Daniel S. M.

Edit* P.S. I don't have a soap dish and I've been rinsing off the soap and putting it back into the cardboard box I got it in. My goal is for it to dry out before the next shave. Is this standard, or does everyone just leave their soap out to remain damp and mushy?

Lathering on your hand = good learning style
Function outweights form....but the difference between a shavette and a properly sharpened straight razor is about the same as the difference between a Toyota Yaris and a BMW 740.

Glad to hear that the first shave went well. Give yourself a few more to see if you're hooked. Then I want you to check the Classifieds for a properly sharpened shave ready razor. It will be worth it.

IIRC, there are a bunch of blades in there for between 30 and 50 bux.

A straight is the way to go for a better shave. However I used a shavette for around 6 months read the forums on here daily and I got very good on a shavette. I decided to take the plunge and get a straight last year in Nov and Maxi is right, the difference is the same as a Toyota and a BMW. When you are ready take the plunge and find a decent straight. Nothing off ebay or if you do ask on here first if it is a good straight. Hope this helps.

Welcome to SRP. Feel free to ask lots of question we are here to help.

Originally Posted by johnmorganjr

A straight is the way to go for a better shave. However I used a shavette for around 6 months read the forums on here daily and I got very good on a shavette. I decided to take the plunge and get a straight last year in Nov and Maxi is right, the difference is the same as a Toyota and a BMW. When you are ready take the plunge and find a decent straight. Nothing off ebay or if you do ask on here first if it is a good straight. Hope this helps.

Am I correct in believing the crossover from shavette to straight will be relatively indifferent as far as technique/safety goes? In other words you are just shaving with a different tool but the process is the same..

Originally Posted by danmarqu5

Am I correct in believing the crossover from shavette to straight will be relatively indifferent as far as technique/safety goes? In other words you are just shaving with a different tool but the process is the same..

For me it was pretty straight to move to a straight. There were minor changes I had to make (which I don't remember) but when I changed over to a straight it all just felt natural and I did not have a problem gashing or nicking myself. A straight is pretty much like a shavette, you want to use a real light touch, move slow and stretch your skin very tight. Like I said, for me a straight seemed natural after my 6 months on a Dovo shavette. Everyone is different so what may have worked for me may not work for you. I have a feeling you will know what to do when you transition over to a straight. A straight is a big shavette that is much easier to control without the blood work. Just remember slow, steady and tight skin. I also found with a shavette the flatter I held it the less styptic pencil I needed to use. Hope this helps. If I did not explain it well enough just let me know and I will try to reword it, I believe you will probably have other users fill in any gaps I left. That is why this forum is so great because I have not shaved enough to know everything but someone else has and there is a vast amount of knowledge on here.

Big mistakes with a straight will be bigger than with a Shavette because more of the blade will be exposed. For me, that seemed like a bigger difference than it turned out to be.

Originally Posted by danmarqu5

Am I correct in believing the crossover from shavette to straight will be relatively indifferent as far as technique/safety goes? In other words you are just shaving with a different tool but the process is the same..

Hello and welcome to SRP, I am like you I started with a Shavette and I am now hooked on Straights, I have dug in deeper than I originially thought, buying hones, etc... I enjoy this so much that I want to do it all. I just finished my 18th shave and things do get a lot better, I beleive on my 7th shave something clicked and I have been getting the best shaves of my life, IMO I don't think that you have to go out and buy all the expensive little goodies such as scuttles, mugs, etc... I try to keep things simple using things that I currently have lying around. Anyhow I think keeping up with your progress is a good thing to look back on, at least for me but to answer your question I have found that a full hollow ground round edge razor is superior and is more forgiving, I used to cut myself a lot with the shavette. anyhow welcome and goodluck!

Straights require stropping, which is something you'll have to learn to do. Eventually they will require honing, which you can choose to learn or not learn.
Good luck.

Originally Posted by danmarqu5

I don't think I did it right, because it was sticky on the face and it started drying out and dissapearing. I had to relather like 3 or 4 times during the shave. I was paranoid that the soap was still semi-solid (is foam the 4th state of matter?). There was a bit of solid-like residue on the disposable blade after the shave.[/U]

I had the same problem when I first started with the lather. The following steps definitely helped me a lot. First, if you soak your brush in hot water before, make sure you wring it out some so that it is not soaking wet when you create your lather. Also, if you find that you are still having trouble making lather last, try using a small amount of shave cream before you lather up with the brush. (real shave cream, not canned, I use nivea) It will help build the lather and help it last through the shave. I have found that pre shave oil sometimes can help the lather a bit as well.
I use a cheap boar brush, simply for cost reasons, and Williams Mug soap, so these steps really have given me an excellent lather I think, for the price.
Just to point out, I am a beginner trying to help a beginner with steps that helped me, and if any experts find me giving bad advice, feel free to call me out, both for his benefit and mine, I still love to learn new tips and I dont want to step on anyones toes.

Let me know if it works for you!