Thread: First shave with my new Boker!

So I ended up ordering a Boker Stainless Steel Olivewood 5/8 Straight razor from SRD.
Attachment 123117

It went well in my opinion. I started with a hot shower then lathered with a lime sample I got from SRD (I got the sample pack of all 12 scents) I made it through a WTG, XTG and ATG with only a small nick and a 2 ish. inch cut on my left cheek.
I know I tried too much but I was excited for my first shave. I have been going over my shave in my mind and have come up with a few points to work on.

1. Slow down!
2. Practice some tricky angles on my face.
3. Concentrate more!

The cuts scared the crap out of SWMBO but, It is not going to stop me from my next shave!

I felt some drag while shaving. I am sure this is from improper angle and I will work on that as well.
Here are the battle scars!


I also wanted to that all of you out there for your posts and suggestions in those posts!

congrats on your first shave !!! and your first cut ...lol
it happens to all of us at any given time ..i think at one time i was having a contest and the razor was up 2-1 ,lol...the more you shave the easier it gets !! not that im a pro but it has been A LOT easier from my first shave !!
now you can have your first post in the shave of the day also !!!

I gave myself some pretty nasty looking little cuts when I was first learning to use a straight razor, as well. There was one in particular that was especially bad. The good thing is that they'll heal quickly and very rarely leave any noticeable scars. I tried to look at the pic of your razor, but the attachment said it was invalid. Is your razor a square-point or is it rounded? I learned with a square point, and it took a while before I could get through a shave without worrying about a cut.

Originally Posted by myersn024

I gave myself some pretty nasty looking little cuts when I was first learning to use a straight razor, as well. There was one in particular that was especially bad. The good thing is that they'll heal quickly and very rarely leave any noticeable scars. I tried to look at the pic of your razor, but the attachment said it was invalid. Is your razor a square-point or is it rounded? I learned with a square point, and it took a while before I could get through a shave without worrying about a cut.

It a round point. Yah! Last night was my second shave and I was a bit nervous. I made it through with no nicks or cuts. But there are some scruffy spots. I'm sure it's my angle. I am having a hard time with my chin. Any suggestions?

I've been at this for about 10 weeks now, and it was just last week that my wife stopped asking me if there wasn't something I could do so that I didn't always look like I'd just been in a bar fight. I've learned how to cut every place on my face (try not to cut your ear lobes--they don't like to stop bleeding once they start), and then, consequently how not to do that to every place on my face, though there was a bit of a learning curve involved.

Just keep trying--you'll get the hang of it. For a while you will probably want to finish up with a "normal" razor. As you get confidence and experience, you'll find that it gradually starts to fall together. For me, the last place I got to work was straight down from the corners of my mouth, just around under the curve of my jaw, and that finally came together last week. Don't get impatient--just concentrate on getting comfortable using it first, and don't worry about getting every last bit with the straight.

As little as a week ago I was still wondering if I'd made a mistake going to a straight, so don't let yourself get discouraged.

My first bad cut was on my second day, right ahead of my ear where yours is. I put the thing in place, heading towards the front, and my cheek immediately sucked it right in when I started moving. I swear it wasn't my fault at all--it was all my cheek's doing. Try to remember that it's more like a scraping stroke--you're not trying to cut down into meat following the edge in; you're trying to drag the edge forward over everything, like plowing snow.

Thanks mdarnton! I have a DE for the touch ups and I knew going into this that I was going to cut my face up for a while! Thanks again for the good advice.

2 inch cut :drop jaw: can only get better from here.. Congrats on the first shave