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thisISjoel's straight shaving diary

thisISjoel

thisISjoel

Member
I know I already documented my first shave in another thread, but considering the general rule seems to be it takes 100 shaves with the straight to develop the skill I thought I'd document my first 100 shaves here so I have a record and can track my improvement.

So shave number 1:
Soap: Shaver heaven barbershop.
Razor: GD 66 from @Mark
Brush: Whipped Dog 24mm synthetic
After: Witch hazel and Smartmen balm.

First pass was pretty ok, not as scary as I thought. Switching hands was weird. Tiny nick about halfway between my bottom lip and the bottom of my chin.

Shoukd have stopped there, but went for a second pass, cross grain, and cut my chin, my jawline and my neck, all on the right side.

Shave is much closer on the right side of the face.

Shaved right after work, no shower, lather could have been better, was a bit dry and not overly slick, needed more water.

NOTE: Unless otherwise stated in future shaves the razor and the brush will be the same, only soaps and post shave products will change, at least for a little while.
 
Keep 'em coming mate. Give us the blow by blow account.
 
Hopefully no blow the belt or knockouts, just a steady learning curve :)
 
Second shave, happened yesterday, but I didn't have time to post until now.

Soap: Proraso red
After: Imperial Leather

Went a single wtg pass, little bit of attempted clean up, but kept it very minimal. Only got one tiny nick and it didn't even bleed at all after the shave.

Again, closer shave on the right side of the face. Wasn't happy with the lather, I think I'll use rhapsody for the next shave.

Also, I nicked my strop a good three or four times so lucky I bought a cheapy.
 
A straight seems to enjoy a slightly wetter lather. From my experience as the soap dries on the skin the chance of a nick or cut rises. The differrence in shave, left to right is probably due to muscle memory and your current handedness. The strop is purely technique and inexpensive is the way to go for some time yet. :)
 
bald as said:
A straight seems to enjoy a slightly wetter lather. From my experience as the soap dries on the skin the chance of a nick or cut rises. The differrence in shave, left to right is probably due to muscle memory and your current handedness. The strop is purely technique and inexpensive is the way to go for some time yet. :)
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Cheers :) I think wetter lather is needed for sure and the closeness of the shave on the right vs the left is defs because I'm right handed. I'll keep on keeping on.
 
thisISjoel said:
Cheers :) I think wetter lather is needed for sure and the closeness of the shave on the right vs the left is defs because I'm right handed. I'll keep on keeping on.
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Keep at the otherhandedness mate. I'm right-handed but am finding, six months or so on, that I get some better strokes now from my left hand. For some reason ATG on the neck/under-chin can be painful for me, but my left hand has a better knack, for some reason than my right. I think it's because the left errs towards less pressure maybe?
Again the moral of this story is persist with both hands as there are some rewards....
 
stillshunter said:
Keep at the otherhandedness mate. I'm right-handed but am finding, six months or so on, that I get some better strokes now from my left hand. For some reason ATG on the neck/under-chin can be painful for me, but my left hand has a better knack, for some reason than my right. I think it's because the left errs towards less pressure maybe?
Again the moral of this story is persist with both hands as there are some rewards....
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I definitely will, thanks!
 
Nice work Joel. I can see you already have a good start. Most guys won't do past their cheeks for the first few shaves which is ok, just shows you're confident so I highly doubt you'll need 100 shaves, maybe a quarter of that and you'll be fine. It takes a little while to get used to holding it with your non dominant hand but once you get that right I think you'll be pretty set. Looking forward to the upcoming posts and thanks for sharing.
 
Mark said:
Nice work Joel. I can see you already have a good start. Most guys won't do past their cheeks for the first few shaves which is ok, just shows you're confident so I highly doubt you'll need 100 shaves, maybe a quarter of that and you'll be fine. It takes a little while to get used to holding it with your non dominant hand but once you get that right I think you'll be pretty set. Looking forward to the upcoming posts and thanks for sharing.
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Thanks mate and thanks for the blade, keep an eye out for my "Help me pick my second straight" thread (we all know that's where this is heading, right?) :)
 
Third shave. Rhapsody soap, witch hazel and smartman balm post.

Nice first pass, small cut under the tip of my nose trying to get right up under there. Left hand is staring to feel a bit more comfortable. Went for a second pass, trying to go xtg. Went well on the cheeks, cut my chin (both cuts were from placing the razor on the skin improperly), but otherwise I'd say it was a fairly successful second pass.

I'm still getting a closer shave with my right hand, but I feel like my left hand is improving already. I do find it harder to get certain angles with the left hand (around the chin is difficult with both hands). On the my neck the xtg pass (south to north) I ended up doing with my right hand because I tried with my left, but didn't trust it so I switched back.

Overall I'm happy with how it's all going.
 
Shave number four. Took a bit of extra time with the prep on this one and, for the first pass at least, it really paid off! I'd showered earlier in the day so I wet my face and put some proraso green pre/post cream on then waited about 5 minutes, lathered up proraso green soap and had a quick hot towel. Pre/post and lathered again and went for the first pass. First pass was smooth, really smooth. I made the lather quite wet and I think that the wetter lather combined with the pre/post cream gave a really nice slickness that has been missing from my previous straight shaves.

I decided to go for a second pass and on the cheeks, under the nose and the neck it went quite well! The chin area is so tricky though, got a few little cuts on my chin just trying to place the razor for an xtg pass. I can see why so many guys who do straight shaving videos keep a goatee.

Still closer on the right side, but the left hand is getting better. Still only getting SAS, BUT minimal irritation and really, really nice face feel after the shaves. I don't know if it's by virtue of not making as many passes, but the straight just seems to be gentler on the skin (you know, as long as you don't just straight up cut yourself).
 
thisISjoel said:
I don't know if it's by virtue of not making as many passes, but the straight just seems to be gentler on the skin (you know, as long as you don't just straight up cut yourself).
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Mirrors my findings completely. As odd as it sounds, the straight razor gives the mildest shave possible.
 
thisISjoel said:
[...]the straight just seems to be gentler on the skin (you know, as long as you don't just straight up cut yourself).
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Thirded here!

Not only 'milder', but so much more adjustable...immediate adjustments too.

The more I get into the straights the more I realise that SEs, DEs, etc., are a compromise. They each reduce the chance of seriously cutting you but there is a price to pay at the result for this offset. Oddly, I have one scar on my face from shaving and that was done with a DE!


thisISjoel said:
Took a bit of extra time with the prep on this one and, for the first pass at least, it really paid off! I'd showered earlier in the day so I wet my face and put some proraso green pre/post cream on then waited about 5 minutes, lathered up proraso green soap and had a quick hot towel.
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Mate do yourself a favour. Spin that moist towel (you used for the hot towel) like you're going to whip someone with it but save the karma points and throw it, coiled, into the freezer. Once your shave is done and you've cold rinsed then go fetch that baby. Apply like you did the hot towel, She'll be nice and cold and feel soooooo good! Not only does it relieve any burning but close those pores good and proper. I haven't the time to do this every morning, but every time I do I have far, far better face recovery.
 
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namreklaw said:
I did my fourth shave the other night too. You're definitely not alone in finding the chin the hardest part. I managed to not cut myself at all last time but the chin was definitely nowhere near as close a shave as anywhere else
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How many passes are you doing?
 
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