I just started on Sunday. It was incredibly difficult. The razor felt like it was catching on my whiskers and then when it would cut through the whisker, it would skip or jump about an inch down my face. So I missed plenty of spots and would have to go back. I think I made a mistake letting 4 days of growth be there for my first try. I thought it would be easier, but it was more difficult. I may have also been going too slow with the stroke because I was worried about cutting my face. It's a new blade, that was freshly honed. I watched some youtube videos about the shave, and will try again tomorrow morning. Right now, I'm only going with the grain, until I get that one down, and become more comfortable with the razor. Then I'll add in the against the grain shave. The chin is the toughest spot for me right now. Anyone have any tips? If anyone else uses a straight razor, how did you learn? How was your experience starting out?
Don't forget the ketchup packets. I don't think I could ever get the hang of shaving with a straight razor. Good luck though. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cUAoU4wJen8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Be careful! I used to use one. Like you I spent time watching on youtube in an attempt to be perfect before doing it. I even went to a local barber that did straight shaves and had it done for a few times to just get a sense of the tempo they used and a feel for what made me uncomfortable. I bought a set online and was excited to give it a shot. The first time I used it I didn't do a complete shave. Like you it was catching and I would get nervous. I found myself missing spots and going too slow and needed to get to work so I abandoned the effort for the day. I decided I needed to give myself more time than anticipated because of the nerves and needed less hair for the first try. So I tried again on a Saturday morning when I had shaved two mornings earlier. I did pretty good on the face and decided to just leave my mustache and moved onto the neck area. I started on the neck and was going very slowly because I was still nervous about it. Those fresh razors are very sharp! I imagine that in the old days a lot of people got seriously cut using those things. I was doing pretty good though so I got a little bolder and got faster. As I went near my Adam's apple I clipped my throat pretty badly and started bleeding. It was incredibly painful and I held my hand over the cut at first just trying to relax. When I moved my hand though I started bleeding really bad. I was in trouble brother! Normally when I cut myself with a razor if I just throw some water on it the bleeding stops, but this was a deep gash. I was actually feeling a little faint so I needed to get to an ER quick. My cell phone doesn't work in my house so I ran outside. I whistled for a cab and when it came near the License plate said "fresh" and had a dice in the mirror. If anything I could say that this cab was rare, But I thought nah, forget it, yo homes to Bel-air! I pulled up to a house about seven or eight And I yelled to the cabby "Yo, homes smell you later!" Looked at my kingdom I was finally thereTo sit on my throne as the prince of Bel-air.
Once upon a time a powerful Emperor of the Rising Sun advertised for a new Chief Samurai. After a year, only three applied for the job: a Japanese, a Chinese and a Jewish Samurai. "Demonstrate your skills!" commanded the Emperor. The Japanese samurai stepped forward, opened a tiny box and released a fly. He drew his samurai sword and * Swish! * the fly fell to the floor, neatly divided in two! "What a feat!" said the Emperor. "Number two samurai, show me what you can do." The Chinese samurai smiled confidently, stepped forward and opened a tiny box, releasing a fly. He drew his samurai sword and * Swish! * Swish! * The fly fell to the floor neatly quartered! "That is skill!" nodded the Emperor. "How are you going to top that, Number three samurai?" Number three samurai stepped forward, opened a tiny box releasing one fly, drew his samurai sword and *Swoooooosh! * flourished his sword so mightily that a gust of wind blew through the room. But the fly was still buzzing around! In disappointment, the Emperor said, "What kind of skill is that? The fly isn't even dead!" "Dead is easy," replied the Jewish Samurai. "Circumcision ... now that takes skill! "
BTW, if you want to learn from tens of thousands of straight razor users, here is the place. http://badgerandblade.com/
If you do it right, you can get a closer, more comfortable shave. However, you have to invest quite a bit into it. There is no such thing as a quick shave with a straight razor.
Why did you say this? The dude is asking for help, tips, experiences, etc., on straight razors. This goes in line with people advising to use Firefox and Chrome to someone asking a question about IE. Let's just help the person with what he's asking... no? If you're joking and I'm misinterpreting your response, I'll let it go.
Because life is at it's best when you sit in front of your Windows PC, browsing the net with Chrome while feelin your awesomely shaved Mach 3 Turbo beard, duuuh. And usin the Samsung Galaxy S3 because Apple is sh!tty
closer smoother shave. The initial investment is quite a bit of money. But in the end you never have to buy blades and only have to have it sharpened twice a year. So in the end it's cheaper.
Never used one myself but I had my complete head/face shaved in Vegas while I was there and it was awesome. I'd love to learn how to use it.
