First straight razor shave is a smashing success!

Well.. it is a high level success.  The details can use some improvement.

Like others I don't have the inclination to go with traditional straights, though I can see them in my future. I have a collection of well over 300 straights that my dad left me, some of which I know I will eventually want to use, but I started with a Feather Artist Club RG.

As I mentioned in my first post about straights, this is, on all counts a regular straight razor in feel and execution, but it has removable blades.  This eliminates the need for the maintenance that traditional straights require.

The head of the razor opens to allow a disposable blade in your chosen flavor to be inserted.  The spring action locks securely and the blade exposure is perfectly even.  Removing the blade for disposal is as easy as inverting the head and squeezing.  This allows the blade to fall freely.  The head comes apart for cleaning.

Yesterday's shave was a BBS with a DE (Baby Butt Smooth with a Double Edge) so I wasn't working with a thick beard this morning.

I showered and whipped a big bowl of The Body Shops Macca Root shave cream because it is the slickest stuff I have and for me, it is 100% reliable. For some reason I chose my Hoffritz Pure Badger brush which is a flopper by comparison to the rest of my brushes, but something had it calling out to be a party to the experience.  I underestimate this brush...it needs to be in the brush rotation more often.

The blade I chose is the Feather Pro-Guard.  Per Feather's advertising, "By wrapping the blade in a protective cage a comfort margin is maintained between the blade edge and the skin.  The wire guard also virtually eliminates nicks and cuts."  It works as advertised.. reminds me of the Flicker razor my mom used to use. 
 
Kiehl's Men's Ultimate AS Balm was ready for post shave.

My plan was one pass and I was ready to bail out if it got dicey.  Other than this, I had no real plan.h I have read Dr. Chris Moss's book, The Art of the Straight Razor Shave,  but I felt I needed to hold this experience very loosely since I had no idea where it was going.. expectations are premeditated disappointment.

Top level report... The str8 shave is awkward for a newbie. Hold the razor this way or that? Can I see the angle of the blade?  Can I see my face?  Is that blood?  The left side of my face is impossible to reach or see. Getting around my chin and upper lip is quite challenging.

The shave lasted only marginally longer than a BBS DE shave. Still, I think I would be hard pressed to attempt this on a work day, at least not yet.

I pulled off three passes.. WTG, XTG & XTG. Zero cuts, nicks or errors, but it's far, very far, from a BBS shave. In fact, though I rate it a smashing success due to the lack of personal injury, if this were a DE shave I would consider it an epic fail given the lack of closeness. It's even, so I feel I did a decent job with coverage, but there is a nice even stubble that I would expect late in the day after a morning DFS DE shave (DFS = Damn Fine Shave; a notch below a BBS).

As I sit here, forty minutes post shave, I have zero irritation and have time to review the shave frankly, I don't know what I might do different next time.. The Pro-Guard blades are suspect. But only slightly. If they are designed to prevent cuts, there must be some compromise in closeness.  I didn't attempt an ATG pass.  Though the Macca Root is perfect for DE, it's quite thick and made it tough to tell if the blade or spine of the razor was actually on my skin.

Gotta wonder if I should push to shave two handed... now would be the time do it, before any kind of muscle memory sets in.

To the more experienced...tell me your thoughts..suggestions and comments.

To the less traveled..don't let the straight scare you. Respect it. But don't fear it.

Image is from the Nikon D3.  28-70 f/2.8 Nikkor lens.  Hand-held.  SB-800 fired into a Wescott 43" double fold umbrella via Radio Popper JRx Wireless units.